Internet Explorer will soon start blocking outdated versions of Adobe Flash on Windows 7

Internet Explorer 11 about page
Internet Explorer 11 about page (Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft has announced that it will soon start blocking outdated versions of Adobe Flash Player from running in Internet Explorer on Windows 7. Specifically, the company will start using its ActiveX control blocking feature to prevent web pages from loading content with outdated Flash controls on October 11.

From Microsoft:

Starting on October 11, 2016, we're expanding the out-of-date ActiveX control blocking feature to include outdated versions of Adobe Flash Player. This update notifies you when a Web page tries to load a Flash ActiveX control older than (but not including):

  • Adobe Flash Player version 21.0.0.198
  • Adobe Flash Player Extended Support Release version 18.0.0.241

It's important to note that this only applies to Internet Explorer 11 running on Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2. If you're running Windows 8.1, Windows 10 or Windows Server 2012R2, you'll remain unaffected since Windows Update automatically installs important Flash updates.

If you're curious, Microsoft has provided a running list of outdated ActiveX controls (opens in new tab) that it is blocking, including older versions of Java and Silverlight.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl

8 Comments
  • They should do this for Java also (excluding Windows Enterprise editions)
  • Flash was dead 4 years ago. Seriously, old buggy, resource-hogging, 2004 technology. 
  • 1994*
  • Not so. There are things I can do in Flash that I just can't do yet with HTML5, or with Animate.
  • This should have been the approach from the jump rather than trying to kill off flash entirely. It still has its uses and html/javascript based animation of complex scenes still isn't quite as performance optimized as flash (not to mention less reliable preloading of assets) but it's getting there with libraries like greensock which was flash only but has since been ported to html5/js..
  • A result of Apples Mobile dominance.....the gimped Mobile safari couldn't handle flash, and the rapid amount of people using Mobile web browsers couldn't access many websites. I am just glad I didn't invest the time to learn it
  • I remember my Windows phone 7 and 8 couldn't load flash pages. =P
  • I wish Java implemented their updates through Windows Update as well, they have such a hassle of an updater.