Disable Flash content in the default Windows 10 browser

Jul 19, 2018 11:35 GMT  ·  By

After so many years of making our systems vulnerable to cyber-attacks, Adobe plans to discontinue Flash Player in approximately two years.

As a move that would primarily eliminate one of the main attack vectors against Windows computers, this decision was received with excitement by the IT pro community, especially given that patching Flash Player has often been at the top of their monthly agenda.

For the time being, however, Flash Player is still available and, what’s more, it’s still part of our browsers, which means that until Adobe indeed pulls the plug on it, we may have to deal with the same struggles as before.

Microsoft Edge, the new default Windows 10 browser, supports Flash Player as well, and by default, the app is configured to load such content on websites.

While browser developers are now working on additional methods to give users more control over Flash Player content, such as disabling auto-playing content on websites, there are also ways to block Flash entirely in Microsoft Edge. And doing this is seen as a method to keep devices more secure, especially in the enterprise.

There are basically two simple methods to do this, but the latter is only available on computers running Windows 10 Pro, as it involves changing the default group policies.

Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 April 2018 Update

On Windows 10 Home

Fortunately, Microsoft knows how important it is for users to be able to disable Flash Player in Edge, so there’s a dedicated option that anyone can configure to make sure that such content isn’t loaded when browsing the web.

Needless to say, it can be enabled and disabled by anyone using a computer, so while it’s a handy method for home users, not the same thing can be said about businesses.

On Windows 10 Home, all you have to do in order to have Edge block Flash Player is to go to the Settings screen of the browser > Advanced Settings > Use Adobe Flash Player.

As said, this option is enabled by default, so just click the small toggle to switch it to off. Remember that once it’s blocked, Flash Player content would no longer be loaded, so you have to follow the same steps in order to re-enable Flash in Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 April 2018 Update

On Windows 10 Pro

While the Windows 10 Home method can be used on Pro as well, using the Group Policy Editor is a much better option in the enterprise because it restricts employees to the settings you make without letting them apply any changes.

To do this, launch the Group Policy Editor by hitting the Windows key + R and type gpedit.msc in the dialog that shows up. Once you’re there, navigate to the following path in the Group Policy Editor:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Edge In the right side of the screen, there’s a policy called Allow Adobe Flash, which by default is set to Not Configured.

As its name suggests, setting this policy to Enabled allows Flash Player to be used in Microsoft Edge, so what you need to do is to configure it to the Disabled option. This means users won’t be able to access Adobe Flash in Microsoft Edge, even if the option in the browser is set to allow it.

A system reboot isn’t required, though you should keep in mind that if you want to re-enable Flash Player once again, you have to edit the policy and set it either to Not Configured or to Enabled. If you’re afraid that anything can break down, you can create a system backup, though this isn’t the case as changing policies shouldn’t impact performance and reliability in any way.

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Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 April 2018 Update
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