Does Mac still need Adobe Flash Player?

One of the most often-cited criticisms of the user experience with Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices is that they do not support Adobe Flash content. They do support other multimedia Web page systems, most notably HTML5. Some alternative iOS browsers offer limited support for Flash-based Web pages.

Apple Computers

To display Adobe Flash content, a device must either have a dedicated Flash player or a plug-in tool for a Web browser. Apple computers such as the MacBook do not have a Flash player installed by default, but users can install a player or use a Web browser such as Chrome that supports Flash.

iOS

Like Apple computers, iOS devices and their built-in Safari Web browser do not support Flash by default. Unlike with the computers, iOS devices are closed, meaning users cannot install software unless it comes through the iTunes App Store and has been verified by Apple. Then-Apple chairman Steve Jobs explained in 2010 that Apple had no intention of letting users install Flash on iOS devices. He said Flash was unreliable and could cause memory problems and instability with iOS devices. Analysts believe Jobs may also have feared that if Flash caused iOS devices to crash, Apple might get blamed for the poor user experience.

Workarounds

Some Web browsers available through the iTunes App Store for iOS devices do offer support for Flash content. The reliability and performance of such browsers is variable and they offer no guarantee that a particular Flash-based page will work correctly. Other applications available on iOS devices get around the problem by connecting to your computer and using a remote desktop feature. This means that although you can "see" Flash content on your portable device, it is actually running on your computer and you are merely watching a remote video of its screen.

HTML5

The main way iOS devices access content similar to that created with Adobe Flash is by supporting HTML5 in the Safari browser. This is the latest edition of the language used to display and organize information in Web pages and is the first completely new edition in 15 years. One of the key features of HTML5 is that Web pages can contain not just the code that makes up the content multimedia presentation but also the code needed to display it on screen. This gives the browser enough information to display the content without the need for any plug-in tools or separate applications. Apple believes that over time, Web page developers will use HTML5 and will have no need to use Flash. This appears to be an accurate prediction, as Adobe has already stopped development work on Flash for mobile devices.

Flash Memory

Adobe Flash has no connection with flash memory. This is a type of computer storage that allows quick access and quick writing and rewriting, while only requiring a low amount of electrical power. As well as being used in USB memory "sticks," flash memory is used for storage on Apple's iOS devices, in place of a traditional hard drive.

References

Writer Bio

A professional writer since 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, John Lister ran the press department for the Plain English Campaign until 2005. He then worked as a freelance writer with credits including national newspapers, magazines and online work. He specializes in technology and communications.

Adobe Flash Player is a free software plug-in used by web browsers to view multimedia, execute rich Internet applications, and stream video on your Mac.

Adobe Flash Player is the most popular multimedia player plug-in available. However, recently there have been security concerns which have threatened its popularity as users seek safer alternative solutions. Opera, Firefox, and Chrome contain built-in versions of Flash running in sandbox mode. This method is safer than running Flash as a plugin. However, currently the reality is that you still may need the Adobe Flash Player on your Mac because many websites will not work well if you uninstall it. Here I’ll show you how to install Adobe Flash Player and how to set it up correctly.

How to install Adobe Flash Player on your Mac

1. Go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ to download the Adobe Flash Player installer.

2. By default, the installer package will be downloaded to your “Downloads” folder.

3. Select the file on your Mac and double click to install it.

4. Select “Allow Adobe to install updates (recommended)” and click “DONE” to complete the installation.

If you installed Adobe Flash Player, but still cannot view online videos on certain websites, you need to check Adobe Flash Player on your browsers.

How to set up Adobe Flash Player on various browsers

Safari

1. Launch Safari and go to the Apple menu bar and click Preferences.

2. Select the Websites tab and select On for “When visiting other websites.”

3. Refresh the browser tab, or restart the browser.

Google Chrome

1. Launch Chrome and type chrome://settings/content in the address field.

2. Select “Ask first (recommended)” and turn it on.

3. Refresh the browser tab or restart the browser.

Opera

1. Launch Opera and go to the Apple menu bar and click Preferences.

2. Select the Websites tab and then select “Allow sites to run Flash”

3. Refresh the browser tab or restart the browser.

Firefox

1. Launch Firefox and go to the Apple menu bar and click Tools – Add-ons.

2. Click the Plugins tab and turn the “Shockwave Flash” to “Always Activate.”

Note: (SWF (Shock Wave Flash) is a special format created by Macromedia, which has been acquired by Adobe. It is widely used in web design, animation production and other fields.)

For enhancing the user experience and security, Adobe is always trying to improve Adobe Flash Player. However, sometimes when you view a website, a Flash Player upgrade popup appears. Most people would click the “update” button to update their Flash Player, but this could be a false popup used by hackers to compromise your Mac.  This is a method hackers use to trick you into downloading adware and malware through a false popup.

Be careful and don’t trust any automatic updates of Adobe Flash Player. Here I will tell you how to install real Flash Player updates and set it up.

How to update Flash Player on Mac safely

1. Go to the Apple menu bar and select System Preferences.

2. Select Flash Player.

3. Select the Updates tab and select “Allow Adobe to install updates (recommended)”. (Note: The Flash plug-in is officially updated 1~2 times a month, so selecting this option avoids frequent update.)

4. You may now notice that the Flash Update settings now shows NPAPI and PPAPI plugins. Let me explain them.

NPAPI – used by Safari, Firefox

PPAPI – used by Chromium, Opera and Chrome (Chrome’s implementation is built in)

5. Click Check Now to confirm that you currently have the latest version installed.

If you had clicked a false popup and downloaded adware, don’t worry, the Apple App Store has many antivirus apps, such as Trend Micro’s Antivirus One, that you can use to do a free scan.

Follow the steps below in case you downloaded a fake Adobe Flash Player.

1. When you first install Antivirus One, click “Pattern Update” to make sure your virus pattern is up to date. We suggest you update the virus pattern every day.

2. After the first installation, we highly suggest you perform a full scan of your Mac to check all files for possible infections. The Full scan will take more than one hour.

3. If you still find adware and a full scan has not found any viruses, we recommend you use Adware Cleaner. You can access Adware Cleaner in the left panel of the Antivirus One window.

Click the button below to give it a try:

How to uninstall Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player for the Mac is a plug-in, not a Mac OS X application. When you try to uninstall Adobe Flash Player from your Mac, you might find that this plug-in is not so easy to delete. For example, you might see this message:

Cannot find Adobe Flash Player in your Applications folder.

In this case, Adobe Flash Player could not be removed and no reason was given. The following steps show how to uninstall Adobe Flash Player with no remaining parts.

1. Go to the /Applications/Utilities/ folder on your Mac and double-click the Adobe Flash Player Install Manager app.

2. Click Uninstall to begin the process.

3. Type the password and click Install Helper.

4. If your browser is running, the following window will appear. Select “Force Close All” to continue.

5. After the uninstaller removes the Adobe Flash software from your Mac, click Done.

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