How to Remove the Adobe Flash Player Plug-in and ActiveX Control

The Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control allow you to play video files and multimedia content on your computer's Web browser. Many instant messaging applications also use this Adobe software for live and interactive chats. You should be able to remove the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control with the "Add/Remove Program" tool in the computer's Control Panel, but if that doesn't remove all of the components, download and use the free Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller utility to remove the software completely.

Instructions

1. Launch your Web browser and go to the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller utility download page (see Resources).

2. Click the "Save" or "Save As" button in the download popup window to save the Uninstaller utility on the computer. Set a download location for the file on your computer. The default location is usually the "My Downloads" or "Downloads" library folder. Wait for the file to download.

3. Close all Web browsers and instant messaging programs on your computer. Click "File" followed by "Exit" to close each program.

4. Go to the location of the downloaded file on your computer. Double-click on the "uninstall_flash_player.exe" file to launch the utility. Click "Yes" in the dialog box if you receive an onscreen prompt asking for permission to make changes to the computer.

5. Wait for the uninstaller to remove the software. Click "Yes" when the utility asks to restart your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• Use this procedure to remove all versions of Adobe Flash Player, up to an including Flash Player 10.2.

• Removing this software may prevent Web browsers and instant messaging programs from working correctly.

References

• Adobe Support: Uninstall Flash Player | Windows

Resources

• Adobe Support: Homepage
• Adobe Support: Flash Player Help and Support
• Macromedia: Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller utility download