While most major websites have already moved away from Flash and, just like Apple, embraced HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, some still depend on the deprecated technology, forcing many Mac users to keep Adobe Flash for Mac installed on their computers. How to uninstall Flash on a Mac If you're concerned about the security flaws associated with Adobe's Flash Player we show you how to find out if it's installed on your Mac, and how to uninstall it.
By now, you’ve probably heard that the future of Adobe Flash isn’t bright. Plagued by security issues, Adobe Flash has always been a thorn in the flesh of software developers such as Apple and Microsoft, who finally said that enough is enough and decided to get rid of it. In this article, we explain why Adobe Flash matters and why you, as a Mac user, should care about its inevitable demise.
The Origin of Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash started its arduous life in the 90s, when its precursor, named SmartSketch, was published by FutureWave Software. The rising popularity of the internet at the time made FutureWave Software realize that their vector drawing application had had the potential to challenge Macromedia Shockwave, a multimedia platform for building interactive multimedia applications and video games.
In 1995, FutureWave Software approached Adobe Systems and offered SmartSketch for sale. Adobe Systems, however, declined the offer, which led to FutureWave Software getting acquired by Macromedia and its subsequent rebranding to Macromedia Flash 1.0. Under Macromedia’s patronage, Flash quickly gained both market share and new features, including scripting and data access capabilities.
In 2005, Macromedia was acquired by Adobe Systems for approximately $3.4 billion. Adobe Systems added support for the ActionScript 3.0 programming language, improved the animation capabilities of Flash, included a 3D engine that allowed basic object transformations in 3D space, and allowed GPU-accelerated 3D rendering for Flash applications and games on desktop platforms, just to name a few noteworthy improvements.
The End of Adobe Flash
By the beginning of this decade, Adobe Flash, including Flash for Mac, has already established itself as a popular multimedia platform for building interactive multimedia applications and video games. In 2011, Flash was included in 99 percent of desktop browsers. Unfortunately for Flash, the platform had already entered the last stage of its life by that time.
Adobe flash player update for mac 10.6.8. In an open letter titled Thoughts on Flash, Steve Jobs explained why he decided not to include support for Flash in iOS, “Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.”
Most Apple shareholders would most likely consider this to be a good-enough reason to adopt HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and other open standards instead, but Jobs had more reasons to stay away from Flash. “Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know firsthand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash,” he said.
Apple wasn’t the only company that was sick and tired of the security plaguing Flash. As such, nobody was surprised when Adobe released a press release, officially stating that the company was planning to stop updating and distributing the Flash Player at the end of 2020.
“Adobe will continue to support Flash on a number of major OSs and browsers that currently support Flash content through the planned EOL. This will include issuing regular security patches, maintaining OS and browser compatibility and adding features and capabilities as needed.”
While most major websites have already moved away from Flash and, just like Apple, embraced HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, some still depend on the deprecated technology, forcing many Mac users to keep Adobe Flash for Mac installed on their computers. If you count yourself among them, the first thing you should do is ensure that you’re using the latest version of Flash.
How to Update Adobe Flash Player for Mac?
To update Flash Player Mac, complete the following steps:
How to Download Adobe Flash Player for Mac?
Follow the steps below to download Flash for Mac:
How to Disable Adobe Flash Player on Mac
Considering how often are new Flash security vulnerabilities discovered, it makes sense to keep Adobe Flash Player disabled and activate it only when you really need it.
Safari
ChromeAdobe Flash Player Apple Mac Os X Download
Firefox
How to Enable Adobe Flash Player on Mac
The most straightforward way how to re-enable Adobe Flash Player on Mac computers is to simply uninstall it. Doing so will also ensure that you’re using the latest version and enable Adobe Flash Player on Mac across all installed web browsers and applications that use it. Alternatively, you can follow the instructions from the chapter above to re-enable Adobe Flash Player in individual web browsers.
How to Uninstall Adobe Flash Player on Mac
Adobe has created a dedicated uninstaller for Macs, and you can download it here.
How to Recover Files After Adobe Flash Malware Infection
Adobe Flash is among the most popular attack vectors used by cybercriminals to infect Mac computers. For example, in January 2018, a hacker successfully disguised dangerous malware as an Adobe Flash Player installer, probably targeting diplomats and other high-profile individuals.
Apple
If your computer had been infected with malware because of Adobe Flash, causing you to lose important files, there’s still some hope left — provided you act quickly enough. There are a number of data recovery software solutions for Mac computers that can recover even those files that your Mac can no longer see.
One such software solution stands out because it blends excellent usability with state-of-the-art data recovery algorithms, and its name is Disk Drill.
Adobe Flash Player Update For Apple Mac
Disk Drill is a professional yet easy to use data recovery application that supports the recovery of over 200 file formats from virtually all storage devices. To use it, you simply launch it, select the storage device from which you would like to recover lost or deleted files, and click on the Recover button right next to it.
Of course, Disk Drill also allows you to precisely control the recovery process. As a nice bonus, Disk Drill comes with several extra free disk tools, including a duplicate file finder, a disk space analyzer, a data protection “Recovery Vault”, a disk monitoring utility, and a data backup tool for creating byte-to-byte disk and partition backups. Visit the official website of Disk Drill to download it for free.
Data recovery for free
Your Companion for Deleted Files Recovery
Despite a long list of technological disadvantages and better technology emerging, Adobe’s Flash Player has refused to die on its own. That’s finally going to change, however, as Adobe has announced today that it will ‘end-of-life’ the plug-in by the end of 2020.
Adobe says it’s working with companies including Apple and Google to prepare for the upcoming death of Flash.
Given this progress, and in collaboration with several of our technology partners – including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla – Adobe is planning to end-of-life Flash. Specifically, we will stop updating and distributing the Flash Player at the end of 2020 and encourage content creators to migrate any existing Flash content to these new open formats.
Leading up to the death of Flash by the end of 2020, Adobe plans to regularly continue supporting the plug-in with both security and browser compatibility updates. In some regions where older, insecure versions of Flash are heavily distributed, however, Adobe plans to ramp up EOL efforts “more aggressively” as part of the effort.
As part of the announcement, Apple offered this message from the WebKit blog:
Apple is working with Adobe, industry partners, and developers to complete this transition.
Apple users have been experiencing the web without Flash for some time. iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch never supported Flash. For the Mac, the transition from Flash began in 2010 when Flash was no longer pre-installed. Today, if users install Flash, it remains off by default. Safari requires explicit approval on each website before running the Flash plugin.
Apple also points to HTML Video and Media Source Extension, HTML Canvas and WebGL, CSS Transitions and Animations, WebRTC, and WebAssembly as supported standards through WebKit.
As Apple’s comment notes, the death of Flash will have no consequences for iOS devices which never supported the desktop plug-in. Steve Jobs famously published his “Thoughts on Flash” piece back in 2010 to address what was a major point of criticism at the time for iPhones and iPads as computer replacements:
The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 250,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.
Adobe flash player for mac blocked. Risks are inherent in the use of the Internet. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Contact Adobe if you need help downloading, installing, or using Adobe Flash Player. Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of third-party websites or products.
Adobe Flash Player For Apple Macbook Pro
New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.
Free Adobe Flash Player For Mac Download
Ten years later, the death of Flash will finally be cemented with Apple and the iPhone and iPad largely to credit.
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |