I had a few emails from readers asking about the end of Adobe Flash and what they should do about it.
In case you don’t know, Adobe Flash is a piece of software that web developers used to place animations, audio and video on websites.
It was great at first, but then it was found to be a big security hole for hackers to exploit.
Adobe kept issuing patches to keep the bad guys out, but ultimately it was determined that Flash was not worth the risk, so big companies like Apple and Google said they would no longer support it.
Finally, Adobe just threw in the towel and turned off Flash on Dec. 31.
So, what do you have to do?
There’s really not much from a content standpoint to do.
Website developers knew this was coming and they’ve (hopefully) removed Flash from their websites.
What you do need to do is make sure Flash is removed from your computers.
Hopefully it is already gone, but in case you still have it installed, here are some instructions to remove it.
WINDOWS USERS
If you have a Windows PC, you should download the Flash Uninstaller from Adobe, then quit all your browsers and any other programs that use Flash.
Other apps that use Flash might include AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger.
Basically, quit all your programs and then run the Flash Uninstaller.
You can find the full instructions at helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html.
MAC USERS
If you have a Mac, you have a bit more to do to remove Flash.
You’ll need to determine which version of MacOS you are using, then download the appropriate Flash Uninstaller from Adobe.
There are separate uninstallers for Mac OS 10.1 to 10.3 and for Mac OS X 10.4 to current.
You can download the uninstallers here: flash-player-mac-os.html” target=”_blank”>helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/k … 0-player-mac-os.html
After the uninstaller finishes, you still need to delete two folders on your Mac.
They are:
You can find these folders inside your home directory in the Library folder (follow the path listed).
Removing these directories deletes the Flash preferences and cache files.
To read the entire Flash end of life page, go to adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life.html .