Flash player: 1. Updates WAY TOO FREQUENT! 2. No control offered to users...

Question

1. Some of us would like to maintain control over the software going on to our computers because we don't trust the infallibility (hacking wise) of automatic update processes or other reasons of version control or just an interest in knowing what goes on our computers and why... because understanding updates helps us use some software better when there have been improvements that may interest users or require user participation to get more functionality out of... yet Adobe releases a new flash player sometimes every day! Is this like a plan to annoy people into blandly accepting automatic updates out of sheer frustration of all the time wasted by manually updating? Even with automatic updates its still a major time waste because you have to stop everything you are currently busy doing in your browser and come back to all of it after the update. Sometimes multiple times a day! What is up with this? Don't you guys realize that a bunch of websites bug and interrupt us or won't even let us continue to the next page if we don't have the up to the minute updated version of flash player and this is a major inconvenience... There's never any specifics given about improvements. Version after version cite the same details as to whats better about it.. "faster 3d" .. etc.. really? But I never notice these improvements. Still slows down every browser page its on.

2. I wish you would just replace flashplayer entirely with something that's built on security and user-specified permissions not as an afterthought. Something that is multi-thread capable and something that gives users the power to maintain control over their browser content instead of constantly being annoyed by sounds, sights that we don't want to endure just to get to the next piece of content on Youtube or what have you. Flash is a nuisance in its current incarnation. I don't blame Apple for not wanting it on the iPhone. Yes this is a rant, but I'm just completely frustrated by Adobe's lack of understanding with a product that is updated way too often (which makes it inconvenient to us control freaks who want to know what's being updated where when and why) and its not due to security issues found usually. It's also a product that takes content control of the browser and sometimes all control (bogging down) away from users. We even try to block flash and developers get around blocking technologies and force us to watch their stinking ads and nonsense. These things really REALLY need to change. Please whisper in the developers ear someone.. No, strike that. YELL LOUDLY!! ! WE WANT CONTROL OF OUR BROWSERS AND CPU CYCLES BACK! Please replace this monstrosity with something better... something that doesn't drive us nuts all the time!

jeromiec83223024 · Answer

Your frustration is definitely coming through loud and clear.

I think your perception differs from reality on several points, but you either trust us or you don't, and I'm not going to waste your time or mine arguing those points. If you'd like a fact-based perspective, feel free to peruse my activity feed for in-depth explanations on our security program, release cadence, and on how to troubleshoot performance issues.

I get where you're coming from. It's good to be skeptical. That said, the *vast* majority of systems get hacked for being behind on updates. I don't know about you, but I have enough on my plate that I don't really want to spend my free time tracking and manually applying updates across the body of software on my machines. In the face of state-sponsored, increasingly sophisticated adversaries, a fast release cadence is the right response, and we're aligned with Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday. In the event that a new exploit is discovered in the wild, we'll release an additional out-of-cycle release as soon as humanly possible. Given the choice between getting yelled at for inconveniencing you or securing the other ~2Bn people using Flash Player, we'll take the heat for inconveniencing you. It's the right choice.

So, if you insist on managing updates manually -- or just don't trust our updater specifically, and you find that cadence overwhelming, you have a couple options:

Use Google Chrome, where Flash Player is a built-in component and managed by their update mechanism
Use Internet Explorer or Edge on Windows 10, where Flash Player is a built in component and managed by Windows Update
Uninstall Flash Player

I've included links to the uninstallers for your convenience:

Uninstall Flash Player - Windows:

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

Uninstall Flash Player - Mac:

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html

For browsers where Flash Player is built in, there's usually an option to disable the plug-in in their security or plug-in settings.

If you're actually interested in solving a specific technical problem instead of venting, I'd be happy to help. It would probably be best to start a new thread, focus one problem at a time, and provide some basic context so that we can work through the issues methodically and effectively.

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1195540

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded