Flash Player 11.2 Introduces Automatic Updates

If you are not running Google Chrome as your one and only browser on your PC system, you are probably tired of having to update Adobe’s Flash Player regularly to protect the system from security vulnerabilities. This could change soon with the release of Adobe’s Flash Player 11.2. The new version of Flash, currently available as a beta download at Adobe Labs, introduces a technology called Flash Player Background Updater.

The auto-updater is only provided for Windows systems in Flash 11.2. Windows users who install Flash Player 11.2 or later will see the following prompt after the successful installation.

It reads:

Security updates and enhancements are periodically released for Adobe Flash Player that can be downloaded and installed automatically.

Choose your update method:

• Install updates automatically when possible (recommended)
• Notify me when updates are available
• Never check for updates (not recommended)

The first option checks for and installs Flash Player versions automatically on the operating system. Depending on the Flash version installed, this may include one (Internet Explorer version or other browser version) or even both versions if both are installed on the system.

The second option will perform the same checks for new versions. Instead of installing new versions automatically it will inform the user instead.

Flash Player will check for updates once per hour if the first or second option are selected. Adobe notes that users need to restart their web browser after an update has been installed to use the new version of Flash Player in the web browser.

The latest version of Adobe Flash Player 11.2 is available on the Adobe Labs download page. The installer is provided for all 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems that support Adobe Flash. The very same page offer downloads for the Flash Player uninstaller for 32-bit and 64-bit systems to uninstall the test version from the system again.

The update checks for new Flash versions are added as a Windows task so that no update program is running all the time on the computer system. It is likely that this new security feature will decrease the number of successful Flash player based attacks on Windows significantly. (via)

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© Martin Brinkmann for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2011. | Permalink |
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Adobe Releases Flash Player 11, Air 3

Adobe software today has released the final versions of Adobe Flash Player 11 and Adobe Air 3. Probably the biggest feature of Flash Player 11 is hardware accelerated graphics rendering support through Stage 3D. Adobe states that the new technology improves rendering times by a factor of up to a 1000 times over Flash Player 10. This new rendering speed allows for “console-quality” games on the Flash platform, according to Adobe who published two sample videos that demonstrate the capabilities of the new version of Flash.

You can watch both videos below:

They both certainly look impressive. Another important feature of Flash Player 11 is native 64-bit support which previously was not available at all, if you discount the Flash Player 11 Beta phase that is. The release furthermore offers theater-quality HD video and high quality HD video conferencing.

Flash Online Installation

Users of supported operating systems and browsers can install Flash online from Adobe’s website. This installer should work for everyone except Chrome users who are automatically updated to the newest Flash version whenever it is released.

Flash 11 Offline Installers

Not every user can install Flash from Adobe’s website, for instance if the computer that Flash needs to be installed on has no direct Internet connection. Some users prefer offline installers as well.

The following links point to the Flash 11 offline installers on the Adobe website. You can download those to install them on one or multiple systems.

• Microsoft Windows: Internet Explorer 32-bit, 64-bit – Web browsers 32-bit, 64-bit
• Apple Macintosh: 32-bit, 64-bit
• Linux: 32-bit, 64-bit

Adobe Air users can download and install the latest version from the Adobe website.

Interested users find announcements of the new releases both on the Flash Player Team Blog and the Flash Platform Blog which are both hosted on the Adobe website.

Both announcements link to additional pages that offer details about some of the new technologies included in Flash Player 11 and Adobe Air 3.

You can check which version of Adobe Flash you have installed by visiting Adobe’s About page on their website. (via)

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© Martin Brinkmann for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2011. | Permalink |
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Post tags: adobe, adobe air, adobe flash player, flash player, flash player 11