Flash Player has been in the sights of cyber-security experts for quite some time. Not too long ago, Flash player was essential for internet usage. Videos, web animation, games, and ads were all dependent on it. However, Flash has been criticized heavily for its security problems. HTML5 has replaced a lot of functions previously handled by Flash. Now Google is going to stop support for the Player completely later this year.
Google Removes Flash From Chrome
Google has announced that it’s going to de-emphasize Flash Player from their browser, replacing it with HTML5. After that happens. Chrome is also going to block behind the scenes Flash functions, again replacing them with HTML5, which is faster and more secure.
Flash Player could still be used on Google Chrome, but it’s going to require the user to click on the Flash object before it plays. In other words, automatic “behind the scenes” Flash loading will be gone from Chrome.
Google Chrome will start looking for HTML5 content first. Flash player is going to be used exclusively for sites that don’t support HTML5.
On their official blog, Google stated:
“In December, Chrome 55 will make HTML5 the default experience, except for sites which only support Flash. For those, you’ll be prompted to enable Flash when you first visit the site. Aside from that, the only change you’ll notice is a safer and more power-efficient browsing experience.”
The update will be released in September 2016 with Chrome 42.
The Fall of Flash
Most cyber-security experts advise users to remove Flash Player from their computer. The software is getting quite notorious for its weak security. The use of Flash is in steady decline. The biggest blow was when YouTube, the biggest video sharing platform in the world, replaced it with HTML5. A lot of malicious content is distributed with the help of flash player. The Adobe team is obviously incapable of making their platform secure enough for wide use. Flash was implemented in some ransomware attacks and other security threats.
While Flash Player still has some life left in it (Facebook and loads of other big name sites still use it), things aren’t looking up.
Another reason to say goodbye to Flash, is that the software is slower than HTML5, requires specific installs, and consumes more system resources. Flash is also trickier to implement into mobile devices, unlike HTML5. Flash also isn’t supported by iOS. It’s likely that the removal from Google Chrome is just one of a long line of nails in the Flash coffin.
