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 is more of a Flash cheat sheet.

Adobe has a second tester page at adobe.com/swf/software/flash/about/flashAbout_info_small.swf but it doesn't tell you which version is the latest.

They even have a third tester page at helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html. It shows the installed version of Flash and lists the latest version for many OSs. Unlike the main Flash Tester page, this one includes OS X Tiger and Leopard. In addition to reporting the installed version of Flash, it also tries to detect your OS and web browser, functionality that needs some improvement. It detects Android 4 as Linux and the default Android 4 browser as Safari.

On Feb 12, 2013 I discovered a fourth Flash Tester page from Adobe. It seems much like the third one.

Updating the Flash Player on Android    (Last Update Feb 15, 2013)
Official story: Flash is supported on Android 2.x, 3.x and 4.0. It is not supported on 4.1 and later. Even when supported, the Flash Player must have been installed prior to August 2012, new installations are not supported. Adobe explained this in June 2012.
Reality: The Flash Player works fine on Android 4.1 whether it was installed prior to Aug. 2012 or not (I don't have a 4.2 device to test with). The installation procedure, however, is very non-standard. Since the Flash Player no longer appears in the Play Store, installing or updating it requires side loading. For more on this, see my Nov. 21, 2012 blog: Updating Flash Player on Android now requires a hack.
Android Install/Update cheat sheet:

1. Do Settings -> Security -> Unknown Sources checkbox ON in Android 4.x or
       Settings -> Applications -> Unknown Sources checkbox ON in Android 2.x
2. Get Flash from Adobe HERE. Scroll down a bit for the Android 4.x section and even further for Android 2.x.
3. Open the just-downloaded APK file to install the Flash Player
4. Turn off the Unknown Sources checkbox from the first step

Flash Player on Windows: For Windows users with multiple browsers, the Flash player has been a particular annoyance for years because there are multiple copies of it. It is packaged one way for use with Internet Explorer (an ActiveX control up to IE9) and another way (referred to as the plugin version) for use with Firefox and Opera. Then along came Chrome with its own embedded copy, an idea that Microsoft copied with Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8. Each packaging of the Flash Player is independent, so Adobe's Flash tester page (linked to above) needs to be run in each browser. A Windows user with IE, Firefox and Chrome can have three copies of the Flash Player and each can be at a different version.

On top of this duplication the update procedure for Flash was manual, rather than automatic, for many years. Sometime during the summer of 2012 Flash on Windows was given the ability to self-update automatically. I've seen it crash a few times though, plus the code is somewhat new and thus suspect. Also, Flash in IE 10 is updated automatically with Windows update. So, even if IE10, Firefox and Chrome are all upating Flash automatically, they are each using a different update mechanism. What a mess.

My Recommendation: Windows users should not install Flash for Firefox or Opera. Likewise, I would avoid installing the ActiveX version for Internet Explorer 8 and 9. OS X users should similarly avoid installing Flash for use with Firefox or Safari. Instead, restrict usage of Flash to the Chrome browser which updates both itself and Flash quickly, quietly and reliably. IE10 on Windows 8 now also self-updates Flash but it remains to be seen how quickly this happens. Firefox on Windows can also now automatically update its copy of Flash, but this is somewhat new and I've seen it crash a few times.

Flash version history

• June 11, 2013. Many bug fixes on Windows, OS X, Linux and Android. See Adobe's Security bulletin
      Windows: The latest Flash for Chrome browser is 11.7.700.225
      Windows: The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera is 11.7.700.224
      Windows: The latest Flash for Internet Explorer is 11.7.700.224
      Windows8: The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 is 11.7.700.224
      OS X (10.6,10.7,10.8): The latest Flash for Firefox, Opera, Safari is 11.7.700.225
      OS X (10.6,10.7,10.8): The latest Flash for Chrome is 11.7.700.225
      Linux: The latest Flash for the Chrome browser is 11.7.700.225
      Linux: The latest Flash for Firefox is 11.2.202.291
      Android 4.x: The latest Flash is 11.1.115.63
      Android 2.x and 3.x: The latest Flash is 11.1.111.59


