This site (page really) started as way for me to easily find the Adobe Flash tester page (link above) which reports both on the installed copy of Flash in your browser and what the latest version is. Now, this page is more of a Flash cheat sheet with links about Flash cookies, a Flash version release history and information about copies of Flash embedded in other applications.

Flash Player browser plugin: For Windows users with multiple browsers, the Flash player has been a particular annoyance for years in that it needs to be installed and/or uninstalled twice. It is packaged one way for use with Internet Explorer (an ActiveX control) and another way (referred to as the plugin version) for use with other browsers such as Firefox. Each packaging of Flash is independent, so Adobe's Flash tester page (linked to above) needs to be run in each browser you use. A Windows user with IE, Firefox and Chrome can easily have different versions of Flash being used by each browser. Ugh.

Chrome: Google's Chrome browser initially used the same copy of Flash that Firefox does. Now, however, Google bundles Flash with Chrome. The down side is that this embedded copy of Flash is not listed as installed software in the Windows control panel. The up side, however, is that Google self-updates both the browser and its embedded copy of Flash automatically. To me, this is the only way to fly.

My Recommendation: Windows users should NOT install either the copy of Flash for Internet Explorer or the copy of Flash for Firefox. Instead, they should restrict their usage of Flash to the Chrome browser. As you see below, Flash is updated frequently and the maintenance hassle is way too much for non-techies. As a lazy techie, its too much for me too. Then too, there is the issue of being notified updates to Flash in a timely manner. Any Windows user who deals with Flash in IE or Firefox is going to be notified way too late about an update. Chrome, updates new versions of Flash very quickly and silently. Flash only in Chrome is a no-brainer.

Flash version history

• As of November 10, 2011 the latest version of Flash is 11.1.102.55 on Windows, Macintosh and Linux.
• As of October 4, 2011 the latest version of Flash is 11.0.1.152 on Windows, Macintosh and Linux.
• As of September 21, 2011 the latest version of Flash is 10.3.183.10 on Windows, Macintosh and Linux.
• As of August 25, 2011 the latest version of Flash is 10.3.183.7. More...
• As of August 9, 2011 the latest version of Flash is 10.3.183.5
• As of August 2, 2011 an update to Chrome on Windows and Linux included a new version of Flash, 10.3.181.36.
  Firefox and IE on Windows remained at 10.3.181.34. Chrome on OS X remained at 10.3.181.35.
• As of July 12, 2011 the latest version for Chrome on Windows and Macs was 10.3.181.35. On Linux the lastest version for Chrome was 10.3.181.36.
• As of June 28, 2011 the latest version was 10.3.181.34 everywhere.
• As of June 15, 2011 the latest version was 10.3.181.26 everywhere
• As of June 5, 2011 the latest version was 10.3.181.22 everywhere except for Internet Explorer which was 10.3.181.23.
• As of May 12, 2011 the latest version was 10.3.181.14, everywhere except for Internet Explorer which was 10.3.181.16
• As of April 15, 2011 the latest version was 10.2.159.1, most places. For Chrome on all OSs it was 10.2.154.27
  
• As of March 29, 2011 the latest version was 10.2.153.1, most places. For Chrome on all OSs it was 10.2.154.25.
  
• As of March 8, 2011 the latest version for Chrome on Windows was 10.2.154.18.
• As of March 6, 2011 the latest version was 10.2.152.32 for Windows, 10.2.152.33 for Macs, except when using the Chrome browser, where the latest version is 10.2.154.12 on Windows and 10.2.154.13 on OS X. On Linux, all different.
  
• As of February 9, 2011 the latest version was 10.2.152.26 for Windows and Macs, except when using the Chrome browser, where the latest version is 10.2.154.12. On Linux, all different.
  
• As of November 5, 2010 the latest version was 10.1.102.64
  
• As of September 20, 2010 the latest version was 10.1.85.3
  
• As of August 10, 2010 the latest version was 10.1.82.76
  
• As of June 13, 2010 the latest version was 10.1.53.64
  
• As of February 11, 2010 the latest version was 10.0.45.2
  
• As of December 7, 2009 the latest version was 10.0.42.34
  
• As of August 2, 2009 the latest versions were 10.0.32.18 and (I think) 9.0.246.0
  
