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I've tried to remove Adobe Flash Player with the command line, but with no success. I disabled the two Flash Shockwave plugins in Firefox, but I cannot remove it.

What should I do?

Thank you.

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5
  • 1
    Well, how did you install it?
    – user364819
    Aug 22, 2016 at 10:36
  • From the Adobe Website, as I haven't found a way to do it with the command line...
    – N Even
    Aug 22, 2016 at 10:43
  • You can install it from the partner repositories if you enable them and then you can install it in the normal way. So did you download the .deb file and then just use sudo dpkg -i on it or something? What was the name of the package/file?
    – user364819
    Aug 22, 2016 at 11:06
  • No. When I downloaded it from the website, I enabled the software channel xenial-partner
    – N Even
    Aug 22, 2016 at 11:16
  • I downloaded the APT for Ubuntu 10.04+
    – N Even
    Aug 22, 2016 at 11:17

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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In case you installed it using Apt, run this to find the package name:

dpkg --get-selections | grep -v deinstall | grep flash | awk '{ print $1 }'

Then you can uninstall the package by

sudo apt-get purge package-name

In case you copied the plugin so to Firefox plugins, simply delete it from there.

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1
  • This command will separate each package on the new line dpkg --get-selections | grep -v deinstall | grep flash | awk '{ printf $1; printf "\n" }'
    – Dmitry Arkhipenko
    Oct 14, 2018 at 12:29
2

Open synaptic package manager -> find flashplugin-installer -> Mark for Complete Removal -> Apply.

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7
  • Elder Geek, I've removed this package and it removed the Shockwave plugin as well from plugins list in my Firefox 53.
    – daGo
    Apr 23, 2017 at 18:27
  • Interesting claim. Which version of Ubuntu did this work on? Which file in the flashplugin-installer package do you think is the actual plugin?
    – Elder Geek
    Apr 24, 2017 at 11:52
  • Elementary OS Freya based on Ubuntu 14.04: Linux linux-desktop 4.4.0-72-generic #93~14.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Fri Mar 31 15:05:15 UTC 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux After removing flashplugin-installer Shockwave plugin disappeared. Probably there was dependencies, don't sure about it. Start-Date: 2017-04-23 19:08:38 Commandline: /usr/sbin/synaptic Purge: flashplugin-installer:amd64 (25.0.0.148ubuntu0.14.04.1) End-Date: 2017-04-23 19:08:41
    – daGo
    Apr 24, 2017 at 13:17
  • Your basic assumption that what ostensibly works for Elementary OS works for Ubuntu is flawed. If as you say removing that package works for elementary OS you might wish to share that information on unix.stackexchange.com where you could post both the question and the answer and where it would be on topic and possibly useful to other elementary OS users
    – Elder Geek
    Apr 24, 2017 at 13:27
  • Well, fair enough, in most cases it works vice-versa though. It's a good advice. I've installed flashplugin-installer right now and plugin appeared again. BTW name of the file for Shockwave Flash (v.25) is libflashplayer.so. Do you suggest delete my answer?
    – daGo
    Apr 24, 2017 at 13:44
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In reply to Elder's comment: "Removing the installer package won't remove the plugin", I just wanted to clarify that the pre-processing scripts of flashplugin-installer package, does remove the plugin, as long as you take care of marking it for Complete Removal or use "purge" action, as both the answers recommends.

If you want to check, just locate the plugin on your filesystem:

$ ll /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/
flashplugin-alternative.so -> /etc/alternatives/mozilla-flashplugin

$ ll /etc/alternatives/mozilla-flashplugin
/etc/alternatives/mozilla-flashplugin -> /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so

$ ll /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so
/usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so

Now remove the flash-installer package with:

apt-get purge flashplugin-installer

and check that the plugin itself has been removed:

$ ll /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/
No such file or directory

$ ll /etc/alternatives/mozilla-flashplugin
No such file or directory

$ ll /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so
No such file or directory
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  • I have no doubt that purging the package as in the previously accepted answer removes the plugin. I've edited your answer to remove your false assumption. It seems you've misunderstood me, possibly regarding a comment I made regarding Elementary OS.
    – Elder Geek
    Sep 11, 2017 at 11:18
  • No @ElderGeek , I didn't refer to the comment about Elementary OS. I referred to your first comment: "Removing the installer package won't remove the plugin".
    – Demis Palma ツ
    Sep 11, 2017 at 16:49
  • So why are you purging it rather than removing it in your answer if removing the package will remove the plugin?
    – Elder Geek
    Sep 11, 2017 at 22:45
  • I just said that pre-processing scripts will remove the plugin. Of course I refer to the "purge" action as suggested in both answers, and as it seems logic based on the original question. If you want to warn about "remove" action, then I agree: it leaves its configuration files on the system in addition to the plugin downloaded.
    – Demis Palma ツ
    Sep 13, 2017 at 18:52
  • That was exactly my point. Clearly @daGo got the message as the answer was edited and corrected the following day.
    – Elder Geek
    Sep 14, 2017 at 23:21

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