• May 21, 2013. One small bug fix, not security related and not for all OSs. See also Adobe's Release Notes for Flash Player 11.7. Below are only the environments that were updated.
      Windows: The latest Flash for Chrome browser is 11.7.700.203
      OS X (10.6,10.7,10.8): The latest Flash for Firefox, Opera, Safari is 11.7.700.203
      OS X (10.6,10.7,10.8): The latest Flash for Chrome is 11.7.700.203
      Linux: The latest Flash for the Chrome browser is 11.7.700.203
  
  
• May 14, 2013. Many bug fixes on Windows, OS X, Linux and Android. See Adobe's Security bulletin
      Windows: The latest Flash for Chrome browser is 11.7.700.202
      Windows: The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera is 11.7.700.202
      Windows: The latest Flash for Internet Explorer is 11.7.700.202
      Windows8: The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 is 11.7.700.202
      OS X (10.6,10.7,10.8): The latest Flash for Firefox, Opera, Safari is 11.7.700.202
      OS X (10.6,10.7,10.8): The latest Flash for Chrome is 11.7.700.202
      Linux: The latest Flash for the Chrome browser is 11.7.700.202
      Linux: The latest Flash for Firefox is 11.2.202.285
      Android 4.x: The latest Flash is 11.1.115.58.
      Android 2.x and 3.x: The latest Flash is 11.1.111.54


• April 9, 2013. Bug fixes on Windows, OS X, Linux and Android. See Adobe's Security bulletin and Release Notes for Flash Player 11.7
      Windows: The latest Flash for Chrome browser is 11.7.700.179
      Windows: The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera is 11.7.700.169
      Windows: The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 8 and 9 (Win 7, XP, Vista) is 11.7.700.169
      Windows8: The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 is 11.7.700.169
      OS X (10.6,10.7,10.8): The latest Flash for Firefox, Opera, Safari is 11.7.700.169
      OS X (10.6,10.7,10.8): The latest Flash for Chrome is 11.7.700.169
      Linux: The latest Flash for the Chrome browser is 11.7.700.169
      Linux: The latest Flash for Firefox is 11.2.202.280
      Android 4.x: The latest Flash is 11.1.115.54
      Android 2.x and 3.x: The latest Flash is 11.1.111.50


• March 12, 2013. Bug fixes on Windows, OS X, Linux and Android. See Adobe's Security bulletin
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows is 11.6.602.180
      The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera on Windows is 11.6.602.180
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 8 and 9 on Windows 7 and earlier is 11.6.602.180
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 is 11.6.602.180
      The latest Flash for OS X (Firefox, Opera, Safari) is 11.6.602.180
      The latest Flash for OS X (Chrome) is 11.6.602.180
      The latest Flash on Linux for the Chrome browser is 11.6.602.180
      The latest Flash on Linux for Firefox is 11.2.202.275
      The latest Flash for Android 4.x is 11.1.115.48
      The latest Flash for Android 2.x and 3.x is 11.1.111.44


• February 26, 2013. Bug fixes on Windows, OS X and Linux. Not on Android. See Adobe's Security bulletin
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows is 11.6.602.171
      The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera on Windows is 11.6.602.171
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 8 and 9 on Windows 7 and earlier is 11.6.602.171
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 is 11.6.602.171
      The latest Flash for OS X (Firefox, Opera, Safari) is 11.6.602.171
      The latest Flash for OS X (Chrome) is 11.6.602.171
      The latest Flash on Linux for the Chrome browser is 11.6.602.171
      The latest Flash on Linux for Firefox is 11.2.202.273
      The latest Flash for Android 4.x is 11.1.115.47 (no change)
      The latest Flash for Android 2.x and 3.x is 11.1.111.43 (no change)