• As of February 26, 2009 the latest versions were 9,0,159,0 and 10.0.22.87
  See Advice on updating the Adobe Flash Player from February 28, 2009.
• As of November 7, 2008 the latest version of v9 was 9,0,151,0
• As of October 2008 the first and latest version of v10 was 10.0.12.36
• As of April 9, 2008 the latest version was 9,0,124,0
• As of December 18, 2007 the latest version was 9,0,115,0
  See Update your copy of the Flash player now. And do it the right way from December 21, 2007
    and Problems updating the Flash player in Firefox from December 22, 2007.
• As of July 10, 2007 the latest version was 9,0,47,0.
• As of December 9, 2006 the latest version was 9,0,28,0.
• As of July 1, 2006 the latest version was 9,0,16,0.
• As of March 20, 2006 the latest version was 8,0,24,0.
• As of October 2005 the latest version was 8,0,22,0.
• As of June 2004 the latest version was 7,0,19,0.
• As of September 2003 the latest version was 7,0,14,0.
• As of March 2003 the latest version was 6,0,79,0.
• As of February 3, 2003, the latest version of Flash for Windows was 6,0,65,0.

UPDATING FLASH

Manually un-installing the Flash browser plugins for IE and Firefox

It is normally not necessary to manually remove an old version of the Flash Player plugin before installing a new version. Still, I suggest doing so, to verify that the un-install worked before upgrading. Windows users can un-install Flash from the Control panel list of installed software - look for two versions (ActiveX and plugin) and remove each. Again, this is, limited, as it does not remove the copies of Flash embedded in other software such as Chrome and the Adobe Reader.

Should something go wrong with the un-install (it's happened to me, see an example), Adobe offers downloadable uninstallers for Windows and Macs in their TechNote tn_14157.

Installing the latest Flash Player browser plugin for IE and Firefox

Flash for IE and Firefox can be installed either from within each browser or with downloaded installer programs (EXE files in Windows). As a Windows user, I prefer the downloaded installers, as they avoid some installation hassles. Specifically, you don't have to deal with the Adobe Download Manager, you avoid the prompts to install assorted browser toolbars from third parties, you avoid ads and it's a simpler environment, less software involved makes it more likely to succeed.

There are multiple downloadable Windows installers:

• For Firefox (and some other browsers such as Opera, 32 bit)
• For Internet Explorer (ActiveX, 32 bit)
  
  
• OLD: For Internet Explorer DO NOT USE
• OLD: for Firefox DO NOT USE

Run each of these downloaded installers with their target browsers shut down.

If the file names/locations change, Windows users can try downloading the installers from one of the following Adobe web pages. The first page below also offers links to 64 bit versions of Flash.

• Download Adobe® Flash® Player
• Common Flash Player download and installation issues (Windows) (at the bottom of the page)
• Troubleshoot Flash Player installation for Windows (topic: Download Flash Player with the manual installer)

For browser based installation, go to get.adobe.com/flashplayer. If you go this route, be on the lookout for extra software that Adobe tries to install.

Portable Firefox

I am a huge fan of the portable edition of Firefox. As a rule, it picks up the same copy of Flash that a normally installed copy of Firefox does. As a rule. However, I have run across portable copies of Firefox with their own embedded copy of Flash, mimicking the behavior of Chrome (except for the self-updating). Portable Firefox users should udpate Flash in the same way you would for a normally installed copy of Firefox and then verify each portable instance of Firefox at Adobe's tester page.

Flash in Chrome

Google does a great job self-updating the copy of Flash that is embedded in their Chrome browser. If this were a contest, they would win. The Flash player inside Chrome is updated along with the browser itself and does not require any manual intervention (the portable version of Chrome is another story). Many times Chrome users have received the latest version of the Flash player before users of other browsers.

Flash in the Adobe Reader and other software

Outside of the installed copies of Flash that the Operating System is aware of, and outside of Chrome, Flash is also embedded in other software. Popular programs that include their own embedded copies of the Flash Player are the Adobe Reader versions 9 and 10 (Flash is not included with the Adobe Reader version 8) and Adobe Acrobat. Other software with its own copy of Flash includes Adobe AIR, Adobe Flash Professional and Adobe Flex. Flash is also used by AOL Instant Messenger and Microsoft Office. In fact, malicious Flash files have been embedded inside Office documents as part of a phishing attack. I don't know which version of the Flash player is picked up by Office apps. All these copies are not necessarily patched at the same time by Adobe.

