Adobe Flash, Shockwave, and Oracle Java on XP (Part 2)

[Mathwiz]

I'm back! Sorry I've been out of sight for so long. See my profile for more info.

Anyway, the Clean Flash Installer is up to 34.0.0.164175. The latest version should always be at the top of this page: https://github.com/CleanFlash/installer/releases. I have it working in IE (who cares) and Basilisk on both XP and 7.

Although Flash works in Chrome up to version 87, I assume there's no hope for Chromium-based Edge on Win 7? Edge versions as far back as 77 just display a brief "not supported after December 2020" bar at the top.  Doesn't even stay onscreen long enough to read! Apparently Edge has its own time-bomb independent of the ones in Flash 32.

The batch file version of Clean Flash is more recent than the installer version: 34.0.0.175. It's near the top of this page (scroll down to the Windows version): https://github.com/darktohka/clean-flash-builds/releases

Edited July 26, 2021 by Mathwiz
Update version number of latest version

[Andreasmir]

Hi.

Does anyone have the latest Java 8 u301 x64 in archive (not installer)? I want to try to run it under my Windows XP x64. Because Java 8 u231 x64 works fine w\o any modifications.

[Dave-H]

The very last entry in this list should do you.
You might have to register with Oracle to download it.
It's no big deal to do though.

[VistaLover]

38 minutes ago, Dave-H said:

The very last entry in this list should do you.
You might have to register with Oracle to download it.

Direct download link, without an Oracle account  :

https://javadl.oracle.com/webapps/download/AutoDL?BundleId=245061_d3c52aa6bfa54d3ca74e617f18309292

Edited August 3, 2021 by VistaLover

[Mathwiz]

I suspect very few folks use Internet Explorer with Flash anymore, but for those few, last March Microsoft added a "security feature" to IE 11 (and I think IE 9 for Server 2008; perhaps a Vista user can confirm or refute that. IE 8 for XP hasn't been updated since PosReady '09 EOS, so no change for XP users).

It's not a time bomb; just a warning bar that pops up if you browse to a site that uses Flash content, reminding you (once again) that Flash is EOL. You can dismiss the warning, and at least as of the July update roll-ups, if you have a working ActiveX Flash version installed, Flash content still works.

Since it was added after Flash EOL, my guess is that it was intended to tell users why these Web pages don't work any more. But of course, if you do have a working Flash version installed, the Web pages do work, so the warning bar is just a nuisance.

Knowing Microsoft, it's likely there's a registry entry somewhere to turn the bloody thing off, but I don't know that for sure. If any of you know of one, please share!

[Usher]

Windows Vista ans Windows Server 2008 have had EOS in 2018, before Windows POSReady2009.

There may be updates for IE11 in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. There may be also notifications from Adobe. If some sites can't run FlashPlayer, they may redirect users to Adobe FlashPlayer download page.

But I'm only guessing. If you provide any link for webpages with such a "security feature", I will be able to check it.

[VistaLover]

10 hours ago, Usher said:

Windows Vista ans Windows Server 2008 have had EOS in 2018

Wrong on both counts... 

Vista's End of Extended Support came in April 2017 (2017-04-11); 
WS2008's End of Extended Support came in January 2020 (2020-01-14) ...

WS2008 updates released after Apr 11th 2017 (Vista's EoS} can be manually downloaded from MUC (Microsoft Update Catalog) and installed in Vista SP2 (with select few exceptions), practically "extending" its "Extended Support" up to January 2020... 

Additionally, M$ provide, under a fee, continued (paid) support for WS2008 (for Enterprises, only  ) with security-only updates for an additional 3-year period, i.e. until Jan 2023; the Vista user community has come up with tools/ways to also install these ESU (Extended Security Updates) to Vista itself, prolonging its "Extended Support" up to Jan 2023; the morality/legality of applying this set of ESU updates on Vista is grey/questionable at least, so I won't elaborate more on this... 

22 hours ago, Mathwiz said:

(and I think IE 9 for Server 2008; perhaps a Vista user can confirm or refute that.

Sadly, I'm not applying WS2008 ESU updates on Vista, but if M$ did release this annoying "security feature" for Adobe Flash in IE11 ("last March" signals it was an ESU update for Win7 SP1), it's highly probable a similar update was issued, under the ESU plan, for WS2008's IE9... 

