A reader has a question about Flash Player and Java
“I was wondering if we still need Flash Player and Java. I have received notice that Flash Player will no longer be supported this fall and Google, Firefox and Edge do not use Java. What does this mean? As they say Java is everywhere so why is it no longer supported by these browsers?”
You don’t need Flash Player unless there’s something you absolutely need to run that won’t work without it. That’s not going to matter much soon, as Adobe is retiring the program.
Most browsers no longer support Java plug-ins that allow Java applets to run. However, Java is still an incredibly popular programming language. It’s the basis for most Android apps and used for creating many desktop programs.
What’s going away are browser plug-ins. Back in the day, plug-ins were needed to allow browsers to do things like play videos or display certain graphics. However, plug-ins are vulnerable to attack and a big security risk. These days, those functions are built right into browsers.
Most plug-ins are becoming obsolete. You may still come across things that don’t work well without them. But that’s a rarity these days.