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'pepflashplayer.dll' has downloaded without my permission.

Community Beginner ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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My Adobe Flash settings (which must be edited online, for some stupid reason) are set to notify me if a download is available, but there IS NO SETTING for "do not download until I consent".

Norton has informed me that 'pepflashplayer.dll' has downloaded without my permission.  How do I prevent Flash from downloading or installing updates without my permission?  I would gladly grant it as soon as I verified that it really is a Flash update, but I am simply not comfortable with ANY software downloading or installing updates on its own, without the consent of the computer user.

How can I stop this from occurring?

Here is the Nortion file insight:
"Full Path: c:\Documents and Settings\Cam\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\PepperFlash\11.5.31.139\pepflashplayer.dll

____________________________

____________________________

Developers Adobe Systems Incorporated

Version 11.5.31.139

Identified 2/5/2013 at 1:44:44 PM

Last Used Not Available

Startup Item No

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

Very Few Users

Fewer than 5 users in the Norton Community have used this file.

____________________________

Very New

This file was released less than 1 week ago.

____________________________

Good

Norton has given this file a good rating.

____________________________

Source File:

pepflashplayer.dll

____________________________

File Thumbprint - SHA:

bd97281fd622e14aa65895989ddd55d6c65be2247c04ca5555970793bd8ac5ce

____________________________

File Thumbprint - MD5:

ec155c323a3b777441bf6a2bf4077fcc

____________________________"

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Adobe Employee ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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Pepflashplayer.dll is an internal component of Google Chrome.  If you want to stop this from being updated you'll need to disable Google Chrome auto updates.

http://dev.chromium.org/administrators/turning-off-auto-updates

Thanks,

Chris

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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I appreciate your help.

However, "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update\AutoUpdateCheckPeriodMinutes" does not exist in my registry.  The only folders in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies" are "Adobe" (which only pertains to Reader, not to Flash Player) & "Microsoft".  There is no folder called "Google" nor is there a folder for "Chromium".


I will attempt to use option 1 instead of option 2, but I am skeptical seeing as how these registry folders don't exist.

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Adobe Employee ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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Is there a reason you don't want Flash (or Chrome) to update?  I would recommend keeping updates turned on unless absolutely necessary.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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No, I did not say I don't want Flash (or Chrome) to update.  I do not want them to update without permission from me.  Albeit I am considering giving up, given the complicated nature of the procedure for disabling automatic updates (sometimes I think they do these things on purpose to discourage people from disabling automatic updates).

But I do not want to stop my software from updating, I'd just like it to ask for my consent prior to each update.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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Rather, the fact that I have to download additional software (if I adhere to option 2, which appears to be my only choice).  That's what I meant by "the complicated nature of the procedure".

But I did say I'd gladly grant it permission as soon as I verified it really was a Flash update.  I'd just like it to ask permission first.

Also, as I type this, the cursor keeps moving up a line or two, at random.  So I'll be in the middle of a sentence and suddenly I'm typing in the previous line...it is quite irritating.  My criticism is meant purely constructively, I mean not to complain for the sake of complaining...but I do wish I were able to type in this box without interruption. 

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LEGEND ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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Anyway, you should be discussing this with Google, not Adobe, as this is a purely Chrome thing about its update options.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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Indeed, but I do ask that this thread not be deleted, so that I may use it as a reference if necessary.  I'm not sure if Google will really provide me with any assistance, as a) they are, in my experience, notoriously impossible to contact (I once had a Google Wallet error/bug cost me $150, and I received no help from them whatsoever), and b) they already listed instructions on how to do this on the webpage which Chris shared (albeit they're not as straightforward as they might appear on the surface, but so be it...).  I will try posting on their product forums, but whether or not I receive a response is another story...I appreciate the advice, however.

(it just happened again!  the blinking cursor keeps moving around erratically & messing up my sentences )

Anyways,
Thanks, both of you.

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LEGEND ,
Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013

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Relevant topics are never deleted from these forums.

