Many members of the Flash community have come up with workarounds to continue to run .swf files in the post-EOL era. Read on to find a workaround that best suits you!
Do you still use Flash Player? Data Horde is conducting a survey to see how frequently people continue to use Flash Player even at the very end of its lifespan. It would mean a lot to us if you could spare 5-10 minutes to complete a very short survey.
Emulation:
It’s still possible to run Flash Media (.swf files) without actually using Flash Player. Two mature Flash Player emulators are Ruffle (ActionScript 1&2) and Lightspark (ActionScript 3). Ruffle even has an online demo if you’d like to see it in action before installing.
You can find a more thorough list of emulators in the Flash Player Emergency Kit.
Chrome Flags:
If you’re using any version of Google Chrome, up to and including Google Chrome 87, you might not have to install anything at all! You should be able to continue to use an older version of Flash Player which was immune to the effects of the EOL Killswitch.
Simply run Chrome with the --allow-outdated-plugins flag:
# On Windows:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --allow-outdated-plugins
# On Mac:
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --allow-outdated-plugins
# On Linux
google-chrome --allow-outdated-plugins
# For instructions on how to specify flags on other systems see http://www.chromium.org/developers/how-tos/run-chromium-with-flagsDowngraded Firefox:
In addition to the EOL killswitch, Adobe have gone out of their way to remove downloads for previous versions of Flash Player from their website. That being said, there are ways to acquire a past versions of Flash Player, immune to the EOL killswitch.
An out-of-the-box solution is to install Waterfox, a modern fork of Firefox which also supports a lot of legacy features including Flash Player. Another option is Basilisk, up to version 2020.11.25 anyway.
If you would rather stick to a more traditional approach, u/Cifra85 made a Reddit post on how to install a portable Firefox Browser which comes bundled with an older version of Flash Player:
If you’re concerned about incompatibility, another option is Firefox 78 ESR (Extended Support Release) which will continue receiving updates until September of this year.
Modify Configuration File:
Edit:
Adobe has made it no secret that they intend to offer a killswitch workaround for enterprise customers, via their partner HARMAN, starting February. Leave it to the online Flash community to discover it in January!
Edit 5 May 2021: Consider installing FlashPatch, a tool which greatly simplifies the steps described below.
Spider, an Adventure Quest fanatic, was one of the first people to discover that all it took was a couple of modifications to a configuration file!
If you’re not on Windows, mms.cfg goes in /Library/Application Support/Macromedia on Mac and /etc/adobe/ on Linux. For more details on mms.cfg see Flash Player 32’s manual (page 41).
Flash Player Projector:
Using the Flash Player projectors, it’s possible to run .swf’s outside of a browser, with some minor limitations. Strangely projectors for Windows, Mac and Linux have not been removed from from Adobe’s website and are still available.
Flash Player projectors can be downloaded from Adobe’s Flashplayer Debug Downloads Section, and mirrors can be found on the Wayback Machine and the Internet Archive.
Alternative Ways of Running Old Versions of Flash:
Another unique solution is to use the Cloud Browser Puffin, which can render Flash content remotely. Do note that Puffin is not free on every platform.
As a final workaround, you can try running an old version of Flash Player outside of a browser. Although there are a number of third-party archives out there, setting these up can be non-trivial.
Instead we would highly recommend Bluemaxima’s Flashpoint, a Flash game/animation Browser of sorts which comes with a built-in older version of Flash Player.
We hope you were able to find a solution that works for you. If you have any comments or suggestions let us know at [email protected].
Now go on and spread the word! Tell all your friends and family how they can continue to use Flash Player even in 2021!
]]>Do you still use Flash Player? Data Horde is conducting a survey to see how frequently people continue to use Flash Player even at the very end of its lifespan. It would mean a lot to us if you could spare 5-10 minutes to complete a very short survey.
Contents:
- Why is there a kill switch built into my Flash Player?
- What does the Flash Player kill switch do?
- Browser Support for Flash Player
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Other Browsers
- Workarounds
Why is there a kill switch built into my Flash Player?
Adobe has decided to retire Flash Player, which means no more updates. Adobe has stated their reasoning behind the inclusion of this kill switch is to “help secure” users, seeing as Flash Player might still have undiscovered security vulnerabilities.
In doing so, Adobe hopes to no longer be liable for any damage caused by vulnerabilities present in Flash Player, by making Flash Player outright unusable. Overkill? Kind of. For more details see Update: 12 Day Grace Period on the Flash Player Killswitch
What does the Flash Player kill switch do?
Here is an in-depth preview of the effects of this kill switch. When accessing Flash content in a web browser, if your system time is set to January 12, 2021, 12:00AM (midnight) or later, Flash content will be replaced with a Flash information button. Note that if you have already loaded Flash content before this time, you will be able to continue viewing it until you reload the webpage in your browser.
While you roll over the widget, it shows a blue outline.
While you left click the widget, it turns blue.
Right clicking still works as normal for a Flash applet.
Clicking the icon opens a new tab to the URL https://www.adobe.com/go/fp, which redirects to https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life.html (Adobe’s End-Of-Life info page) as of this writing.