More than once the workaround for a vulnerable embedded copy of Flash in Reader and Acrobat has been to rename, move or delete a file. For more on this see Security Advisory for Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Reader and Acrobat, look for the MITIGATIONS section. This is true for both Adobe Reader version 9 and X. Here is a brief summary:

• Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x on Windows: Rename file authplay.dll.
  It is typically located at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\authplay.dll for Adobe Reader or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\authplay.dll for Acrobat.
• Adobe Reader 9.x and Acrobat Pro 9.x on Macs: Delete or move the AuthPlayLib.bundle file.
• Adobe Reader 9.x on UNIX: Remove the library named "libauthplay.so.0.0.0."

Flaws in Adobe's warning to update Flash

The warning above that a new version of Flash is available is flawed for these reasons:

1. It checks once a week, at best. To me, this not frequently enough. And, your computer may only be checking every 60 days or not at all. To see how your machine is configured, check the Global Notifications Settings Panel. On a new Windows 7 machine, the default was 7 days, but I don't know if that's always the case.
2. Adobe only warns about new versions of the Flash player at system startup. Anyone who doesn't turn off their computer doesn't get warned. My main laptop gets re-booted only once a month to install Windows patches. Every night it hibernates. No warning messages for me.
3. When you see this message, how do you know if it's legit or a scam? Non-techies can't tell. The Flash update notice has already been used in attempts to install malware.
4. The message is sometimes wrong. For example, if the computer was booted with an old version of Flash, then Flash was updated to the latest and greatest version, the next re-boot may well incorrectly warn that Flash is outdated. On one of my computers, after I removed Flash from both IE and Firefox, the next reboot warned me to update Flash. It's not clear if this warnig applies to the copy of the Flash player embeded in Chrome.
5. There is not enough information supplied. For example, it does not say what the latest version of Flash is. It also does not say what old version of Flash it detected, let alone where this old version was found.
6. It may install old software. I know someone who ignored the warning about updating Flash for quite a while. When they finally gave in and let Adobe update Flash, it installed an old version.

Regarding point 3 above, on Windows XP SP3, the last time I checked, Process Explorer showed that the warning came from program NPSWF32_FlashUtil.exe running out of C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash. In June 2011 on a Windows 7 64 bit system, the program displaying the window touting a Flash update was FlashUtil10q_Plugin.exe running out of C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash. The program identified itself as "Adobe® Flash® Player Installer/Uninstaller 10.3 r181" but it was not signed, so we can't know if it really came from Adobe or not. This may change over time, so I'd key off the Window Title column in Process Explorer to see the source process.

Patch History

Adobe maintains a list of patches to the Flash Player. They also have a release history.

Opera

I don't use Opera. According to Adobe it uses the plugin version of Flash that Firefox uses.

• How to Disable Flash in Opera Browser at tmsnetwork.org May 2010

Safari

I don't use Safari but I've been told it uses the plugin version of Flash that Firefox uses.

Configuring Chrome on Windows

On Windows machines (not sure about other OSs), Chrome can use either the copy of Flash installed for Firefox or it's own copy of Flash. To see this, enter "about:plugins" in the Chrome address bar. You should see something like
     Flash (2 files) - Version: 10.1.85.3
     Shockwave Flash 10.1 r85

The "(2 files)" means that there are two copies of Flash available for Chrome to use. If you don't see this, it probably means that the plug-in version of Flash, normally used by Firefox, is not installed.

If you do see "(2 files)" then click on the "+Details" link in the top right corner of the "about:plugins" page. This expands the listing to show the details of each available copy of Flash. Here you can enable or disable each copy of Flash. The plug-in version of Flash (used by Firefox) is NPSWF32.dll. Chrome's embedded copy of Flash is gcswf32.dll. Adobe has an article on Using Flash Player with Google Chrome.

Flash Player on a Mac

I'm not a Mac user. According to this Nov. 11, 2010 article in InfoWorld (Apple smashes patch record with gigantic security update) Apple has bundled Flash with OS X and provided bug fixes using Apple's updating software. However, Adobe has criticized Apple for not keeping up-to-date on Flash fixes. On Nov 11th, for example, Apple offered 55 patches for the Flash Player, including many that had previously been available on Windows and Linux.

The future of Flash on Macintosh computers is up in the air. Starting with the Air laptops that debuted in October 2010, Apple no longer pre-installs Flash. The article says that it is unclear "how long Apple will continue to provide Flash patches to its customers." So, will Adobe offer an update mechanism for Flash on OS X? The article says they have promised to do so, but there is no expected release date.

