[BESAdmin-Announcements] Update on the BigFix Flash Removal Program

Fri Oct 23 10:32:10 PDT 2020

BigFix has delivered several Flash-free dashboards over the course of the last month, including elimination of Flash in the Patches for ESXi site commencing with version 112.  All updated dashboards provide the same level of functionality and user experience as those they replaced.

Deployment of updated Flash-free content happens through regular site updates, with no intervention needed from the end user unless their BigFix deployment is running in an air-gapped configuration.

BigFix plans to continuously deliver Flash-free content, dashboards, wizards and web reports, through the end of the 2020 at which time Adobe Flash Player will reach its end of life.

Deprecated Content

Some BigFix content sites and dashboards are still available for gathering, even if they have been declared as deprecated, obsolete, no longer supported or replaced by more up to date or re-engineered content. This content is not removed but left in place to ensure customers have needed time to change their processes and procedures.

It is important to note that some of this deprecated content does include dashboards and wizards written in Flash. Given their nature, the BigFix team does not plan to perform any Flash removal activity on any deprecated content. As previously communicated, this content will be available and continue to function on the condition that Adobe Flash Player is still installed on the computer running the BigFix Console.

The BigFix team may work on Adobe Flash removal for parts of this content based on customer request but does not commit to doing so. If you have critical dependencies on any deprecated content, please reach out to us.

Sites Excluded from Adobe Flash Removal:

BigFix Labs (Unsupported)                                                                          http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/bigfixlabs<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fbigfixlabs&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270108685%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=oI6sm336wa3FHAWg1U6UskzFdR%2BjI%2F0WPETDveUZWvI%3D&reserved=0>
Bitlocker Management (Unsupported)                                                    http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/bitlocker<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fbitlocker&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270118679%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=PNdyP8xjwQt954TBvrx%2FP0bx6lmPCLVAsPfTrcH%2BjMw%3D&reserved=0>
Client Manager Builder (Unsupported)                                                    http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/clientmanagerbuilder<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fclientmanagerbuilder&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270118679%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=2MD4LwORaKmJ7q2ldLCJySsc8JpUtM6FVd7lQAeLdwg%3D&reserved=0>
Windows 7 Migration (Unsupported)                                                       http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/win7migration<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fwin7migration&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270128672%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=H0D5pTqeTxoNQvgQfslEogyC0ofF%2FAdUsxE8OqFGb7M%3D&reserved=0>
BigFix OS Deployment 1.x (Obsolete)                                                       http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/bigfixosdeployment<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fbigfixosdeployment&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270128672%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=kzyL7g%2FuLnd71%2BiF2hz2%2F3i%2B0zQwDRRNy5vZKBcq8t8%3D&reserved=0>
Client Manager for Application Virtualization (Obsolete)                     http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/clientappvirtualization<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fclientappvirtualization&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270138667%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=S8Vn93i6%2F3s4rno%2F0INaJKkV70S4gLkkUAPHRDYtXXM%3D&reserved=0>
Client Manager for TPMfOSd (Obsolete)                                                 http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/clientmanagerfortpmfosd<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fclientmanagerfortpmfosd&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270138667%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=rSOJev2yDomLN7BZQnzd70BuUvRY04TYc55Ui9ER%2Bkk%3D&reserved=0>
IBM Software Inventory (Obsolete)                                                          http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/ibmsoftwareinventory<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fibmsoftwareinventory&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270148663%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=Vm19SQgrSBe3Imkz8z7spxwEcCldwTiIf0E4ALuRuME%3D&reserved=0>
Linux RPM Patches (Obsolete)                                                                   http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/linuxrpmpatching<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Flinuxrpmpatching&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270148663%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=sHnIOCQ%2FgW%2Bu2f70OuhDzW3ixfsSpdgvChXZplwOi8g%3D&reserved=0>
OS Deployment 2.x (Obsolete)                                                                   http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/osdeployment
Patches for ESX v3 (Obsolete)                                                                     http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/patchesforesx3
RHEL Patches (Obsolete)                                                                             http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/rhelpatches
Windows Remote Desktop (Obsolete)                                                     http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/windowsremotedesktop<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsync.bigfix.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbfgather%2Fwindowsremotedesktop&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270168655%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=PwooQOS5X0h4j4UqlVasOLU3%2BavObA%2BxUnX69BFs6Fw%3D&reserved=0>

Deprecated Dashboards Included in Supported Sites:
Patching Support:

·         Corrupt Patch Deployment Wizard (Deprecated)

·         Microsoft Office Source Configuration Wizard (Deprecated)
Software Distribution:

·         SWD Portal Setup Wizard (Deprecated)

·         Self-Service Portal Registration management (Deprecated)

Sites Certified Adobe Flash Free

  *   Patches for ESXi, site version 112

Sites with Remaining Flash Content
                * All sites not explicitly mentioned in this post  are certified Adobe Flash Free

  *   BES Support
  *   OS Deployment and Bare Metal Imaging
  *   Software Distribution
  *   Remote Control
  *   Virtual Endpoint Manager
  *   Power Management
  *   Patches Support
  *   Patches for Solaris Live Upgrade
  *   Security Configuration Manager
  *   Client Manager for Endpoint Protection
  *   BES Inventory and License
  *   MaaS360 Mobile Device Management

Recommendations

The BigFix console runs Flash content based on the Adobe Flash Player tool distributed as part of the underlying Windows operating system. As Microsoft changes their support of Flash Player, the BigFix console will reflect those changes and consequently customers will see Flash based content cease to work. BigFix capabilities will flow accordingly as noted in Microsoft’s announcement on their process for Flash removal https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2020/09/04/update-adobe-flash-end-support/6<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.windows.com%2Fmsedgedev%2F2020%2F09%2F04%2Fupdate-adobe-flash-end-support%2F&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270178645%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=orXetwrt7YS2C%2BZ6yGZz2wg0PlJ4DbFuy0KxUbdW56o%3D&reserved=0>.

In fall 2020, Microsoft will publish content titled “Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player.” This will be an Optional update. It will move to a Recommended update in early 2021, but installation will not be forced. Customers will see Flash removal rolled into Windows cumulative updates, and therefore installed without specific user interaction, no sooner than summer of 2021.

Please note that this update cannot be uninstalled. Once removed, Flash Player cannot be restored to functionality. BigFix therefore recommends that this update not be applied to any computer running the BigFix Console until we have certified the removal of all Flash based content.

Moreover, Microsoft plans to inhibit the execution of Adobe Flash Player where the installed version is earlier than the latest published available version. Customers should ensure they are running the latest version currently available based on Microsoft update https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4561600/security-update-for-adobe-flash-player<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsupport.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fhelp%2F4561600%2Fsecurity-update-for-adobe-flash-player&data=04%7C01%7Calessandro.dinia%40hcl.com%7Cff49b9ae545741bd8eb608d876da1249%7C189de737c93a4f5a8b686f4ca9941912%7C0%7C0%7C637390026270178645%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=TMVptSDKtJFwtO2nVbONIwIZ6tKOyr%2Bb88gMAbV7tj4%3D&reserved=0>.

Alessandro Dinia            [signature_1480041306]
Product Manager, BigFix
Phone: +39 345 5906645

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