22 hours ago, Mathwiz said:

I suspect very few folks use Internet Explorer with Flash anymore

... Not one of those few  , in fact IE9/Vista SP2 is practically worthless for most sites of 2021  , including MSFN, but I suspect IE11/Win7+, now deprecated itself, has still some residual "life"  into it, if one cares to browse the web of 2021 with it   ...

Edited August 7, 2021 by VistaLover

[Usher]

15 hours ago, VistaLover said:

Wrong on both counts... 

Vista's End of Extended Support came in April 2017 (2017-04-11); 
WS2008's End of Extended Support came in January 2020 (2020-01-14) ...

I'm not using those systems. Thanks for corrected info.

15 hours ago, VistaLover said:

 I suspect IE11/Win7+, now deprecated itself, has still some residual "life"  into it, if one cares to browse the web of 2021 with it   ...

Looked at the Windows usage statistics:  https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide

1. Win10 78.43%,
2. Win7 16.03%,
3. Win8.1 3.49%,
4. Win8 1.17%,
5. WinXP 0.59%,
6. WinVista 0.26%

The order stays unchanged for a long time. Obviously people in Windows 7 use better browsers than IE11.

[Mathwiz]

On 8/6/2021 at 6:39 PM, VistaLover said:

M$ provide, under a fee, continued (paid) support for WS2008 (for Enterprises, only  ) with security-only updates for an additional 3-year period, i.e. until Jan 2023

Yes, same story for Windows 7 (including IE 11 on Win 7 systems), as you are probably aware. So Windows 8 and 8.1 users (and Win 7 users with an ESU key) are the ones most likely to encounter this IE annoyance. Of course, there are more usable Flash-compatible browsers than IE for all Windows versions from 2000 through 8.1, but a Web site old enough to still have Flash content is probably still compatible with IE 11 too.

On 8/6/2021 at 6:39 PM, VistaLover said:

...the Vista user community has come up with tools/ways to also install these ESU (Extended Security Updates) to Vista itself, prolonging its "Extended Support" up to Jan 2023; the morality/legality of applying this set of ESU updates on Vista is grey/questionable

I can see arguments both ways on these workarounds, so I'll limit my comments to merely note that Win 7 (and probably Vista) users employing them will also encounter the Flash warning, if they use IE for Flash content and apply the March 2021 or later IE update rollup.

On 8/6/2021 at 6:39 PM, VistaLover said:

IE9/Vista SP2 is practically worthless for most sites of 2021  , including MSFN

IE8 is even more worthless. About the only site that works better under IE is Microsoft's Update Catalog, since you can select multiple updates with IE then download them all with a single click (other browsers require separate clicks to download each update). But even the catalog now needs a local proxy for IE8 to connect, since it switched to modern security protocols.

Switching topics slightly, I find this whole Flash imbroglio striking. The entire PC software industry, including Adobe, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla, (and probably other big players like Apple too) collaborated in a multi-year effort to render a commonly-deployed Web technology useless. Given Flash's frequent security and privacy issues, I can understand the decision, but AFAIK it's pretty much unprecedented. The closest thing that comes to mind was Mozilla's switch to "Web Extension" browser add-ons, destroying about a googol of Firefox apps in one fell swoop, but that was just one company's unilateral decision - and it didn't entirely work, due to Firefox being open source. At least the Flash phaseout was handled fairly well - there's little need for Flash anymore - but if you're one of those who still needs it, you weren't given much official recourse. Sort of a scary precedent.

[Mathwiz]

On 7/18/2021 at 12:14 PM, Mathwiz said:

I'm back! Sorry I've been out of sight for so long. See my profile for more info.

Anyway, the Clean Flash Installer is up to 34.0.0.164175. The latest version should always be at the top of this page: https://github.com/CleanFlash/installer/releases. I have it working in IE (who cares) and Basilisk on both XP and 7.

Although Flash works in Chrome up to version 87, I assume there's no hope for Chromium-based Edge on Win 7? Edge versions as far back as 77 just display a brief "not supported after December 2020" bar at the top.  Doesn't even stay onscreen long enough to read! Apparently Edge has its own time-bomb independent of the ones in Flash 32.

The batch file version of Clean Flash is more recent than the installer version: 34.0.0.175. It's near the top of this page (scroll down to the Windows version): https://github.com/darktohka/clean-flash-builds/releases

As of today, latest Flash version at both links is 34.0.0.184. Confirmed to install and run on Windows XP.

