Microsoft is preparing to issue two more Windows 10 updates in June and July that will eliminate unsupported Adobe Flash Player from Windows PCs for good.
The update KB4577586 called “Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player” has been available as an optional update since October and now looks set for a broader deployment.
Flash Player officially reached end of life on December 31, 2020 as per an announcement by Adobe and major browser makers in 2017.
Via Windows Latest, Microsoft in late April updated an old blogpost detailing its Flash removal plans that it now says will culminate in the update rolling out in the upcoming Patch Tuesday security updates targeting older versions of Windows 10.
In June Microsoft plans to release KB4577586 as part of the preview Windows 10 updates ahead of the next month’s Patch Tuesday update. These updates are not optional, so it should roll out to all Windows 10 machines via Windows Update and WSUS.
“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,” Microsoft said.
“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,” it added.
Also, Windows 10 version 21H1 or the May 2021 Update is due out any day now, possibly with the May Patch Tuesday update. Of course, this version won’t be shipping with Flash Player. Microsoft notes that when users update to 21H1 or later, Flash will be removed.
KB4577586 remains an optional update to install for now. However, Microsoft will eventually mark it as a “recommended update”. Once installed, the Flash removing update cannot be uninstalled.
