Microsoft Releases Update To Remove Adobe Flash From Windows
Microsoft has released the KB4577586 update to remove Adobe Flash from Windows and prevents it from being installed again.
In September 2020, Microsoft announced that an optional update would be released in the fall to uninstall Adobe Flash Player and prevent it from being installed again on the same device.
Today, Microsoft has released the “Update for the removal of Adobe Flash Player: October 27, 2020” KB4577586 update to remove Adobe Flash from all versions of Windows 10 and Windows Server.
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This optional update is only available via the Microsoft Catalog, and once installed, cannot be removed afterward.
Those who wish to install Adobe Flash Player on a device with this update have to reset the device to an earlier restore point or install a fresh copy of Windows 10.
What Flash components are removed by this update?
Once installed, Microsoft states that Adobe Flash Player will be automatically removed by the update, but is not clear as to what exactly is removed.
In our tests, the Flash Player (32-bit) version bundled in Windows 10 and managed via the Control Panel is removed by this update.
The Adobe Flash Player component built into Microsoft Edge and other browsers, though, was still installed after installing the update. We were able to test this by enabling Flash in Edge and checking at https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html before and after installing the update.
Finally, any standalone versions of Adobe Flash Player that you have installed will not be removed by this update.
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BleepingComputer has reached out to Microsoft to determine why the update is not removing Flash Player in our tests.
Microsoft states they will make this update available via WSUS and Windows Update to perform wide-scale removal of Flash Player in early 2021 after Flash reaches the end of life.
Thx to Ross and John_C for their assistance.
Update 10/27/20: Added information about Adobe Flash Player module in Edge not being removed. Further clarified what is removed by this update.
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