Obsolite Flash files in system folders

[George_XY]

Kaspersky scan warned me that I have two outdated Flash files in my system, which pose critical vulnerability threat. Namely:

Flash32_18_0_0_232.ocx and Flash64_18_0_0{232.cocx. These belong to v18 while I have

[George_XY]

Sorry, something went wrong, this is my post:

Kaspersky scan warned me that I have two outdated Flash files in my system which poses critical vulnerability threat. Namely: Flash32_18_0_0_232.ocx and Flash64_18_0_0_232.cocx. These belong to v18 while I have the latest v24 on all my browsers. How can I find the current versions and make sure that these files will be updated in the future when the Flash player is?

Thanks a lot.

[_maria_]

This information presumes you have Windows 7 or below:

The Adobe - Flash Player ​ page always has the latest version listed, which is currently 24.0.0.194.  Normally the previous version files are deleted when updating to the new version.  However, if Flash is in use during the update, the previous version OCX files cannot be deleted (because they are in use) and will be marked for deletion (in the registry) upon reboot.  It's possible that you just need to reboot the system for them to be removed.  If rebooting the system doesn't remove the files, run the standalone uninstaller posted at Uninstall Flash Player for Windows​.  Running the standalone uninstaller will remove all versions of Flash Player on the system and you'll need to re-install Flash Player for the various browsers you use.

[George_XY]

Thank you, but I run Windows 8.1 (64 bit)

[_maria_ · Accepted solution]

Thank you.  I started to write a separate paragraph for Windows 8 and above, but then thought it might get too confusing.

Did you happen to update from Windows 7 (or prior) to Windows 8.x and did you have Flash Player 18 installed at that time?

[George_XY]

Yes, I updated from Windows 7 to 8, then 8.1.

I don't recall which Flash Player I had that time, always keep it updated. It happened years ago when Widows 8 came out; could very well be 18.

[_maria_]

Hi George_XY

Thank you for clarifying the upgrade path.

As of Windows 8, Microsoft began embedding Flash Player ActiveX Control in Internet Explorer, and subsequent Flash Player for IE updates were/are released by Microsoft via Windows update.  Due to this, Microsoft considers the Flash Player files required system files and locks the Flash Player files to prevent the files from being deleted, and thus, the Flash Player standalone uninstaller also does not remove any Flash Player ActiveX files from Windows 8 onwards.  Unfortunately, in your case, when upgrading to Windows 8, Microsoft didn't properly clean up the previous version Flash Player files and these files are now orphaned files.  A user reported this to us some time back and we escalated to Microsoft, but we never received a definitive answer from them on how to handle this.  If you really want to delete them you can try using some sort of file unlocker utility to unlock the orphaned FP 18 files.  If this works, delete only the orphaned FP 18 files.  Do not delete any other Flash Player for IE files as it will impact the ablity of Flash Player for IE to be updated on your system.

--

Maria

[George_XY]

Hi Maria,

Many thanks for the explanation. Just to avoid any possible misunderstanding, you say that these files are not in use any more don't you? Hence, if I can unlock and delete them, that's all, no need to replace them by v24, or later newer files?

Thanks for all,

George

[_maria_]

Hi George,

Correct,  the files Flash32_18_0_0_232.ocx and Flash64_18_0_0_232.ocx are no longer in use.  When Microsoft updates Flash Player for IE they don't include the version number in the file name.  You don't want to delete those, just the 2 FP 18 orphaned files.

__
Maria

[George_XY]

Thank you very much Maria; no fear now that I might cause any harm by getting rid of these two files.