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AddisonIII

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 8, 2013
190
54
Having searched forums and finding no answers my question is why am I suddenly getting pop up's that my Flash player is out of date and needs updated. My iMac 2017 model never had flash that I know of and after searching Library I still can't find flash listed.
I have Firefox installed but only get the outdated flash while on Safari. Any idea's what's causing the pop up's?
 
Having searched forums and finding no answers my question is why am I suddenly getting pop up's that my Flash player is out of date and needs updated. My iMac 2017 model never had flash that I know of and after searching Library I still can't find flash listed.
I have Firefox installed but only get the outdated flash while on Safari. Any idea's what's causing the pop up's?
This may be an advertisement that is using javascript to create a fake update notice. Do you run an ad blocker in Safari? If not, this might get rid of the fake update notice.
 
Likely malware or browser extension. Run MWB: https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/
I have Malwarebytes running, but always says nothing found. Thanks for the suggestion.
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what keysofanxiety said. it's fake, not a real adobe notice. check your browser's extensions, possibly something there that shouldn't be.
fisherking, I looked there but it's empty. The last Pop up that I got did an automatic download, but didn't install so I trashed it. was was off is the download had a gear icon that looked like we would see for iOS or Mac updates :-(
 
try installing an adblocker (for example, under 'safari', go to "safari extensions...", and try something like 'ka-block', free)...
 
This may be an advertisement that is using javascript to create a fake update notice. Do you run an ad blocker in Safari? If not, this might get rid of the fake update notice.
Oh gosh, I thought for sure I had a blocker installed but can't seem to find one installed. I checked my iPad and I have Adguard on it. I was sure it was on my iMac as well. I just noticed when pulling up Launchpad suddenly there is a listing for Adobe Reader DC, and also it is showing in Finder under applications.
Is there a way to find an install date? and could this also be the reason for Adobe wanting to do an update player install? I'm getting more confused by the min...
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try installing an adblocker (for example, under 'safari', go to "safari extensions...", and try something like 'ka-block', free)...
I just took your advise and installed an ad blocker. Thanks for the help
 
Addison --

Do you USE Adobe Flash?

If so, you can go to the Flash preference pane (system preferences) and check to see if the version you have is the latest version.

If you NEED "the latest version" of Flash, you can use the following URL to obtain it:
https://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/latest/help/install_flash_player_osx.dmg

WARNING WARNING!
Clicking the URL above will initiate an immediate download of the latest version of Flash to your Mac, so click it ONLY if you need to.

I won't editorialize about why one should or shouldn't use Flash. I realize it's going to be deprecated in 2020 or so.

But, having said that, I've had Flash installed from .... well, from "way back when", and it's never caused me problems.
 
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Addison --

Do you USE Adobe Flash?

If so, you can go to the Flash preference pane (system preferences) and check to see if the version you have is the latest version.

If you NEED "the latest version" of Flash, you can use the following URL to obtain it:
https://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/latest/help/install_flash_player_osx.dmg

WARNING WARNING!
Clicking the URL above will initiate an immediate download of the latest version of Flash to your Mac, so click it ONLY if you need to.

I won't editorialize about why one should or shouldn't use Flash. I realize it's going to be deprecated in 2020 or so.

But, having said that, I've had Flash installed from .... well, from "way back when", and it's never caused me problems.
I used flash for years on my windows machines, but since switching to iMac there hasn’t seemed to be a need for it. That is until I started getting pop ups. Now it has me wondering if I should go ahead and install it.
 
... but since switching to iMac there hasn’t seemed to be a need for it. That is until I started getting pop ups. Now it has me wondering if I should go ahead and install it.
My advice: don't. By your own admission, a solution in search of a problem.

Adobe Flash Player is a notorious security problem. As a result, there is a never-ending stream of security updates issued by Adobe. And because users are conditioned to install updates, hackers have entered this space to produce pop-ups with links to websites that will install malware or adware on your computer. These pop-ups are almost always not legitimate.

Flash, thankfully, is rapidly fading away. You don't need it. If you don't have Flash browser extension installed, most web videos these days will run using another standard, HTML5. For those rare times when you need to run Flash, simply launch the Chrome browser and navigate to the appropriate website. Chrome somehow embeds Flash capability in the browser, automatically kept updated and secure by Google so you don't need to install anything.

I uninstalled Flash from all of my family's Macs years ago and have not missed it at all.

If you already have adware or malware on your computer that is producing these pop-ups, try installing and running Malwarebytes to remove the malware. Link: https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/
 
My advice: don't. By your own admission, a solution in search of a problem.

Adobe Flash Player is a notorious security problem. As a result, there is a never-ending stream of security updates issued by Adobe. And because users are conditioned to install updates, hackers have entered this space to produce pop-ups with links to websites that will install malware or adware on your computer. These pop-ups are almost always not legitimate.

Flash, thankfully, is rapidly fading away. You don't need it. If you don't have Flash browser extension installed, most web videos these days will run using another standard, HTML5. For those rare times when you need to run Flash, simply launch the Chrome browser and navigate to the appropriate website. Chrome somehow embeds Flash capability in the browser, automatically kept updated and secure by Google so you don't need to install anything.

I uninstalled Flash from all of my family's Macs years ago and have not missed it at all.

If you already have adware or malware on your computer that is producing these pop-ups, try installing and running Malwarebytes to remove the malware. Link: https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/
A big thank you to all that gave feed back to my issue. Merry Christmas to all !
 
try installing an adblocker (for example, under 'safari', go to "safari extensions...", and try something like 'ka-block', free)...
Installing ka-block was a big mistake! Just did. Made half of Safari disappear, and now can't uninstall ka-block. Says can't move it to trash while it is running and can't turn it off. Now what!
 
^^^^Try to restart in Safe Mode then try to uninstall it using an uninstall utility. I use AppCleaner.

And whatever you do, DON"T install one of the Flash Player PopUps. They are not real and will do bad things.

Lou7
 
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Installing ka-block was a big mistake! Just did. Made half of Safari disappear, and now can't uninstall ka-block. Says can't move it to trash while it is running and can't turn it off. Now what!
I have installed AdGuard and no longer am I getting any pop ups.
 
Click the Apple icon in the menu bar, while holding down the Option key, then select System Information. Under System Information, click on Software/Installations, and you can sort the list by install date if you wish.
HenryAZ, Thank you for the info....that is what I was looking for but had no luck finding. Have a great day.
 
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