Q. Why do I never get messages to update Adobe Flash on Google Chrome but I do for other browsers? How can I tell if I have the latest version of the Flash player?
A. Google’s Chrome browser uses an embedded version of the Adobe Flash Player plug-in software, and the browser updates itself when a new version of Flash is released for security (or performance) improvements. Some browsers use a separate version of the Adobe Flash Player plug-in instead, and may get alerts from Adobe when there is a new version of the Flash player to install.
To see if you have the latest version of Google Chrome installed on your computer, open the Menu button (which looks like three horizontal lines) on the right side of the browser window, select Help and then About Google Chrome. The browser will check for any new updates and download and install them — or confirm that you are running the latest version of Chrome. (If you have not closed your browser in several days or weeks, the Menu button will appear in red, orange or green signifying that an update has been ready for seven, four or two days.)
Adobe’s Help page for using its Flash software with Chrome says “it can take some time for updates to roll out to all Chrome users.” If you want to double check the Flash Player version that Chrome is using, visit the mainFlash Player page on Adobe’s site to see a chart of all the current versions of the Flash Player available for various browsers, along with the version you are currently using in Chrome.
While the Adobe Flash Player was once a common software tool for playing videos and animations on web pages, the program has had its share of security problems in recent years, which has caused many people to disable the plug-in in their browsers as a safety precaution. Many websites have also stopped using Adobe Flash and have moved on to newer technology for displaying multimedia content. If you want to turn off the Flash Player or only allow it to run with your permission on specific sites, go to the address bar at the top of the browser window, type in chrome://plugins and press the Enter key to get to the settings for managing the Adobe Flash Player within Chrome.
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