Adobe Flash has been the source of several problems in the past, such as some very critical vulnerabilities that have forced the company to release security updates. But how can you be sure that your Mac is protected.
Additionally, Adobe will be shutting down Adobe Flash on December 31st, so you need to make sure you don’t have it installed on your Mac or MacBook (or Windows or Linux computer) when that day arrives to avoid issues.
You may not have Flash installed on your Mac. Since Safari 10 was introduced with macOS Sierra in 2015, it was already disabled at the factory, whereas previously you had to do it manually.
Clearly, Apple doesn’t want to expose its customers to these vulnerabilities. You prefer them to use HTML5, the newest and most secure way to browse the web. Steve Jobs already said it in his time in an article written in April 2010.
Although now we don’t recommend it, Flash may be installed on your Mac. You should know, yes, that it is usually uninstalled every time you update your operating system, but if not, we will walk you through how to remove it from your computer.
Do you need Flash to use your Mac?
Before you start, you’ll want to make sure it’s a good idea to uninstall it. The first reason is clear: Adobe will discontinue it at the end of the year, so whether or not you uninstall it, it will stop working on January 1, 2021.
As if that weren’t enough, know that you can safely browse the internet without needing Flash, as most pages have already switched to an alternative, especially since Adobe has announced that it will be phasing it out. in July 2017.
How to tell if Flash is installed on your Mac
Another step to take before uninstalling Flash on your Mac is whether you have it on your computer or not. If you don’t have it, you’ll see a “Plug-in blocked” message when you try to view Flash content in Safari.
How to uninstall Flash Player on your Mac
If it turns out that Flash is installed on your Mac, we’ll walk you through how to uninstall it:
1. Download an Adobe uninstaller, which you can find on the Adobe website. Keep in mind that there is a version depending on the operating system you are using.
2. Open the uninstaller from the “Downloads” folder on your Mac.
3. When the uninstaller runs, click “Uninstall”.
4. Enter your administrator password and close all open browsers.
5. When the uninstallation is complete, we also recommend that you delete two folders. You can find them in the “Library” folder. Go to “Finder” followed by “Go to” in the menu and press “Alt” (or “Option”) to display the “Liberia” folder as a drop-down menu.
Find these two folders and delete them:
- ~ / Library / Preferences / Macromedia / Flash Player
- ~ / Library / Caches / Adobe / Flash Player
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