Will Adobe Please Provide Offline Distribution Link of Latest Adobe Flash Player to a Poor User?

The bottom line is that it's time to move off Windows XP.  In this instance, the cryptographic technology in Windows XP (pre SP3) is no longer adequate to ensure that the software you're installing is authentic and unmodified... but also, there's a really good reason for why we use WinXP when we start teaching kids in the security space how to exploit machines.  It's a lot like shooting fish in a barrel.  It's way past time to move on.

It's also the case that designing, maintaining and delivering software is a tremendously difficult and expensive undertaking that requires specialized expertise, hardware and bandwidth.  None of that is free, and there's a large difference between non-profit and for-profit enterprise, and both are equally legitimate.  Microsoft keeps the lights and the engineers fed by charging for their operating system.  Similarly, we keep the lights on and keep people fed by promoting other products alongside the products we give away for free, and one of the requirements in that chain of accountability is that you use the available installers.

If a current Windows license is beyond your means, it's probably time to start looking at a truly free alternative, like one of the many variants of Linux.  The Linux desktop community has come a long way since that computer was new, and there are totally usable options available now (https://www.ubuntu.com/ https://www.linuxmint.com/​) that are supported and maintained by volunteers and other actors in the free and open source software community.  There's also a Flash Player available for those operating systems.

Nothing is truly free, so the move to Linux will come with a learning curve, but if you have more time than money on your hands, it's a totally viable and reasonable option, and one that's going to give you a reasonable level of protection against modern security threats.

Also, while not pocket change, the price of decent machines has come *way* down over the last few years.  You can buy a pretty nice Chromebook for $250, and a nice Win10 laptop for $400-450.

Hi,

The distribution page is for enterprise customers who license Flash Player for distribution within their organization.  It is not for individual users to download the offline installers.  The page you reference was being egregiously abused and Adobe changed how enterprise customers with a valid distribution license access the page to download the installers for distribution with their organization.

A 'connection' error can mean many things, least of which is an old/slow computer.  If you provide the Adobe_ADM.log and Adobe_GDE.log files, saved at C:\Documents and Settings\<YourUserID>\Local Settings\Temp\Adobe_ADMLogs we can investigate the error.  Upload the files to cloud.acrobat.com/send using the instructions at How to share a document and post the link to the uploaded files in your reply.

If that is too much trouble for you, the offline installers have always been posted at the bottom of the Installation problems | Flash Player | Windows 7 and earlier  page in the 'Still having problems' section.

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Maria