Adobe Flash will die and how does this affects VMware
December 31, 2020 will not only be the end of the miserable year 2020, it will also be the end of an era - the era of Adobe Flash! Adobe has announced that they will stop supporting Adobe Flash after December 31, 2020. Furthermore, Adobe will block Flash from running in Flash Player on January 12, 2021. Adobe strongly recommends that all users immediately uninstall Flash Player. I got a popup a couple of times, asking me if I want to uninstall Adobe Flash. It’s still installed… :/
Adobe Flash isn’t a big thing in web development anymore, but there is a reason why I still have Adobe Flash installed - Admin Interfaces!
Source: 9GAG
We all had to deal with Flash after VMware started with the vSphere Web Client. It was slow and partially painful buggy. New newer HTML5 based Web Client was much better, but not feature complete until vSphere 6.7.
But the vSphere Web Client was not the only admin interface based on Flash used in a VMware product. The Horizon Administrator, which was the main administration interface until Horizon 7.8, is also based on Flash. Or vRealize Operations uses Flash until version 6.6.
Update now!
If you want to remove Adobe Flash from your computer, you have to update your whole, or at least parts, of your VMware infrastructure.
The simple rule is: Update to the latest release and everything will be fine. If you are running vSphere 6.7 U3, the HTML5 based Web Client is feature complete. The same applies to Horizon View. If you are running 7.10 or a newer release, everything is fine.
VMware has published and KB article which summarizes the update paths: VMware Flash End of Life and Supportability (78589).
But what if I can’t/ or I’m unwilling to update?
In this case, there is an easy approach: Disconnect your systems from the internet or at least block the internet access for them. The alternative approach is not recommended! Stop the automatic updates on your web browser and use the Flash-based User Interfaces on a browser which still supports Flash. Again: This is really not recommended!