• February 12, 2013. Bug fixes on multiple platforms. See Adobe's Security bulletin
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows is 11.6.602.167
      The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera on Windows is 11.6.602.168
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 8 and 9 on Windows 7 and earlier is 11.6.602.168
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 is 11.6.602.167
      The latest Flash for OS X (Firefox, Opera, Safari) is 11.6.602.167
      The latest Flash for OS X (Chrome) is 11.6.602.167
      The latest Flash on Linux for the Chrome browser is 11.6.602.167
      The latest Flash on Linux for Firefox is 11.2.202.270
      The latest Flash for Android 4.x is 11.1.115.47
      The latest Flash for Android 2.x and 3.x is 11.1.111.43


• February 8, 2013. Bug fixes on multiple platforms. See Adobe's Security bulletin
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows is 11.5.31.139
      The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera on Windows is 11.5.502.149
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 8 and 9 on Windows 7 and earlier is 11.5.502.149
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 is 11.3.379.14
      The latest Flash for OS X (Firefox, Opera, Safari) is 11.5.502.149
      The latest Flash for OS X (Chrome) is 11.5.31.139
      The latest Flash on Linux for the Chrome browser is 11.5.31.139
      The latest Flash on Linux for Firefox is 11.2.202.262
      The latest Flash for Android 4.x is 11.1.115.37
      The latest Flash for Android 2.x and 3.x is 11.1.111.32


• January 8, 2013. More bug fixes on multiple platforms. See Adobe's Security bulletin
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows is 11.5.31.137
      The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera on Windows is 11.5.502.146
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 8 and 9 on Windows 7 and earlier is 11.5.502.146
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 is 11.3.378.5
      The latest Flash for OS X (Firefox, Opera, Safari) is 11.5.502.146
      The latest Flash for OS X (Chrome) is 11.5.31.137
      The latest Flash on Linux for the Chrome browser is 11.5.31.137
      The latest Flash on Linux for Firefox is 11.2.202.261
      The latest Flash for Android 4.0 is 11.1.115.36
      The latest Flash for Android 2.x and 3.x is 11.1.111.31


• December 11, 2012. More bug fixes on multiple platforms. See Adobe's Security bulletin
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows is 11.5.31.5
      The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera on Windows is 11.5.502.135
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 8 and 9 on Windows 7 and earlier is 11.5.502.135
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 is 11.3.377.15
      The latest Flash for OS X (Firefox, Opera, Safari) is 11.5.502.136
      The latest Flash for OS X (Chrome) is 11.5.31.5
      The latest Flash on Linux for the Chrome browser is 11.5.31.5
      The latest Flash on Linux for Firefox is 11.2.202.258
      The latest Flash for Android 4.0 is 11.1.115.34
      The latest Flash for Android 2.x and 3.x is 11.1.111.29


• November 6, 2012. More bug fixes on multiple platforms. See Adobe's Security bulletin and Flash Player 11.5 Release Announcement
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows is 11.5.31.2
      The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera on Windows is 11.5.502.110
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 8 and 9 on Windows 7 and earlier is 11.5.502.110
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 is 11.3.376.12
      The latest Flash for OS X (Firefox, Opera, Safari) is 11.5.502.110
      The latest Flash for OS X (Chrome) is 11.5.31.2
      The latest Flash on Linux for the Chrome browser is 11.5.31.2
      The latest Flash on Linux for Firefox is 11.2.202.251
      The latest Flash for Android 4.0 is 11.1.115.27
      The latest Flash for Android 2.x and 3.x is 11.1.111.24


• October 9, 2012. Updates on multiple platforms to fix 25 critical bugs (more)
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows is 11,4,31,110
      The latest Flash for Firefox and Opera on Windows is 11.4.402.287
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer on Windows 7 and earlier is 11.4.402.287
      The latest Flash for Internet Explorer on Windows 8 is 11.3.375.10
      The latest Flash for OS X (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari) is 11,4,402,287
      The latest Flash on Linux for the Chrome browser is 11.4.31.110
      The latest Flash on Linux for Firefox is 11.2.202.243
      The latest Flash for Android 4.0 is 11.1.115.20
      The latest Flash for Android 2.x and 3.x is 11.1.111.19


