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Adobe Flash Player checks for updates at startup. If updates are required the Adobe dialog pops up with a [Download] button.

  • Usually when I hit the [Download] button it downloads the update straight away with a progress bar that zips across the dialog. I then get the option to install it. All good.

  • However, sometimes when I hit the [Download] button it takes me to the website: https://get3.adobe.com/flashplayer/update/plugin/
    Which presents me with an [Update now] button (and to install McAfee!). What is this for? Why didn't it download and install in the "usual" way?

enter image description here

So, why are there apparently two different update methods for what appears to be the same thing? One is nice and swish and integrated into the updater, the other more long winded. In fact, I don't [Update now] when it takes me to the website, because "it looks a bit dodgy to me!?"

This is happening on both a Windows XP desktop and a Windows Vista laptop.

EDIT: I suspect the 2nd method, that takes me to the website, is related to the Flash plugin in Firefox. This dialog only seems to occur after having been running Firefox the previous day. However, the webpage itself does not indicate this.

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  • Is it the same browser?
    – Ali
    Dec 6, 2012 at 10:55
  • @Ali: Well that's the thing, I don't know which browser(s) these updates relate to. The prompt to update Flash is as soon as I've booted the machine, before starting any browser. There is no mention of which browser via either update method. The webpage (which has just opened on the Vista laptop) simply states "Your system: Windows, English".
    – MrWhite
    Dec 6, 2012 at 11:12

1 Answer 1

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Well that's the thing, I don't know which browser(s) these updates relate to. The prompt to update Flash is as soon as I've booted the machine, before starting any browser.

It seems that Adobe support staff would be best placed to answer this question but it appears to me that the download is triggered by the Adobe updater which runs at system startup.

Now Adobe updater determines whether an in place download and update is possible and if so does it without sending you to the website. But there may be reasons (best known to Adobe) when an in place download is not possible and it redirects you to the website. A good reason I can think of is when the Adobe updater itself needs to be updated before updating the flash player component.

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