Unsafe plug-in gone – but not in a Flash

Adobe has finally said it will end support for its unsafe plug-in Flash, but not until 2020, leaving users at risk for another two and a half years.

For the past 20 years Flash has made it possible for you to access multimedia content online, such as games, videos and radio. But in recent years hackers have increasingly exploited its security flaws to launch attacks. These have often been ‘malvertising’ attacks, in which malware is smuggled inside online adverts.

Adobe said in a blog post ( www.snipca.com/25088) that it will “stop updating and distributing” Flash, and will encourage developers and websites to move to “new open formats”, such as HTML5 and WEBGL. These are built into browsers, meaning that on many sites you no longer need to install a plug-in to watch videos or play games.

Apple gave a sign that Flash’s days were numbered by banishing it from its products in 2010. The company’s boss at the time and co-founder Steve Jobs explained his decision in detail ( www.snipca. com/25090), criticising Flash’s “reliability, security and performance”.

Browsers such as Chrome and Edge followed suit by blocking Flash content by default. If a website needs Flash to play content, it has to ask your permission to install it. Both Google and Microsoft said they will phase out Flash completely in the next couple of years.

When Adobe bought Flash in 2005, it was installed on 98 per cent of computers. That number has plummeted to 17 per cent. However, around six per cent of websites still rely on Flash.