• August 21, 2012. Updates on multiple platforms to fix lots of security bugs (more)
      The latest Flash for Windows and OS X is 11.4.402.265, except for Chrome browser
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on Windows and Linux is 11,3,31,230
      The latest Flash for Chrome browser on OS X is 11,4,402.265
      Flash on Linux is being phased out, except for the Chrome browser where the latest is 11.3.31.230
      The latest Flash for Android 4 is 11.1.115.17
      The latest Flash for Android 2 and 3 is 11.1.111.16


• August 15, 2012. Updates on multiple platforms to fix lots of security bugs.
      The latest Flash for Windows and OS X is 11.3.300.271, except for Chrome browser
      The latest Flash for Google's Chrome browser is confusing. The Adobe tester page says the latest is 11.3.300.265.
      My copies of Chrome 21.0.1180.79 however, include version 11,3,300,271, but its not being used (see above on Pepper Flash)
      The latest Flash for Chrome on Windows and OS X is 11.3.31.227. See my blog for more on this.
      The latest Flash for Linux is 11.2.202.238, except for Chrome on Linux where the latest is 11.2.202.236
      The latest Flash for Android v4.0 remains 11.1.115.12 (no change).


• End of July? I missed at least one update here. On Windows and OSX Flash was at version 11.3.300.270. Chrome 21 (21.0.1180.60) on Windows also shipped with both 11.3.300.268 and 11.3.31.222. The latter, the Pepper Flash edition, was used by default.


• July 11, 2012. Updates on multiple platfroms. No security fixes.
      The latest Flash for Windows and OS X is 11.3.300.265
      The latest Flash for Linux is 11.2.202.236
      The latest Flash for Android v4 is 11.1.115.12
• June 21, 2012. An update only for Windows.
      The latest Flash for Firefox, Opera and other plugin-based browsers is 11.3.300.262
• June 9, 2012. Big updates across the board to fix a ton of bugs
      On Android v4, the latest version is now 11.1.115.11
      On Android v2 and v3, the latest version is now 11.1.111.10
      In Windows and OS X the latest version is now 11.3.300.257 (Release Notes)
      On Linux the latest version is now 11.2.202.236
• May 18, 2012. A fluke indeed. The Adobe Flash tester page is back to what it had been on May 13th or so.
• May 15, 2012. A fluke?
      The Adobe Flash tester page said that the latest version of Flash for Windows and OS X was 11.3.300.255
      The latest version for Linux was said to be 11.2.202.236
      But, an upgrade to Chrome 19 continued to use the previous version of Flash 11.2.202.235
      And, a forced update of the Firefox plugin version of Flash, also used the same, previous version, 11.2.202.235
      Mixed signals with no word from the powers that be on this.
• As of May 4, 2012 the latest version of Flash for Android v2 and v3 is 11.1.111.9
      On Android v4, the latest version is now 11.1.115.8
      Also, the version that was only available in Chrome (11.2.202.235) a few days ago,
      is now the latest version for Windows, Linux and Macs. Critical bug fixes all around.
• As of April 30, 2012 the latest version of Flash in Chrome on Windows is 11.2.202.235.
      Adobe does not yet acknowledge this new version.
      On Android v2 and v3, the latest version is 11.1.111.8 which came out a while back
• As of April 13, 2012 the latest version of Flash on Windows, Mac and Linux was 11.2.202.233
      According to Adobe, there were no security fixes.
• As of March 27, 2012 the latest version of Flash on Windows, OS X and Linux is 11.2.202.228
      Finally, auto-updating, but only on Windows. Adobe says this release
       "address critical vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player 11.1.102.63 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux"
• As of March 5, 2012 the latest version of Flash on Windows and Linux is 11.1.102.63, on OS X the latest is 11.1.102.64
      On Android 4, the latest version is 11.1.115.7
      On Android 3, the latest version is 11.1.111.7
      On Android 2, the latest version is 11.1.111.7
• As of February 15, 2012 the latest version of Flash on Windows, Macs and Linux is 11.1.102.62
      On Android 4, the latest version is 11.1.115.6.
      On Android 2 and 3, the latest version is 11.1.111.6.
• 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.