• Uninstalling Flash on Mac OSX for Security by Greg Ferro October2010
• Flash Player installation problems - Intel-based Macs from Adobe
• Troubleshoot Flash Player | Mac OS from Adobe

My Computerworld Blogs

More than once I wrote about the hassle that is a new version of Flash

• Defending Against the Flash player June 6, 2011. Here I argue for getting off the Flash update roller coaster by un-installing the Flash player used by Internet Explorer (ActiveX) and the copy used by Firefox (plugin). Also, avoid the Adobe Reader because it contains the Flash player. You're left with Google's Chrome browser which self-updates quietly.
• Updating Flash yet again May 14, 2011
• Dealing with the new version of Flash September 21, 2010
• Updating Adobe's Flash Player: Problem 1 August 13, 2010
• More problems updating Adobe's Flash Player August 15, 2010

Can't rember URLs?

Another way to get to Adobe's flash tester page is to right click on a Flash movie in a web page and select "About Adobe Flash Player".

Mozilla offers a plugin checker that works with Firefox and other browsers. As a rule, I wouldn't use it. It gets automatically invoked when Firefox itself is updated and this can be a good thing, as it warns of outdated instances of the Flash player. But, bad guys create fake pages that mimic these warnings, so you can't blindly trust them. Always check at Adobe's official Flash tester page.

Windows 7 and XP users can check the installed version of the Flash player in the control panel. In XP, go to Add or Remove Programs, click on the Flash player, then click on "click here for support informaton". In Windows 7, the version number is displayed as part of the list of installed software under Programs and Features. Vista users seem to be out of luck. This does not, however, tell you what the latest Flash version is. And, it doesn't tell you about copies of Flash embedded in other applications (i.e. Chrome, the Adobe Reader).

Flash Self-Update Checking

The self-update capability of the Flash player is poor. In terms of frequency, the best it can do is check for updates every 7 days. In terms of completeness, I believe it only reports on Flash used by web browers. That is, I don't think it warns about copies of the Adobe Reader with an old version of Flash embedded. The Adobe Reader and the Flash player browser plugin are updated in different and independant ways.

In addition, the Flash player has incorrectly warned me about outdated software. It seems to check, find an old version and then warn you the next time Windows boots up. By then, of course, the Flash player may well be up to date. And, as with Firefox's warning about the need to upgrade, this notification has also been spoofed by bad guys in an attempt to trick unwary users into installing malicious software. Bottom line: don't believe any notices about available updates to the Flash player, always check with Adobe's Flash tester page.

To configure how often the Flash player checks for udpates, go to a Macromedia.com hosted web page called the Notifications panel.

Note: you can prevent Flash from checking for updates in two ways. The first is a simple checkbox on the Notifications Panel. An Adobe TechNote, IT Administration: Configuring Flash Player auto-update notification explains another way, one involving a file called mms.cfg, but this TechNote seems to have been abandoned. It was last updated in April 2008 (as of Aug. 18, 2010) and doesn't even mention Windows 7.

Flash Player on Android Phones

According to Adobe (I don't have an Android phone) you can see which version of the Flash Player is installed with: Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications -> Adobe Flash Player 10.x.

Adobe also says that Flash can be updated on Android phones by browsing to the Android Marketplace. The link they offer is market://details?id=com.adobe.flashplayer

As of May 2011, Adobe says that Flash Player 10.3 is a production release for Android 2.2 (Froyo), 2.3 (Gingerbread), and Android 3.01 (Honeycomb) devices.

• Smartphones that support Flash (from Adobe)
• Adobe Flash showcase for mobile
• Flash Player 10.3 for Android Release Notes from Adobe, as of May 18, 2011
• Flash Player 10.1 for Android 2.2 Release Notes from Adobe, as of Nov. 9, 2010

Flash Player on Android Tablets

No clue, other than the below.

• Tablets that support Flash (from Adobe)

FYI

Adobe has a forum for help with the Flash Player at forums.adobe.com/community/webplayers/flash_player I haven't tried it.

About updating Adobe Flash Player from Adobe

Flash Player Help and Support from Adobe

The Flashblock extension for Firefox has been downloaded 9.4 million times (as of September 13, 2010).

There's a Flashblock for Chrome too.

Adobe also has another Flash tester page, Version Test for Adobe Flash Player, but as of July 3, 2010, 24 days after a new version had been released, it still listed an older version as being current. I checked again on September 22, 2010 and it no longer reports the latest version of Flash, only the installed version.