[VistaLover]

On 7/18/2021 at 8:14 PM, Mathwiz said:

the Clean Flash Installer is up to 34.0.0.164175. The latest version should always be at the top of this page: https://github.com/CleanFlash/installer/releases

The latest release of CleanFlash_34.0.0.xxx_Installer.exe WAS based on Chinese Flash v34.0.0.192 ; 
I wrote "WAS", because

https://github.com/CleanFlash/installer

 An issue has been filed: 

https://github.com/darktohka/clean-flash-builds/issues/4

[VistaLover]

Web Archive scavenged links to CleanFlash_34.0.0.192_Installer.exe : 

https://web.archive.org/web/20210923173744/https://github.com/CleanFlash/installer/releases

https://web.archive.org/web/20210923173709/https://github.com/CleanFlash/installer/releases/tag/v1.5

https://web.archive.org/web/20210923173709/https://github.com/CleanFlash/installer/releases/download/v1.5/CleanFlash_34.0.0.192_Installer.exe

[VistaLover]

Clean Flash Installer repo moved, for now, to GitLab: 

https://gitlab.com/cleanflash/installer/-/releases/34.0.0.192

If Adobe are really determined, the future of that second repo might also be uncertain...

PS: If on WinXP, to load that GitLab page you need a UXP browser by roytam1, along with the very latest version of github-wc-polyfill extension by JustOff; any flavour of 360EE will also do... 

[Mathwiz]

Thanks @VistaLover. I was out of the loop for a while and just saw that Adobe filed a DMCA take-down against Darktohka. I suspect (s)he will have to find a non-US host to escape the DMCA and keep this project available long-term. Evidently Adobe really doesn't want users outside of China running Flash any more! (cf. my rant at the end of this post):

Get 34.0.0.192 from the Wayback Machine while you can; it may become the last Flash version you can get!

Link for github-wc-polyfill: https://github.com/JustOff/github-wc-polyfill/releases.

Important notes:

1. Version 1.2.8 is now required to access GitLab!
2. Heed @VistaLover's mention of UXP. This is only compatible with modern UXP-based browsers: Pale Moon/New Moon/MyPal 28, Basilisk/Serpent/IceApe 52.9, and SeaMonkey 2.53 (which doesn't work on Win XP). I'm unsure if it can be modified to work on FF 52.9 or Serpent 55, but it doesn't work OOTB. Pretty sure it won't work on other FF-based browsers (e.g. PM/NM 27; FF 45).
3. For New Moon or IceApe, you need to go into the .xpi archive with 7-Zip and modify install.rdf. For New Moon you can just change the existing <em:minVersion> for Pale Moon from 28.14 to 28.10. It will then look like the first code snippet below. For IceApe you can just insert the second code snippet below in its entirety:

	<!-- New Moon -->
	<em:targetApplication>
	    <Description>
		<em:id>{8de7fcbb-c55c-4fbe-bfc5-fc555c87dbc4}</em:id>
		<em:minVersion>28.10.0</em:minVersion>
		<em:maxVersion>29.*</em:maxVersion>
	    </Description>
	</em:targetApplication>

	<!-- Iceape-UXP -->
        <em:targetApplication>
            <Description>
                <em:id>{9184b6fe-4a5c-484d-8b4b-efbfccbfb514}</em:id>
                <em:minVersion>52.0</em:minVersion>
                <em:maxVersion>52.*</em:maxVersion>
            </Description>
        </em:targetApplication>

I tried Flash with the last compatible version of Chromium (87, on Win 7). It works, but Chromium really doesn't want you running it! You have to manually enable the extension (and it won't save your preference if you exit the browser), then click the icon of each Flash component on the Web page, then again tell it you're sure you want to run that Flash component!

Luckily, the Chromium-based 360EE browser runs Flash without excessive nags, as noted below. Makes sense, as both Flash 34 and 360EE target users in China.

I'm unsure of the latest (vanilla) Chromium version that allows "hassle-free" Flash, nor do I know if that version is new enough to be usable on the modern Web. If anyone knows, please educate the rest of us!

Edited November 11, 2021 by Mathwiz
Add IceApe info

[VistaLover]

5 hours ago, Mathwiz said:

haven't tried the 360EE version on XP yet

34.0.0.192 works fine in 360EEv12 under Vista SP2 32-bit: 

No nags whatsoever...