Good luck with Google; I know it's not easy to get answers from them...

You are of course welcome to post back with additional questions, or provide feedback if you find a answer for your question.

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Guest
Feb 06, 2013 Feb 06, 2013

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I had it downloaded on my machine also. What is strangeis what Norton 360 said when it happened a few min ago: Fewer than 5 people have used this file.

new file.PNGI have a hard time believing only 5 people who use Norton have this file or have hadtheir computer use it. Look at the time stamp also.

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New Here ,
Jul 11, 2013 Jul 11, 2013

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This is yet another reason to use products from non-profit companies such as Mozilla.  I never have these issues with them.

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New Here ,
Feb 08, 2013 Feb 08, 2013

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I can give you a reason. Since last two weeks, I have experienced a breakdown in Chrome's ability to play flash content after updating pepflashplayer.dll. Here is the screenshot of YouTube after the udpation.

YouTube screenshot.png

The problem is irritating enough that I uninstalled Chrome the first time the problem occurred, and switched over to Firefox. But after 3-4 days, to check if the problem had been rectified, I re-installed Chrome, and found the problem had been fixed, or perhaps the reinstallation did the trick. Now, with this new update, we are back to square one. I am not the only one experiencing this problem.The matter has been brought up on Google's groups, and it was said that Google is looking into it. Perhaps, Adobe should too.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 08, 2013 Feb 08, 2013

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I myself haven't experiencd any of those problems, but I appreciate you sharing that.  If I do begin to experience them at least I'll know why...and I agree, perhaps Adobe should, too.

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New Here ,
Feb 09, 2013 Feb 09, 2013

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Is someone atleast going to reply? "We're looking into it" is a good answer at this time.

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Guest
Jun 13, 2013 Jun 13, 2013

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It's been 4 months since the last post on this thread and Norton 360 is still saying "fewer than 5 users in the Norton Community have used this file.

This is the copy of Norton's file insight:

File insight.png

Norton is saying that fewer than five people have used (not downloaded) this file, which tells me that Chrome is downloading useless updates that fewer than five people needed! Or maybe Norton isn't very insightful when it comes to this file. 

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LEGEND ,
Jun 14, 2013 Jun 14, 2013

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Or maybe it's fewer than 5 people who use Norton...?

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New Here ,
Feb 20, 2014 Feb 20, 2014

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Clearly there is something wrong with Norton's alert. 4 years after this thread started "this file was released less than 5 days ago" and there are "fewer than 5 users" (all of whom appear to be participating in this thread). There is also something very wrong with the Adobe updates: everytime Adobe does an unwanted update, some other application on my Windows 7 Dell laptop crashes (as I was writing this Evernote crashed). Neither Chrome nor FireFox are stable anymore with the Adobe plug-ins. Unfortunately web pages won't work without them. Isn't there anything that Adobe can do to be make the update process and the software more stable and less invasive?

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New Here ,
Feb 20, 2014 Feb 20, 2014

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LATEST

Perhaps what is happening is that each new version counts as a new file and the date and the user count restart. Obviously each new release is "very new".

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New Here ,
Jun 16, 2013 Jun 16, 2013

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I helped launch Norton Insight - so I can provide a little insight here.

Insight identifies executables by making a digital "hash" of the file.  It then tracks how that file behaves on your system - does it lead to crashes, does it use lots of resources, is it associated with potentially malicious behavior (such as downloading files without permission, changing security settings - about 400 different behaviors).  It reports back Symantec - data it collects from 50 or 60 million users.  This is what Symantec calls the file's "reputation".  It uses an algorithm to rate the safety of the file based on behaviors, the file's source and on how many people use the file without showing signs of infection.

So insight is a way to detect malicious code - or files infected with malicious code, even files Symantec has never seen before. 

If the file changes, even if one byte changes, the hash will no longer match and it will be considered a new file.  So only 5 people are using that exact version of the file - but many other versions of that file could be used by many other people.

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