Flash Cookies

Flash Cookies - An Introduction
    (a.k.a. Flash Local Shared Objects, LSOs, super cookies, zombie cookies, and PIE (persistent identification element)

• Eliminate Flash-spawned 'zombie' cookies by Woody Leonhard August 2010 (alternate link)
• Local Shared Object article at Wikipedia
• What are Local Shared Objects from Adobe
• You Deleted Your Cookies? Think Again Wired August 2009
• Cookies, Flash Cookies, Paywalls, and Tracking by Jerry Pournelle (second story, scroll down) August 2010. Also, short follow-up here
• Flash Cookies - The Silent Privacy Killer October 2008

Flash Cookies - Defending Against

• How to disable third-party local shared objects from Adobe. Seems like a great idea to me
• How to manage and disable Local Shared Objects from Adobe - has multiple broken links
• The Global Storage Settings panel from Adobe is where you can disable Flash cookies. You can either disable all Flash cookies (set the storage slider to zero) or simply disable third party Flash cookies (using checkbox). Some people have claimed this doesn't always work, I haven't tested it.
  The Chrome browser will take you here too. In version 6: click on the wrench, then Options, then the Under the Hood tab, then the Content Settings button, then click on Cookies in the left side column, and finally then click on "Adobe Flash Player storage settings..." at the bottom of the window. Whew.
• Website Storage Settings Manager from Adobe. The official way to delete Flash cookies. Lets you see which websites have placed Flash cookies on your computer and how much storage they are using. You can delete all Flash cookies or just some.
• See Adobe's documentation on their online web pages for managing Flash. Warning: boring.
• The BetterPrivacy extension for Firefox can display all sorts of detailed information about existing Flash cookies. Perhaps more importantly, it can remove Flash cookies, both manually and automatically when Firefox shuts down. Note that although this is a Firefox extention, Flash cookies are an operating system thing, not a web browser thing (very different from legacy cookies). Thus, Better Privacy will remove Flash cookies created with other browsers.
• The very popular CCleaner from Piriform can remove Flash cookies under Windows 7, Vista and XP, both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. Flash is in the Applications tab, look for the Multimedia section. There is also a portable version of CCleaner. See also Completely remove flash cookies with CCleaner for tips on using CCleaner to remove Flash cookies. It looks like good advice but I don't know the author and haven't yet tested it.
• FlashCookiesView from Nir Sofer at nirsoft.net. Mr. Sofer is an excellent programmer who makes a ton of very useful, free, portable applications. This, however, is not one of his better programs. His website, however, is a treasure trove of great stuff.
• KFC (Kill Flash Cookies) from Uri Fridman is free and runs under Windows, Linux and Macs. I haven't tried it.
• Objection is a Firefox extension that doesn't seem to be ready yet
• Flash Cookie Cleaner for Windows. I have not tried it and don't know anything about the company behind it. See CNET review.
• MAXA Cookie Manager supports Windows 98/Me/XP/2000/Vista/2008 and Windows 7 (both 32 bit and 64 bit Windows versions). I haven't tried it.
• Here's a suggestion I read on the Internet from a total stranger. Sounds reasonable. Find in your OS where Flash cookies are stored (see topic below). Rename or delete the folder (with all other software shut down). Then, you can prevent the folder from being re-created by creating a FILE with the folder name. This works because Windows doesn't allow a folder and a file in the same directory with the same name. I haven't tried it - it may well break some websites.
• Flash Cookies and How to Get Rid of Them from the Mischel Internet Security blog. January 2010. About deleting the bread crumbs that Adobe leaves behind when it deletes Flash cookies.

Macs and Flash Cookies

Removing Flash cookies on a Mac

• KFC (Kill Flash Cookies) from Uri Fridman is free and runs under Windows, Linux and Macs. I haven't tried it.
• Flush.app Flash Cookie Removal Tool For OS X
• MacCleanse 2 claims to erase caches, logs, cookies, histories, and more. I have not used it.

I'm not a Mac user, anyone who wants to fill me in on the Flash environment for Macs, feel free to email me at my full name (below right) at gmail.

Linux

KFC (Kill Flash Cookies) from Uri Fridman is free and runs under Windows, Linux and Macs. I haven't tried it.

Cookies - What's Next

Flash cookies were the second generation of cookies, now we are starting to see the third generation, implemented with HTML5.

• Advertisers get hands stuck inside HTML5 database cookie jar About the RLDGUID Safari database from Ringleader Digital found on iOS based devices. September 2010.
• Lawsuit Targets Mobile Advertiser Over Sneaky HTML5 Pseudo-Cookies from Wired. September 2010.
• How to store website data with HTML5 from PC Pro magazine. September 2010.
• Techie details on Structured client-side storage in HTML5