Browser Support
Browsers will also be removing support for the Flash plugin. The following updates are scheduled to remove Flash support in common browsers:
- Chrome 88 (Windows 7, 8.1, 10): 1/19/21
- Firefox 85 (Windows 7, 8.1, 10): 1/26/21
- Edge 88 (Windows 7, 8.1, 10): week of 1/21/21
- Safari 14 (macOS 10.14, 10.15, 10.16/11.0): 9/16/20
- Windows Preinstalled/Internet Explorer/Edge Legacy (Windows 8.1, 10): optional update in early 2021 and recommended a few months later
Most of the browser updates simply drop support for loading the Flash plugin.
The Flash component is fully removed in Chrome 88. Flash Player permissions are removed from site content settings, and clicking on a Flash download link no longer prompts the user to allow Flash (the link functions as a normal).
Chrome Specifics
If a website specifies fallback HTML code, it is displayed.
If a website does not specify fallback HTML code, Chrome 88 replaces Flash components with a message stating “Adobe Flash Player is no longer supported”. Nothing happens when attempting to right click the widget.
Other Chromium-based browsers, including the current versions of Edge, Opera, and Vivaldi are expected to behave similarly.
Chrome also plans to block Flash from loading in previous versions of Chrome by marking the component as outdated (you can view the components manager in Chromium-based browsers at chrome://components).
After loading a page and approving Flash permissions, you will get a message bar similar to this, stating that “Adobe Flash Player was blocked because it is out of date”.
Right-clicking on the Flash widget provides a few options:
Clicking “Update plugin” goes directly to Adobe’s Flash Player End-Of-Life page. Clicking “Learn more” opens the URL https://support.google.com/chrome/?p=ib_outdated_plugin, which redirects to Google’s Flash Player End-Of-Life support article.
After clicking “Update plugin”, returning to the tab with the Flash player widget reveals a new message on the Flash player widget: “When finishes updating, reload the page to activate it” [sic].
As of this writing, the “Run this time” option functions as intended: it allows Flash player to run once, but accessing Flash content after reloading or navigating to another page requires clicking the button again.
Attempting to update the Adobe Flash Player component from Chrome’s component manager at chrome://components reveals no available updates.
This particular method of blocking Flash appears not to be currently active in other Chromium-based browsers at this time.
Note: Loading a custom PPAPI Flash Player DLL through command-line flags to Chrome does not seem to fix the problem, but further testing (including with older and modified versions of Flash) is needed. A sample command would be "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --disable-bundled-ppapi-flash --ppapi-flash-path="<path to Flash Player DLL>". Note that you should fully quit any existing instances of Chrome before using this command by entering chrome://quit in the address bar, and that you can verify the command flags and Flash DLL used the current instance of Chrome by visiting chrome://version. Using a custom Flash DLL Flash path seems to cause Chrome to always report the Flash version as 11.2.999.999. Special thanks to @krum110487 and @nosamu from the Flashpoint Discord server for providing this information.
Firefox Specifics
Flash support is also entirely removed in Firefox 85. The plugins manager at about:plugins no longer lists Shockwave Flash, even if it is installed on the system.
In Firefox 85, if a website does not specify fallback HTML code, nothing replaces the Flash widget.
If fallback HTML code is specified, it will be displayed.
While Firefox 85’s lack of warning or user notification of missing Flash content when there is no fallback HTML code may seem weird, it is likely that this behavior follows the HTML standard more closely.
Other Browsers
Internet Explorer and Edge Legacy aren’t expected to exhibit any special behavior for the Flash shutdown, however, on January 12, 2021, Microsoft is expected to release an update to remove the preinstalled Flash player used by those browsers from Windows 8.1 and 10.
Workarounds
The Flash Player kill switch will break your Flash Player, but there are still workarounds to continue to view/interact with Flash Media after January 12!
There are many projects such as Ruffle and Flashpoint to ensure compatibility and preservation of Flash media, so hang onto your .swf’s!
For a thorough list of workarounds and other resources see this page.
Suggestions? Contact [email protected]
Update January 22, 2021: Linked new EOL killswitch workarounds.
Update January 11, 2021: Added screenshots and additional information for Chrome’s interface for marking the Flash Player component as outdated. Added a note that loading a custom Flash Player DLL in Chrome does not seem to prevent the block.
Special thanks to @themadprogramer for expanding the context for the article, adding a video, providing workarounds, and linking related Data Horde content.
]]>Do you still use Flash Player? Data Horde is conducting a survey to see how frequently people continue to use Flash Player even at the very end of its lifespan. It would mean a lot to us if you could spare 5-10 minutes to complete a very short survey.
Adobe is retiring Flash Player at the end of December, as you have likely heard. That means ending updates, ending support and unusually removing any and all downloads. What might be news to some readers is that recent updates have introduced a killswitch into Flash Player, which will be used to disable any Flash Player you may have installed prior to the End-Of-Life Date.
