Microsoft is pushing out Flash-killer update KB4577586 via Windows Update

Martin Brinkmann
Feb 18, 2021
Windows
|
27

Microsoft started to distribute the Windows update KB4577586, designed to remove Adobe Flash Player from Windows devices, yesterday evening. The update will be downloaded and installed automatically on devices with automatic updates enabled.

The update is labeled option at this time, but it is still downloaded and installed automatically when administrators activate the "check for updates" button on Windows 10 devices. A reboot is required to finalize the installation.

Once the update is installed, it cannot be removed anymore from the system short of restoring a backup or resetting the PC.

Microsoft released the update to uninstall Flash in October 2020 officially. The company released it on its Microsoft Update Catalog website at the time only, and not via Windows Update.

remove flash windows 10

It has been offered for Windows 10 version 1809 and newer, and Windows 8.1. Windows 7 is not included, as Flash was not offered as part of the operating system.

The update is offered in a controlled rollout, which means that it is not offered to all devices at the same time. If you run Windows 10 version 20H2, it is called Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player for Windows 10 Version 20H2 for x64-based systems (KB4577586).

It has the same KB ID for all versions of Windows; only the operating system version changes in the name of the update.

The update will remove Flash from the operating system, but only Flash made available by Microsoft. Flash installed through third-party applications, e.g. a browser that comes with a Flash component, is not removed by the update. Put simply, any Flash version that has been installed manually by the user, e.g. through the installation of Flash or a program that comes with a Flash component, is not affected by the update.

Adobe included a kill-switch in recent versions of Flash that prevent Flash content from being executed. Users who need to access Flash content may want to check out the Flash emulator ruffle instead.

Now You: do you still require or use Flash?

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Microsoft is pushing out Flash-killer update KB4577586 via Windows Update
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Microsoft is pushing out Flash-killer update KB4577586 via Windows Update
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Microsoft started to distribute the Windows update KB4577586, designed to remove Adobe Flash Player from Windows devices, yesterday evening.
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Comments

  1. EP said on May 4, 2021 at 10:52 am
    Reply

    this story recently came out, Martin:

    Microsoft will include the KB4577586 update starting with the late June 2021 preview updates as well as the July 2021 cumulative updates and greater as noted in this blog (updated April 2021):
    https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2020/09/04/update-adobe-flash-end-support/

    “-Starting in June 2021, the KB4577586 “Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player” will be included in the Preview Update for Windows 10, version 1809 and above platforms. It will also be included in every subsequent Latest Cumulative Update.

    -As of July 2021, the KB4577586 “Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player” will be included in the Latest Cumulative Update for Windows 10, versions 1607 and Windows 10, version 1507. The KB will also be included in the Monthly Rollup and the Security Only Update for Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Embedded 8 Standard. “

    1. Jody Thornton said on July 16, 2021 at 9:00 pm
      Reply

      @EP

      I’m dealing with this right now. I use Windows Server 2012 updates to patch Windows 8 (same OS basically), and the July 2021 updates will also remove the integrated Flash engine.

      Now I play some locally installed Flash games like YetiSports, and I wish to keep using them. Is there a way to update, yet retain ActiveX Flash capability?

  2. EP said on March 10, 2021 at 5:35 pm
    Reply

    actually it seems that the KB4577586 flash killer update is only offered thru Windows Update when running Win10 v1809 or higher. It is NOT offered thru WU if running Win10 v1803 or older (ex. LTSB 2015/2016). also not offered if running Win8.1 as KB4577586 does not show up at all thru WU on W8.1 as I have checked myself.

  3. Swages said on March 7, 2021 at 8:01 pm
    Reply

    Already removed the Flash player from this Windows 10 Pro system. HOWEVER, every day MS’s updater keeps trying to install the update to forcibly remove Adobe Flash Player and then reports that the update failed! Is there any way to make this stop?

    Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x8024200b

    Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player for Windows 10 Version 20H2 for x64-based systems (KB4577586)

  4. Yuliya said on February 21, 2021 at 11:47 pm
    Reply

    I’ve applied this update when MS made it available initially. Flash begone!!

