Microsoft releases Windows update that removes Flash from system for good

Microsoft has released an update for Windows 10 and 8.1 that makes it possible to permanently remove the Flash Player from the system. The software will then disappear everywhere from the system and cannot be restored.

It concerns KB4577586, which Microsoft calls the ‘Update for the removal of Adobe Flash Player’. The update is available for Windows 10 as well as for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server. The update is only available for download from the Microsoft Update Catalog. The software is currently not distributed via the standard Windows Update, but that will be from the beginning of next year.

The update will permanently remove the Flash Player from the system. That means that the software will disappear from the OS, but also from the Microsoft browsers Internet Explorer and Edge. In other browsers such as Chrome or Firefox, Flash will still work if the user has installed it there manually.

Once the update is installed, it is no longer possible to manually reinstall Flash yourself. This requires a user to roll back to an earlier version of the operating system or reinstall Windows from scratch. Flash has been slowly but surely being phased out for years. Adobe’s software already reached end of life status in 2017. Since then, more and more software makers are removing the program.