Flash is Retiring, Thanks Adobe

Vince Tabora
Jul 28, 2017 · 3 min read

The rise of interactive and animated content on the Internet would not have taken off if not for Flash, the software developed by Adobe for animated content creation on websites. It was a multimedia platform that developers adopted early on for creating websites that brought more than just static content to web browsers. Flash was an integral part of Macromedia software which was then purchased by Adobe. With the Flash player plug-in supported on web browsers like Internet Explorer, Flash brought a world of animations and interactive content to users. In the early 2000’s Flash was widely accepted and installed as plug-in on most browsers while websites were developed with Flash content. It ushered in websites that provided edutainment, infotainment, embedded video or audio and even online video games. It seemed like Flash was going to be a standard for web development, until it reared it’s ugly head.

Security flaws became a main issue with the Flash player. It was such an issue that many experts recommended not using it for content creation or installing the Flash player plug-in. Flash had critical vulnerabilities which Adobe has also acknowledged and fixed. There were still loopholes discovered that allowed remote code execution attacks. Certain Flash content can also fool users to install malware and viruses that can lead to a compromised system. That began a backlash that would affect Flash use for web content. Mozilla blocked the use of Flash on it’s Firefox browser after discovering flaws in Flash that allowed hackers to steal user data. Kaspersky Security Network also published a report which highlighted that “Flash Player vulnerabilities enable cybercriminals to bypass security systems integrated into the application.” In 2009, Symantec, the AV company that makes Norton Antivirus, reported Flash for having one of the worst security records. Flash also took a hit from none other than Steve Jobs who was very critical of the software. In 2010, Steve Jobs even wrote an open letter called “Thoughts on Flash”. For that reason Apple refused to allow Flash on it’s iPhone and iPad brands.

There was another big problem, and it would affect businesses who had their websites developed using Flash. It wasn’t just a security issue, but also one that affects web searches on Google. Google had emerged as the most popular and powerful search engine in 2000. At about the same time companies developed their websites using Flash. However it turns out Flash was detrimental to search engines like Google when using SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO is all about content and links on websites. Flash doesn’t use URLs for web pages and it also doesn’t allow monitoring outbound links. There is no content Google can index if it cannot read it’s metatags or text. Flash isn’t text based at all which is the problem for search engines. As a result, it leads to lower rankings on searches within Google and that can affect a website’s exposure.

Adobe has now determined Flash’s eventual demise, which will be 2020. All support and updates to the software will cease so it is time to move on to the alternatives to Flash. The final nail in the coffin was probably the announcement by Google, Apple, Microsoft and Mozilla (between 2015–2016) that they would be blocking Flash and making HTML5 the default. It is now a bad choice for any modern web design to use Flash with the rise of HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript. Developers are utilizing those tools now that it is proven you can create content similar to Flash, with less overhead and security concerns. Web designers and developers are finding other ways to provide dynamic content for websites without using Flash. What is important these days on websites is useful content that can also be indexed by search engines. This also creates opportunities for developers to help companies move from Flash to new and open web standards.

Vince Tabora

Written by

Electrical Engineering, Data Science, Photography, Blockchain, AI, Cybersecurity, Multimedia, EV and Autonomous Vehicles

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