Adobe has updated their information page recently, announcing a grace period before the killswitch activates. While the removal of downloads and other End-Of-Life decisions will come into effect on January 1, the killswitch which will block any further use of Flash Player won’t activate until January 12.
Adobe has cited “helping secure users’ systems” as their reasoning:
Why is Adobe blocking Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021?
Since Adobe is no longer supporting Flash Player after the EOL Date, Adobe will block Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021 to help secure users’ systems. Flash Player may remain on the user’s system unless the user uninstalls it.
The EOL info page now also keeps track of browsers as they begin dropping Flash Player support, starting with Apple’s Safari.
While it is still disheartening to see that Adobe is determined to kill Flash Player at all costs, it is at least worth appreciating their attempts in making the process more transparent, thus allowing people to adapt accordingly. Here’s hoping the Flashpoint team will make the most out of this bonus time.
Are you adversely affected by the end of Flash Player? Be sure to check out the Flash Player Emergency Kit for useful resources!
Haphazard or not, this page contains some clear points, which have raised a few eyebrows. Most notably, there is an implication that Adobe is now bundling a killswitch into Flash Player, which will allow them to prevent the program from functioning past the end of life date.
Update December 10, 2020; Adobe has announced a 12-day grace period between the EOL date of December 31, 2020 and Killswitch date of January 12, 2021 :
Defunct product or not, Adobe still continued to release Flash Player updates regularly. If you check their release notes page you can see for yourself that Adobe has stood by their word to continue distribution for Flash Player until the end of life date. Granted, some of these release notes are almost hilariously short. One really has to wonder what issues could possibly warrant this degree of attention, even this late into a product’s lifecycle.
In today’s scheduled release, we’ve updated Flash Player with important bug fixes.
The entirety of the release notes for the August 11, 2020 update
A possible reason as to why Adobe has felt the need to continue these updates, became apparent when Adobe released their general information EOL statement. Formatted like an FAQ page, the statement provides answers for 7 questions explaining what Adobe’s terms for EOL are. In particular, there is a section which addresses previous versions of Flash Player:
4. Will Adobe make previous versions of Adobe Flash Player available for download after 2020?
No. Adobe will be removing Flash Player download pages from its site and Flash-based content will be blocked from running in Adobe Flash Player after the EOL Date.
Adobe always recommends using the latest, supported and up-to-date software. Customers should not use Flash Player after the EOL Date since it will not be supported by Adobe.
Not only are previous versions of Flash Player being removed from the website, but Flash Player itself will be blocked from running Flash-based content beyond December 31. It does not matter if you had downloaded Flash Player prior to this date, you will from now on be walled off from any and all Flash-content.
Seeing as Flash Player can run without an internet connection, it does not seem that this date-check will merely be a server-based validation. Thus the natural conclusion is that Adobe has bundled in a piece of code that will be able to perform this date-check from within Flash Player itself. A killswitch, if you will.
So as it turns out, Adobe’s continued attention to Flash Player has not been them comforting Flash Player on its deathbed, so much as building it a sturdy coffin. This is further emphasized by the following section:
5. If I find Flash Player available for download on a third-party website, can I use it?
No, these versions of Flash Player are not authorized by Adobe. Customers should not use unauthorized versions of Flash Player. Unauthorized downloads are a common source of malware and viruses. Adobe has no responsibility for unauthorized versions of Flash Player and customers’ use of such versions is entirely at their own risk.
Adobe really does not want to distribute Flash Player beyond the EOL date, and furthermore makes it clear that they do not want anyone else distributing Flash Player either. In Adobe’s defense, this is more so them trying to avoid being held accountable for any damage that may be caused by malicious vendors (i.e. computer viruses), but this section immediately following the previous one suggests that Adobe at least considers these decisions to be in a similar vein.
It bears mentioning, that Adobe will be offering alternative commercial solutions for any enterprise customers who might be adversely affected by these EOL decisions. They even have a separate page for enterprise customers.
How does this concern you? Unless you are a big enterprise you can expect personal or governmental websites that have not transitioned to non-Flash formats to cease functioning correctly, at the very least. Most browsers are dropping support anyway, this is just Adobe themselves taking steps to ensure Flash Player has a quick and silent death.
What does this mean for the archiving community? The Flashpoint team has taken their own precautions. By using the oldest version of Flash Player which is still compatible with all the archived Flash-content, they will minimize the risk of using a version that has a killswitch built into it. And the Ruffle team is still hard at work making their own Flash Player emulator. Best to do here is spread the word about their efforts. so people don’t delete all their Flash content assuming it to already be as good as gone.
Among all the uncertainties, one thing is for certain: The story of Adobe building a killswitch into what once was their premier product will certainly become a cautionary tale for the future.
]]>So let’s talk about Ruffle. This is one of the latest attempts to rebuild Flash. And by that I mean, this is a Rust-based emulator of Flash. Mozilla tried their hand at it before with Shumway but well, that died. This is another go at it.
It’s still not quite at “drop-in replacement” stage yet and its ActionScript support isn’t all there yet, but hey, there’s a demo page where you can play an old take on Metal Slug if you want!
