I’ve warned you before about fake Flash Player updates, but this time I thought I’d show you the process for a genuine Flash update. It’s important to keep Flash Player up-to-date because crooks often use flaws in Flash as a means of attacking your PC.
When it’s time for an actual Flash update, you’ll see a window like this pop up on your PC. This is something that shows up when I’m using a browser online, this comes up all by itself.
If you look at the message, you’ll notice that, unlike fake update notices, there’s no false sense of urgency here. It even explains that if you are set for automatic updates, you’ll update on your own without any action required. False notices tend to push the idea that you need to do it immediately.
If you click that download button, you’ll be taken to Adobe’s site. You could just skip hitting the button and go Adobe’s update site here: https://get3.adobe.com/flashplayer/update/activex/
Note the address bar at the top of your browser.
You’ll notice that Adobe tries to sneak in a free McAfee download. I’d uncheck that unless you happen to want an installation of McAfee Security Scan Plus.
Then click the Update now button.
A window will open asking your permission to save the file. Click Save.
Now, go to your Downloads folder and look for a file called flashplayer27axau_ha_install.
Double-click to start the installation. You’ll have to give permission.
The installation process won’t take long. A blue bar will update you on the progress. Make sure to click the finish button when it’s done.
You’ll need to restart the browser for the changes to take effect.