Flash History from Adobe

• Adobe maintains an archive of old versions of Flash
• They also keep a list of patches to the Flash Player
• And, they have a release history for the Flash player

UPDATING FLASH on WINDOWS

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)

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 two pages below also offer links to 64 bit versions of Flash.

• Adobe® Flash® Player Distribution
• 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.

Flash in Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8: September 6, 2012: Great article by Ed Bott, Microsoft puts Windows 8 users at risk with missing Flash update. With IE10 in Windows 8, Microsoft copied the Google Chrome approach and included Flash as an integral part of the web browser. However, Microsoft typically upates IE only once a month which just won't do for Flash. Google, in contrast, updates Flash when it is needed. In this article Bott gripes that Microsoft has not updated IE10 with the latest Flash patches and this is not something end users can do for themselves. Will Microsoft be up to the task of maintaining Flash in IE10 after Windows 8 goes live? We'll see.
Another good article on this subject, one which does a god job putting things in perspective is Adobe confirms Windows 8 users vulnerable to active Flash exploits By Gregg Keizer in Computerworld. Sept. 8, 2012
October 10, 2012: This time, Microsoft was prompt installing the Flash Player updates released on Oct. 8th into IE10.

Portable Firefox on Windows

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. 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 on Windows

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.

March 3, 2012: To see the version of Flash, and all plugins used by Chrome, enter chrome://plugins in the address bar.
  For full details onjust flash enter chrome://flash in the address bar.

PepperFlash

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 Shockwave (see Dec. 2012 warning of vulnerability), 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."

Update: April 25, 2012. Things are changing here. See what Adobe says. In brief: Starting with the Reader and Acrobat 9.5.1 updates, Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x on Windows and Macintosh use the installed Flash Player plugin for Firefox/Opera. No more Authplay. Adobe Reader 9.x users no longer have to update Adobe Reader each time there is an update to Flash. If the Firefox version of Flash is not installed and you open a PDF file that includes Flash (SWF) content, a dialog will prompt the user to install the latest Flash Player. Adobe is working on doing the same with Adobe Reader X.

Opera on Windows

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 on Windows

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

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.

Flash Player on a Mac

My Computerworld Blogs on Flash

• Updating Flash Player on Android now requires a hack Nov. 21, 2012. Specifically it requires side-loading.
• How to install Flash Player updates on Android devices October 14, 2012. The procedure described here was only valid for a month or two. The newer procedure is detailed in the Nov 21st blog above.
• Flash Player updates missing in action on Android October 10, 2012. After Adobe issued security patches to the Flash Player on Android, the Play Store app doesn't show the updates or the Flash Player at all.
• Explaining the confusion over Flash versions August 16, 2012. Explaining NPAPI, PPAPI and Pepper 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
• Advice on updating the Adobe Flash Player   February 28, 2009

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 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 and 8, 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

The Adobe Flash tester page, linked to at the top of this page, works on Android, when using a browser that supports Flash.

Or, you can see which version of the Flash Player is installed with: Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications -> subcategory -> Adobe Flash Player x (where x is a version number). The sub-category may be Third Party or it may be All. I have seen it both way on Android v2 devices. If you see a short version number, such as 11.1, try pressing/clicking on the Flash Player to get details, including the full four level deep version number.

To configure Flash on Android, go to settings.adobe.com/flashplayer/mobile in a web browser.

In the old days, Flash could be updated on Android phones by browsing to the Android Marketplace. No more. The link that used to work was market://details?id=com.adobe.flashplayer

• Smartphones that support Flash (from Adobe)
• Tablets 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

FYI

When all else fails, see Archived Flash Player versions from Adobe.

Adobe has a forum for help with the Flash Player at forums.adobe.com/community/webplayers/flash_player

A section of the above forum is dedicated to Installing the Flash Player

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.

See my assorted notes on Flash Cookies