downloaded Flash game not playing - Windows 7

[michaelf91054748]

[moderator: edited title to more accurately reflect issue being reported]

I am running windows 7 home premium 32 bit .I have internet explorer and Mozilla Firefox ,I have installed the latest version of Adobe Flash player on both .I can go to any website that has flash animation or game and it all works fine ,but when I try to play any game that I have downloaded they do not work .I have only had this problem for a few days ,before that I could play any of my downloaded games

Now when I try to open a game it does not try I only get a window opening up asking which program I want to use and when I try to choose internet explorer it does not open ,if I right click and go to properties it says opens with unknown application

I have already ran antivirus antispyware and antimalware scans with no results and no difference I have un-installed and re-installed the flash player I have even installed shockwave

I have tried to do a internet search all of which directs me to do what I have already done three times

Short of wiping my hard drive and doing a fresh install of my operating system I am at a loss

I have downloaded the stand alone player (aka projector ) but as some of the games have a save I would have to leave it and the computer running . not an option

[jeromiec83223024]

It sounds like you're running into this:

Disabling local-with-filesystem access in Flash Player by default

Beginning with Flash Player 23, local-with-network permissions will now be applied to all local SWF content, regardless of the preference chosen at compile time.

Background:
When playing Flash (SWF) content from local filesystem, developers have historically been able to configure content to exclusively read from the filesystem, or communicate to the network. When this functionality was introduced over a decade ago, it enabled an interesting array of use-cases ranging from simple games to interactive kiosks. In context of modern web security, we believe that it is time to retire local filesystem functionality in the browser plugin. At the same time, Adobe AIR has been established as a robust, mature solution for delivering ActionScript-based content as a standalone application.

Vast majority of Flash Player users and content will be unaffected by this change. This change only impacts Flash content played from the local filesystem, using the browser. Flash content hosted on the internet and local webservers, as well as the Standalone Flash Player remains unaffected.If you are a user who requires this functionality, these files can be added to the list of Trusted Locations in Flash Player.

Workarounds for Legacy Content:
We highly recommend that you only circumvent these controls to enable content from sources that they trust.

For Individuals:
For Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, Opera and Safari:
On the affected system, go to the Flash Player Settings Manager:
• Mac: System Preferences > Flash Player
• Windows: Control Panel > Flash Player
Select the Advanced tab
In the Developer Tools section, click the Trusted Location Settings button
Click the "Add..." button and add relevant files and folders to the list

For Google Chrome (and other PPAPI browsers):
Navigate to the Settings Manager page
Choose Edit Locations > Add Locations from the popup list
In the text field that appears, type or paste the file/folder path that you'd like to trust
Click the "Confirm" button
Note: Please be aware that the "Browse for files" and "Browse for folder" buttons do not function properly. You must manually type or copy/paste your path into the text field above the buttons to add the file or folder to the trusted list.

For System Administrators:
The legacy behavior can be restored by applying the EnableInsecureLocalWithFileSystem=1 flag to mms.cfg.

[michaelf91054748]

No this did NOT work I still am not able to open and run my games. Before this happened I could double click my game file and it would open , or if I right click it would give me multiple options of different programs on my computer . Now I only get two options , either internet explorer or my photo editing program IrfanView neither of them will open any game swf file . I have had these games for over a month and have played them several times with no problems until now

[jeromiec83223024]

It sounds like one of two things changed:

• If the game was launching in the browser automatically, that may just not work anymore.  As the major US browsers move forward along the path of deprecating Flash Player, most have done away with the ability to launch a .swf file directly.
  
  
• If the game was launching in the Standalone Flash Player (outside the browser), then it sounds like the file association that Windows maintains between file extensions and applications got messed up. 
  
  You can set those manually:
  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/18539/windows-7-change-default-programs

You'll also need the Standalone/Projector variant of the Flash Player if you're running this outside the browser:

Adobe Flash Player - Debug Downloads

You'll want the Flash Player Projector for Windows, which you should be able to just open, and then do File > Open and open the game's .swf file.