Microsoft Is Dropping The Ax On Adobe Flash Player In June

Microsoft has been warning users for months now that the end was near for Adobe Flash Player. Adobe stopped supporting Flash on January 1, 2021. Adobe also released a kill switch preventing Flash Player from running. The problem for Flash Player was that it was a source for many attacks against Windows users, making it a security risk.

Microsoft has now said that an update called KB4577586 will remove the 32-bit Adobe Flash plug-in from Windows and prevent it from being installed again. That specific update is currently available for download from the Windows Catalog as a manual installation. However, starting in June 2021, the update will be pushed out to all users.

The update for the removal of Adobe Flash Player will be included in the Preview Update for Windows 10, version 1809, and above. The update will also be included in every subsequent Latest Cumulative Update moving forward. In July 2021, the KB4577586 update will be included in the Latest Cumulative Update for Windows 10, version 1607, and Windows 10, version 1507.

The KB will also be integrated into the Monthly Rollup, and Security Only Update for Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Embedded 8 Standard. Microsoft expects that on the next Patch Tuesday, expected to be July 13, KB4577586 will roll out as a mandatory update. Microsoft says there is a high risk of malware exploiting flash players that are not updated in the future, and it makes sense for Microsoft to kill off flash altogether.

While some businesses and users out there may commonly use apps that require Flash, the death of Flash is no surprise. Microsoft has given users a long time to sort out any applications relying on Flash.