Adobe continued to support Flash until the end of the year 2020. Android hasn’t utilized this technology in a long time, whereas iOS has never used it. After Adobe quits maintenance, though, leaving it up and running exposes users to potential security vulnerabilities and possible exploits.Flash is dwindling in popularity as it transitions out of most systems. If not, I’ll happily remove the Shockwave Player for Windows from the remaining half-dozen machines. I’ve removed it from a couple of test machines, and will fool around with my usual websites and see if this alters my experience. I looked at my collection of 8 PCs and was amazed to find that ALL of them have Shockwave installed. If you don’t use it, there’s no reason to keep it around. If you use it, you don’t need to lose it.

I’m of the opinion that Shockwave is neither a blight on the Internet, nor any kind of panacea, either. Brinkmann observes that “Third-party download sites may continue to offer Shockwave Player for Windows, and users may install the program on Windows devices.” He goes on to say that the company won’t be supporting the platform any more after that “with the exception of Enterprise licenses that may still be valid.” Rhett Jones at Gizmodois ready to rumble, and recommends that “you should use this moment to delete Shockwave from your computer once and for all.” Opinions differ on how users and admins should respond to Shockwave’s immanent departure.

After You Say Bye Bye Adobe Shockwave, Then What? Right now, the download page for Shockwave is still accessible.

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