Important information if you run any Adobe Flash programmes.
Flash to HTML5 — What the End of Life for Flash means for you
On December 31, 2020, updates and distribution of Adobe Flash will stop.
Why?
Adobe Flash hasn’t been the most secure product. While Adobe has kept up with patching zero day exploits, they have been slow to respond to more critical vulnerabilities.
It’s also notoriously different to maintain effective patching for Adobe Flash. Often a special solution is often required to patch Adobe products.
The decision has therefore been taken by Adobe to discontinue Flash and deliver no more security updates from 31 December, 2020, leaving a gap in any company’s network security.
Who is affected?
Several industries and businesses have been built around Flash technology, such as gaming, education, E-Learning and video. If you use Flash, you will need to convert to HTML5 to avoid any future implications arising.
If you run online courses, there are a number of issues that you will need to map out, and put risk management plans in place for.
Browser Support
- On 31 December, 2020 – Google Chrome will completely block Flash from being able to run under the Chrome browser.
- Mozilla will also block Flash.
- Internet Explorer will discontinue and block Adobe Flash at the end of life date.
With all three of the major browsers ending support and blocking Flash from running at all, there will be no viable way to deliver online course content.
What are your options?
With the majority of e-learning content delivered via browser, 2020 becomes a firm date to move any flash animation or course content to another platform. Flash to HTML5 conversion is currently the fastest and most cost effective way to update any e-learning courses that you have.
HTML5 is a universally supported framework that provides a responsive design so that any course content can be viewed on a variety of devices, without having to invest in any extra code.
HTML5 Conversions
There are online conversion tools that allow you to upload existing Flash content, but it is not advised to take this route! You could be putting your intellectual property at risk. A lot of online programs hide specific legalese in their terms of service that grant them the ownership of the content that you upload in exchange for the conversion.
Another factor is the content and the layout. Most simple converters will miss or mash together the content and file structure in order to compress the file and make it easier to upload and download.
It is recommended that you work with a group of professionals that can help plan your HTML5 conversion properly. Protecting your intellectual property and maintaining the course structure you’ve created.
So what now?
Adobe has said that they are committed to supporting Flash through 2020 while customers make alternative arrangements. This will include regular security patches, maintaining operating systems and browser capability and adding features and capabilities when needed. .
If you have any concerns, or require more information on converting your Flash content to HTML5, get in touch with a member of the team. We would be happy to help. 01242 580654.
