Microsoft's latest update spells the end for the formerly ubiquitous Adobe Flash Player plug-in on Windows, with the company halting support for Flash at the end of the year. Flash content, including online video, web games, and desktop apps, became prolific after the format was launched almost a quarter of a century ago, but it has since become superseded by newer technologies. Despite that, it will be possible for people to roll-back the update and retain Flash support for a period if they need to.
The emergence of rapidly evolving alternatives like HTML5 have contributed to the deprecation of Flash in recent years. Last month, Microsoft further reiterated the importance of using alternatives like WebGL and WebAssembly over Flash due to its dwindling usage and the number of security risks it presents. For better or for worse, Microsoft is now finally putting the final nail in the coffin for Flash via an update in the same way it has made permanent changes in the past.
According to a recent Microsoft blog post, Windows users can now download an update from the Microsoft Update Catalog site that removes Flash Player from their system immediately. The company stresses that once the update has been installed, the changes it makes will be all but permanent. Microsoft explains that the update is being released ahead of its discontinued support for Adobe Flash to let users determine if its removal would lead to any undesired changes to their systems.
How To Resurrect Flash
Due to such potential unintended problems that could be caused by the update, though, Microsoft has also outlined some steps for users to take should they need to bring back Adobe Flash to their system. However, the options for doing so are limited, given that support for Flash following the update will be non-existent. Users need to have already had Windows' System Restore feature enabled prior to the update, with one or more restore points set. Using this feature, it's possible to restore Windows devices to how they were at an earlier point in time, undoing any recent changes that were made.
In this way, Flash support can be brought back so that any unintended consequences of removing it can be dealt with. Of course, this method won't work if the System Restore feature is disabled, or if there aren't any available restore points in it. If all else fails and, for some reason, users still want Flash Player back, they won't have any other choice but to completely reinstall Windows on their computers without applying the update.
Source: Microsoft