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

[Announcements for BES Administrators]

BigFix Console/Flash Content
Flash content distributed by BigFix is made available via content sites. Content site updates are gathered from the BigFix propagation servers and applied to customer deployments without explicit action by the end customer with the exception of air-gapped deployments.  Flash content is gradually and incrementally being removed as the content sites are updated with content engineered to be free of Flash.  BigFix will communicate the certified site version for each site once complete to facilitate the transition for customers running air-gapped deployments.

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/.

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.

The BigFix Labs content sites (including Bitlocker Management, Client Manager Builder and Windows 7 Migration) are provided as-is, and are not maintained or supported by the BigFix team. Flash dashboards and wizards included in these sites will continue to function until Flash Player is disabled or uninstalled from computers running the BigFix Console.

In more general terms, BigFix team will not remove the Flash content from the not supported /not maintained sites.  Recommendations will be provided to allow customers to continue running Flash content, when needed, mitigating the associated risks.


BigFix Web Reports
BigFix Web Reports may require an explicit upgrade and Flash Content will not be removed based on the version specific guidance noted below.

Version 9.2.x
Flash content is still present in BigFix Web Reports 9.2. A 9.2 update will be made available in Q4 to remove Flash from Web Reports.

Functionality Impact
Charts associated to reports created with Web Reports 9.2 are currently using Flash code. BigFix does not currently plan to remove the Flash content that allows these charts to be represented.

Reminder:
Any charts dependent upon Flash technology will stop working once Adobe Flash Player is removed from the computer or blocked from the browser. It is therefore recommended to recreate the related reports after upgrading to a Flash-free version to leverage the new chart technology.

Version 9.5
Customers on 9.5.12 (or older)  levels and using BigFix Web Reports should plan to upgrade to 9.5.13 or higher before the end of the year 2020.

Functionality Impact
Charts associated to reports created with 9.5.12 (or older) versions of Web Reports are currently using Flash code. BigFix does not currently plan to remove the Flash content that allows these charts to be represented.

Reminder:
Any charts dependent upon Flash technology will stop working once Adobe Flash Player is removed from the computer or blocked from the browser. It is therefore recommended to recreate the related reports after upgrading to a Flash-free version to leverage the new chart technology.


Version 10.x
BigFix Web Reports is Flash-free in 10.0 (any update).
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