  5. boris said on February 19, 2021 at 10:43 pm
    Reply

    Hate to burst your bubble but flash files are still on computer. Just search for

    FlashUtil_ActiveX.exe

    1. Yuliya said on February 21, 2021 at 11:46 pm
      Reply

      They are in WinSxS, and the components in that folder are never active. You can force a DISM cleanup which will remove those flash components as well. Do note the operation is not reversible and on a fast machine it can take up to an hour to complete.

      DISM.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
      DISM.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /SPSuperseded
      DISM.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

      1st is as running the Windows Cleanup 30 days after update.
      2nd does not apply to Windows 10, last time it was used was with Windows 7601, but the command will succeed nonetheless.
      3rd command is irreversible and the OS cannot be restored to a previous state, only via a fresh install – this should also clean those flash components (tested, working on LTSC 1809 x64).

  6. computer said no said on February 19, 2021 at 9:07 pm
    Reply

    No issue with me.
    i use an older flash player in an older browser to play my downloaded flash games and some sites still run flash games.

    1. Lars said on February 20, 2021 at 2:40 am
      Reply

      For those that absolutely cannot stop accessing old insecure Flash content, I’d highly recommend doing so from within a VM only going forward.

  7. JohnIL said on February 19, 2021 at 11:29 am
    Reply

    Still run into forums where people asking why my Flash content doesn’t work? Even read about apps still running with Flash and some even crating a hacked version just to continue using it.
    I personally haven’t required Flash for years, but I understand parts of the world are still in the past technology wise.

    1. kalmly said on February 19, 2021 at 3:49 pm
      Reply

      One little flash game I loved to play. I’m running Windows7. As of yesterday – even though I have updates turned off – flash doesn’t work.

      1. Lars said on February 20, 2021 at 2:34 am
        Reply

        Yes, Flash is officially dead and its impending demise was announced a full 3 years ago by Adobe. As mentioned in the Adobe Flash EOL FAQ:

        https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life.html

        “Since Adobe no longer supports Flash Player after December 31, 2020 and ***blocked Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021***, Adobe strongly recommends all users immediately uninstall Flash Player to help protect their systems.”

        So what happened to you on Win7 is due to Adobe and has nothing to do with this Windows update that removes embedded Flash from Win8+ only.

  8. Randolf said on February 19, 2021 at 5:39 am
    Reply

    Wonder if there will be a microsoft telemetry killer.

    1. owl said on February 20, 2021 at 7:17 am
      Reply

      @Randolf,
      Wonder if there will be a Microsoft telemetry killer.

      If you are using Windows HOME edition, you need know-how ….
      For reference:
      “O&O ShutUp10” is also suitable for beginners.
      https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10
      If is an advanced user, I recommend “W10Privacy”!
      https://www.w10privacy.de/english-home/instructions-1/
      And the firewall “simplewall” is effective.
      https://www.henrypp.org/product/simplewall

    2. Lars said on February 20, 2021 at 2:25 am
      Reply

      Get real. I don’t even understand people who use 3rd party anti-telemetry tools in a desperate effort to block it all while continuing to use an OS they apparently hate so much. It’s like those people who parrot some grand statement about the importance of privacy on FB or any Google platform of all places! Why not stick to Win7 as long as you can, or simply learn how to move to Linux? Far easier and better anyway than fighting a losing battle daily against the OS maker itself. Will also save you folks tons of time and all the heartburn from complaining endlessly on various sites while deluding yourselves that doing so will ever make a difference.

  9. VioletMoon said on February 18, 2021 at 5:49 pm
    Reply

    Wouldn’t wait for MS to muddle the waters.

    I preferred Adobe’s answer found here:

    https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

    1. Helps to have Take Ownership of folders/files in the Context Menu in case–Ultimate Windows Tweaker can add the option.

    2. Use the Run commands. Maybe the uninstaller works.

    3. Restart.

    4. Use Everything or whatever file indexing program used; there will be more clutter leftover. May need to use a File Unlocker program.

    5. Turn off the Service. Uninstall the Service.

    6. Run a scan with a registry cleaner; your choice.

    Complete proposed check for Flash–installed or not?

    Or that’s how I went about the uninstall/cleanup.

