How to really, really disable auto-update popups from flash player?

[pxstein]

I have here a serious problem under 64bit Win7.

More and more frequently a popup appears prompting me (or even start download without prompt!!)if a new flash player should be installed.

When I proceed it shows the progress bar and downloads the package and installation started until the "done" button is shown.

Then I re-open Internet Explorer 9 again and re-vist the last webpage and ....the download starts again.

This is really annoying.

How do I really, really stop forever update prompts for flash player plugins for Firefox and Internet Explorer?

Peter

[pwillener]

What is your installed Flash Player version?  See http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/find-version-flash-player.html#main_Find_the_Flash_Player_ver...

Are you sure the pop-ups are from Flash Player?  There are many reports recently about fake update prompts for Adobe products.  Can you post a screenshot of such a pop-up?  See http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1070933

[pxstein]

Ok, the popup looks like:

It seems to come from IE 9 (under 64bit Win7) according to ProcessExplorer:

However how can I disable AUTO-Update without disabling Flash-Player plugin in IE at all?

I found no option to disable auto-update:

[pwillener]

You can disable updates from the Flash Player Settings Manager in Control Panel.

[Guest · Accepted solution]

I have my option set to Never chck for updates.    This morning when I booted my laptop i got the nag screen.   The above doesn't work for me, obviously.   Adobe has never gotten this right 10 years and going strong.

[_maria_]

Hi pxstein,

Thanks for posting the screenshots, especially the one of the Process Explorer.  It indicates that this is not an auto-update install situation.  This type of installation is triggered via content on the page that requires a newer version of Flash Player (your screenshot indicates you have 11.8.800.94) and the content provider has decided to use this type of installation (we support several types that content providers can implement).  Since this type of installation is controlled by the content, there isn't a way to disable it.  Normally, IE displays a User Account Control dialog window or a dialog bar at the bottom of the page asking if you want to save/run the file.  I don't see these in your screenshots and you don't mention if they displayed or not.  If not, you may have disabled this warning at some point in time.

Flash Player 11.8 is very old and very vulnerable to security issues and we've released many security updates since then.  My recommendation is to update Flash Player to the latest version, 15.0.0.167 for Internet Explorer (15.0.0.152 for non-IE browsers on Windows).  If you don't want the latest features available in Flash Player 15, you can install what we refer to as the Extended Support Release (ESR) version.  This is a previous stable version that we only release security updates for.  Currently this is 13.0.0.244 for both Internet Explorer and non-IE browsers on Windows.

To download the latest version, go to https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer using Internet Explorer

To download the ESR version, go to Adobe Flash Player Distribution | Adobe.  The links to download the FP 13 ESR version are at the bottom of the page.

--

Maria

[Guest]

Switches can be used to configure the installer; auto updates can be configured as disabled, or not installed at all

NB: This was tested with Adobe distributor EXEs and MSIs. I don't know whether the downloader which end users are given (1MB) will pass these switches to the installer, though -au is passed after the user is asked about update preferences.

Installation switches with defintions:

-au [0-2]

     Automatic update: 0 - auto; 1 - notify; 2 - disabled. Configures mms.cfg; only when update service is installed.

-install {activex,plugin}

     Install all or {specific} modules; all modules: ActiveX, plugin, and update service

-uninstall

     Uninstall all modules

Installation switches which I haven't tested:

-iv

-skipARPEntry

-refreshIEElevationPolicies

As the MSI wraps the EXE installer, parameters can be passed to the installer using a transform of the CustomAction: NewCustomAction1, created using Orca

[ShayeRyan]

Hi Pxstein,

I got pretty frustrated with this too. You can change or disable it manually by using task manager. I made a quick step by step here on how to do it. Let me know if this helps.

http://bittechie.com/disable-flash-player-update-change-frequency/

-Shaye

[pitieree]

On Mac Sierra 10.12 and current Adobe Flash Updater the refresh check and notification is every 60 minutes. Really think Adobe engineered it so you'll click on "Allow Adobe to install updates (recommended)".

No good reason I can think of to put a pop-up in the middle of whatever you are doing every 60 minutes.

jmho

[_maria_]

I suspect the Adobe Flash Updater you are referring to is the Background Update check, which does check for an update every 60 minutes if an update is found Flash Player automatically downloads it an installs it silently in the background.

Notification update check occurs every 7 days, by default, unless the interval is changed by the user.

Please provide the following information:

1. Screenshot of the System Preferences > Flash Player > Updates tab
2. Screenshot of the /Library/Application Support/Macromedia/mms.cfg file

Thank you.

--

Maria

[Ruud5EF4]

I found "Flash Player" installers – 4 of them! – in my Utilities folder. I promptly trashed all of them. I  also found a subfolder and inside it said, De-install Adobe Flash Player. So I did.

I had this bug for two months, telling me every hour on the hour to update Adobe Flash Player – which as you know doesn't exist anymore. I did nothing. I didn't install any new app to help me get rid of this bug, because then you get yourself a new one. Just play it cool, is what I do. If you want to get rid of this bug, just get rid of anything on your hard drive that says Photoshop Flash Player. I did it. Why can't  you?

(Now for the corona virus. Duh!)

[_maria_]

Locking discussion topic as it's over 7 years old and no longer relavant.