This week, Windows 10 users report seeing a new update permanently removing Flash from their systems.
Microsoft released KB4577586, a Windows update that permanently removes Adobe Flash Player software from Windows devices. It was officially announced at the end of October last year, as Microsoft and other browsers prepared for Flash’s end-of-life in late 2020.
Summary
The upgrade eliminates the Adobe Flash Player which is mounted in the “Applies to” section of every Windows operating system. You can’t uninstall it after applying this update.
Notice: If after downloading this update, you must use Adobe Flash Player again on your computer, use one of the following methods:
Method 1: Reset the computer to an earlier restore point for the machine. This function must be expressly allowed and it is important to build a System Restore Point on your Windows computer before installing this update.
Method 2: Refresh your Windows OS, but do not use the upgrade.
Initially, the upgrade should be optional according to a support manual released at the time.
The Microsoft Upgrade Catalog was opened to system managers who wished to uninstall Flash before EOL, download KB4577586 packages, and remove Flash to prevent any security problems.
This week, however, several Windows 10 users announced that Microsoft now has KB4577586 forcefully installed on their computers and Flash removal from the system.
While consumers may believe that this poses difficulties for some businesses, it doesn’t. Adobe inserted a time bomb last year in the Flash Player code to discourage content from being played by a Flash Player program after January 12. While the Windows system has Flash Player, this time bomb does not allow the OS to play any content — a known problem that caused issues last month in countries like China and South Africa.
Microsoft seems to have heard of this time bomb. And planned to push the KB4577586 update this week to Windows systems, Which will delete all Flash code since the software doesn’t work anyway.
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