Last year, a Windows 10 update attempted to remove Adobe Flash from the operating system, but ultimately failed. Now Microsoft is trying again, and this time it's forcing Adobe's software off your system.
Adobe officially ended support for Flash on Dec. 31, 2020. As ZDNet reports, Adobe also "introduced a time bomb" to the Flash Player, which meant it would stop playing any content after Jan. 12 this year. So it's now effectively dead software installed on Windows computers and Microsoft clearly realizes that.
The Windows Update which tried to remove Flash last year is KB4577586, and at the time it was optional. However, that same update is now automatically being run on Windows as reported by a number of users, so the Flash installation will be removed whether you like it or not. There is still a caveat, though...
Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't resolved the problem where the update won't remove Flash if a user installed it manually using Adobe's standalone installer. So while this update will significantly cut down on the number of computers with Flash still installed, it won't clear the software off every single PC out there. To uninstall a standalone version of Flash, Microsoft directs you to the instructions listed on Adobe's website.