# Adobe Flash Player - Do I need it?



## LLNelson

Now that Flash Player will soon not be supported, I'm wondering if I need it. If not, can I get recommendations for alternatives? Is Flash Player just for browsers? I usually use FireFox--occasionally Chrome--NEVER Edge.
Thanks.


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## Corday

Less and less as sites shift to other alternatives . FF default is already "ask to activate" for safety. I would not delete it, but some do. Alternatives among others are Ruffle and BlueMaxima Flashpoint. Be aware that some AVs detect the alternatives as malware.


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## Gary R

If you want to find out what effect not having Flash will have on your browsing with Firefox, you can disable it, and see.

To do that ....


Open *Options*
Click on *Extensions and Themes*
Click on *Plugins*
Click on the three dots next to the Flash (Shockwave) plugin, and select *Never Activate*
You can always re-enable it again if you find it has any marked effect on your browsing, but personally I didn't find that it did.


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## Deejay100six

I thought all Flash content was being changed to HTML5. Did I misunderstand?


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## Gary R

That's certainly the direction things are heading, but as far as I'm aware there are still sites out there that require Flash, even if they are getting fewer with time.

Personally, I got rid of Flash ages ago, because it's a security disaster, and I've not really felt the loss, but I expect there's people out there who have different requirements to me.


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## LLNelson

Thanks for your replies. I didn't think of disabling Flash to see if it made a difference, so I'll try that.

Another thing--I'm having trouble with this site. I haven't been on it in 2-3 months, maybe more, & instead of the nice, friendly site it was before, it's kind of a mess. I suspect there's something I need to do to straighten this out, but I don't know what. It took me a long time to find this forum today; in the past I was directed to my posts or I could find them easily. What's going on & how can I fix this? BTW I'm finding the same problems on my state's sites in the last few months and thought it was their problem. Now I know it's mine.


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## LLNelson

Gary R said:


> If you want to find out what effect not having Flash will have on your browsing with Firefox, you can disable it, and see.
> 
> To do that ....
> 
> 
> Open *Options*
> Click on *Extensions and Themes*
> Click on *Plugins*
> Click on the three dots next to the Flash (Shockwave) plugin, and select *Never Activate*
> You can always re-enable it again if you find it has any marked effect on your browsing, but personally I didn't find that it did.


I just tried that but Flash isn't even listed as enabled OR disabled.


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## oscer1

LLNelson said:


> Thanks for your replies. I didn't think of disabling Flash to see if it made a difference, so I'll try that.
> 
> Another thing--I'm having trouble with this site. I haven't been on it in 2-3 months, maybe more, & instead of the nice, friendly site it was before, it's kind of a mess. I suspect there's something I need to do to straighten this out, but I don't know what. It took me a long time to find this forum today; in the past I was directed to my posts or I could find them easily. What's going on & how can I fix this? BTW I'm finding the same problems on my state's sites in the last few months and thought it was their problem. Now I know it's mine.


To find your post click on avatar top right on page then click on following will see all threads you replied in. Also can click on alerts to go to threads that someone replied to your thread.


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## LLNelson

Thanks, oscer1. But I knew about that. The problem I was having was that my avatar and other stuff wasn't there. In the past I logged in at Tech Support (using Sticky Password) and everything was where it should be. A few minutes ago I finally figured out that was the problem and changed my login to Tech Support and that solved the problem. It's kind of hard to explain what I was seeing, but it was scrolling things like the forum names, Advanced Search, etc. It was like I was looking at the bones of this site. I have only seen that on the New Mexico state sites (I live in New Mexico) in the last year or two and I thought that was their problem until today when I saw it on this site and knew it must be my problem. 

BTW I've been using computers since before Windows. I'm a retired software tech writer (award-winning) and sometimes software tech editor. However, now that I'm 79 I'm finding it a little harder to deal with some of the changes in Windows and Windows applications. I'm relieved to know that I finally figured out this problem. Thanks again for your post; maybe it will help others who see it.


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## Corday

Usually when you see the "bones" of a site your URL is slightly different from the recommended one. On some occasions it only means there were repairs going on and you caught it in the second it was resetting.


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## LLNelson

Thanks, Corday. Good to know.


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## radact

Just keep using it "as is". No more support means they just wont bring out any more updates. Wont hurt if it's installed, it'll just get called up when needed.


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## Gary R

> No more support means they just wont bring out any more updates. Wont hurt if it's installed


On the contrary, an unsupported program is one that is no longer being patched, and is therefore open to being exploited.

If it's unsupported then it should be removed, otherwise your security is compromised.


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## LLNelson

Gary R said:


> On the contrary, an unsupported program is one that is no longer being patched, and is therefore open to being exploited.
> 
> If it's unsupported then it should be removed, otherwise your security is compromised.


That's what I thought. Do you have any suggestions for a replacement for Adobe Flash Player, Gary?


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## Gary R

No, sorry.

Most websites are now moving to (or have already moved to) html5, so flash is not really needed any more, and the number of sites retaining it will only get smaller as time goes on.









HTML5: What's New in The Latest Version of HTML?


You’ve probably seen many references to HTML5, along with mentions of certain features being “Deprecated” or “New” in HTML5. This can sometimes be confusing, as you find out that the way you thought you were “supposed” to do something is now not the right way at all. It can also be annoying —...




html.com





I stopped using Flash some years back, because it was horrendously insecure, and I can count the number of times I'd have needed it since then on the fingers of one hand.


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## Corday

If you need something you don't have, the site will give you the opportunity to download it. Of course, be careful.


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