    1. Lars said on February 19, 2021 at 12:29 am
      Reply

      “Wouldn’t wait for MS to muddle the waters” – Absolutely, why wait when you can do a much worse job yourself? Almost everything you’ve mentioned, including using an unlocker and force deleting in-use/locked files, running snake oil registry ‘cleaners’ and so on, is trash advice from the ’90s. Not to mention the fact that Adobe’s KB article is about uninstalling Flash that one has installed manually, and not the one that comes as part of the OS itself since Win8.

      1. VioletMoon said on February 19, 2021 at 6:46 pm
        Reply

        Sorry you feel that way. Maybe go ahead and use Windows Update, as preferred. Experienced users on gHacks tend to have nothing but contempt for Windows Update tools. Your choice.

        Not all registry cleaners are created equal.

        Unlocking a file in use is, for most experienced users, an unavoidable occurrence. Fortunately, I didn’t have to use an “unlocker.” I did, however, use the Take Ownership context menu item.

        Since news is already out that MS is “taking over” machines and forcing the Windows Update, I would seriously question the term “snake oil.” Sounds more like Windows Update is a type of “snake oil” that offers nothing but more problems.

        Take a look/see at Beta News, etc. to see what Windows Update does to a perfectly fine running computer.

        Love your 90’s style of thinking. Tools for the computer have evolved to such a degree that on gHacks and elsewhere there is nothing but third party solutions to fix what MS can’t properly execute.

        90’s? That was thirty years ago with XP?

        Maybe go through the discussions on gHacks and ask “Why do so many readers prefer Windows 7 and refuse to make the move to Windows 10?” That was fourteen years ago!

        I don’t know myself, but it is an interesting question.

        “Animals do not have a structured language; and hence we have no reason to suppose that they have the concepts of past and future, truth, universality, and logical inference; or the distinction between what one desires and what one thinks most worthwhile.”

        Richard Swinburne

      2. Lars said on February 20, 2021 at 2:09 am
        Reply

        “Not all registry cleaners are created equal.” – I agree, they’re all different varieties of snake oil.

        I’ve seen so-called ‘experienced users’ (which simply means some average Joe/Jane who’s been using a PC for years with no clue about how things actually work) continue to blindly use all sorts of crap that they started using 3 decades ago and still believe does all sorts of magic cleanup and speedup voodoo. Ask an actual OS/Windows internals expert if you want to know the truth, but I know enough of your sort who think they know best and will never listen to reason. Anyway, it’s not my system that’s so bogged down by junk that it needs to be cleaned with snake oil products regularly, so who gives a damn.

        “Maybe go through the discussions on gHacks and ask “Why do so many readers prefer Windows 7 and refuse to make the move to Windows 10?” That was fourteen years ago!” – Yeah, so what? Win7 was indeed very good, but it’s had it’s day. If you don’t agree then stick with an unsupported old OS for as long as possible. Again, not like I care. But then again, why are you commenting on a Win10 update-related article anyway? Do you have a habit of commenting on things you hate and don’t use?

  10. JohnnyP said on February 18, 2021 at 1:33 pm
    Reply

    Isn’t microsoft going to include this in a future cumulative update?

  11. EP said on February 18, 2021 at 11:30 am
    Reply

    on some reports, the KB4577586 update has been pushed out without any user intervention

    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-force-installs-windows-10-update-to-remove-flash-player/

    1. Lars said on February 19, 2021 at 12:19 am
      Reply

      Excellent news! The buggy security nightmare that is Flash needs to die already.

      1. RobG said on February 19, 2021 at 10:57 am
        Reply

        More like: “The buggy security nightmare that is Windows 10 needs to die already”.

      2. Lars said on February 20, 2021 at 1:51 am
        Reply

        Why? No-one (I assume) is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to use it. Switch to Linux if you have ability to do so and stop complaining…

      3. Monst said on February 21, 2021 at 2:34 am
        Reply

        how about you stop complaining about flash just because you have no use for it [Editor: removed, please no personal attacks]

      4. Lars said on February 27, 2021 at 2:14 am
        Reply

        Who’s complaining? I’m just happy. However why are you so butthurt about Flash’s long overdue demise?

      5. Joe said on March 20, 2021 at 12:59 am
        Reply

        I’m butthurt over it because I started learning Flash back in 1995 and I have made hundreds of programs and games with flash.

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