On December 31, 2020, Adobe formally stopped supporting Flash. Effective January 12, 2021, the Adobe Flash player and almost all Flash plugins will no longer even play flash content. That said, that doesn’t mean the Flash player and plugins will automatically become inactive and safe, which is why Adobe and Microsoft are taking extra steps to not be blamed for compromising computers.
Adobe has started popping up warnings on Windows 10 telling users about the deadlines and advising them to uninstall the Flash Player program. Even if unused, the software could still be exploited to gain remote access to a PC, especially if it no longer gets any security updates. Users are presented with only two options of uninstalling or being reminded about it later.
Microsoft, however, has already planned a more drastic measure that will automatically remove Flash for you. It will be rolling out an optional Windows update next year that does just that. That, however, only affects the Flash that Windows 10 itself installs and users will still have to uninstall other Flash players manually, presuming browser makers don’t do it for them either. (JC Torres, Slash Gear Dec 28, 2020)
