Adobe Flash Direct Download Links Page To Be Decommissioned on 1-22-16

[grandpaflo]

For a long time now, people have enjoyed using the simple "distribution3" page for direct downloads of Adobe Flash.

But, like most good things, the end is near. A warning has been posted.

Here is the warning:

Adobe Flash Player Distribution

WARNING

This page and the download links will be decommissioned on January 22nd, 2016.

If you are not an enterprise user, please visit get.adobe.com/flashplayer to download Adobe Flash Player for your system.

Enterprise users must have a valid license to download and distribute Adobe Flash Player binaries. Instructions and further details can be found at www.adobe.com/products/players/flash-player-distribution.html.

Please note that starting December 1st, 2015 you will be required to create an AdobeID to request an enterprise distribution license.

https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

Thanks a lot, Adobe.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

This sucks!!
yeah thanks adobe for making it more difficult for us to update once again.

So I take it that we would basically be forced to use some kind of patch management system to roll out flash updates?
What about if we start using WSUS server, would we be able to get those updates for that somehow?

 

[grandpaflo]

"What about if we start using WSUS server"

I don't know, I'm not the correct person to ask about that. I use Linux/BSD and almost never use Flash anymore. I sure as hell would not install Flash on any Linux/BSD system connected to the Internet - same goes for Java.

Here's something...I've never used it:

https://chocolatey.org/
https://chocolatey.org/about

"About Chocolatey

Chocolatey is a package manager for Windows (like apt-get or yum but for Windows). It was designed to be a decentralized framework for quickly installing applications and tools that you need. It is built on the NuGet infrastructure currently using PowerShell as its focus for delivering packages from the distros to your door, err computer."

https://chocolatey.org/packages

At the time of this post, Flash Player Plugin 19.0.0.245 is shown. I guess this is one work around for Windows users. Please know I'm not recommending this project just by mentioning it. For Linux users - it's been so long since I've used Flash in Linux I would not know what to recommend. This is why I posted this in the "Operating Systems" forum because the soon to be decommissioned Adobe page offered Linux downloads, too and support for Firefox ESR.

IMO Their suggestion of going to "get.adobe.com/flashplayer" is lame. Is this just a ploy to grow more "Enterprise" users?

Most of the 'free downloads for windows' sites only offer a small stub download for on-line installation which is lame. I've found workarounds for other types of software before, but this announcement pisses me off and I'm not patient enough at the moment to dig through their site. Honestly, I doubt I'd find anything anyway.

I'd like to hear from anyone who discovers a direct download link(s) for Adobe Flash FULL INSTALLERS, not stubs!

 

[Elixer]

Decommissioned on January 22nd, 2016?
Sounds like the perfect death date for Flash as well!

BTW, why is this posted in OS?

 

[grandpaflo]

BTW, why is this posted in OS?

As I said, I posted this in the "Operating Systems" forum because the soon to be decommissioned Adobe page offered Linux downloads, too and support for Firefox ESR.

 

[PliotronX]

Jokes on them, haven't downloaded nor installed it for most of 2015.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I saw their message the other day when I updated it for ff.

 

[MrTransistorm]

Jokes on them, haven't downloaded nor installed it for most of 2015.

Same here. I've had the FF plugin disabled for many months now. It has been the sole reason for any hanging or lag in FF, and I'm sick of having to constantly update it. If I absolutely need flash, I'll open Chrome instead. I might as well uninstall the FF plugin at this point.

There's only one site I frequently visit that still requires flash. Its video player is crappy and prone to buffering problems, so I switched to using Kodi instead. The playback is much smoother, especially on older hardware.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Decommissioned on January 22nd, 2016?
Sounds like the perfect death date for Flash as well!

I agree. Someone should organize a World-Wide "Uninstall Flash Player" day, either that day, or the day before or after.

 

[postmortemIA]

I've uninstalled both Flash and their Reader from all my computers ... good riddance. Most sites today have moved to HTML5 to support the mobile devices.

Chrome comes with PDF viewer, and has bundled in Flash plugin, so really no need to have it install manually anymore.

 

[balloonshark]

Decommissioned on January 22nd, 2016?
Sounds like the perfect death date for Flash as well!

I agree. Someone should organize a World-Wide "Uninstall Flash Player" day, either that day, or the day before or after.

 

[Elixer]

Sad thing is, it is true.

 

[bruceb]

Not a smart idea on Adobes part. I for one, can not stand stub installers. I always prefer the full file download. It is quicker and usually works better.

 

[ninaholic37]

Wonder what they're going to do to the archives page:
https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html

Let everyone download archived versions instead of the current version? Ok! :awe:

 

[Mike64]

Wonder what they're going to do to the archives page:
https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html

Let everyone download archived versions instead of the current version? Ok! :awe:

Yeah, I know what happens when you "ass-u-me," nevertheless I do assume that since they seem to want to register "developers" before they'll give 'em the latest version, free access (as in readily available without registration) to the archive page will go away too. Mostly for shits and giggles, I already set up a calendar reminder for a couple of weeks before the pull date so I can rummage around and download anything old that I think I might ever conceivably want. (Realistically, I'll probably never use any of it, but hard drive space is cheap and downloading them now from Adobe is safer than downloading them from whatever random sites or torrents they'll be available from after the pull date...)

 

[bruceb]

Looks like we will end up setting Flash to update automatically, like it now does in IE11 in Windows 10 ...

Chiefcrowe,

Flash installers are on the Macromedia FTP servers, but the standard Anonymous logins will not work on that site. We need to locate a Login / Password that will, then we can download the full installers as needed. Or maybe just one user gets a Login and then hosts the files where we can get them easily.

 

[Mike64]

Looks like we will end up setting Flash to update automatically, like it now does in IE11 in Windows 10 ...

Even without access to a full installer, I certainly won't do more than let it tell me when an update is available (or since I don't turn off my computer that often, more commonly get a warning from my browser about the non-updated player) as I do now...

 

[Whisper2]

I am confused! Windows Update includes all the Flash updates for Win 8 & 10. Unless one is using Win 7, or older, why would anyone want to download from Adobe?

 

[bruceb]

Some people, like more control over how and when updates are installed. In Windows 10 for example, Flash is built in to Internet Explorer 11 and it updates on it's own. But sometimes that is a day or two after Adobe releases the update. System administrators like to roll out updates on their own schedule. And for me, stub installers are the worst idea some idiot group of programmers ever thought up. I like to save the installers, just in case I need them again or maybe to update a computer that has no internet access.

Adobe will allow some users to register to download the full installer, but you must do so from a Company Email Address (personal email will not be accepted, even if you are say a freelance IT consultant) .. The Adobe Flash is actually hosted on the Macromedia Server,
so if you can get a Login / Password for the Macromedia FTP Server all would be fine. I would expect that sites like Major Geeks and such will get the full installers and post them,

 

[Chiefcrowe]

Yes, that is for IE. But if you're installing it in Firefox, you have to get a separate installer which is not controlled with windows update.

I am confused! Windows Update includes all the Flash updates for Win 8 & 10. Unless one is using Win 7, or older, why would anyone want to download from Adobe?

 

[bononos]

.....
so if you can get a Login / Password for the Macromedia FTP Server all would be fine. I would expect that sites like Major Geeks and such will get the full installers and post them,

Majorgeeks haven't been hosting the full offline installer for years I think because Adobe told them not to. Maybe it'll be on torrents but flash sucks anyway and it can't die soon enough for me.

 

[Whisper2]

Thanks Bruceb & Chiefcrowe. I forgot that all the browsers do not furnish Flash updates.