Do I want Adobe Flash Player in 64-bit?

[Triple_Se7en]

I have been using 32-bit with my Windows 8.1, browser operated by Firefox, not Internet Explorer.
Anyways, Adobe Flashplayer is my default player and I noticed it has 64-bit available. Adobe advertises it as a Stand-Alone Player and have no clue what that means.

I just want the best available to me, without having to make changes daily on what to use for things like YouTube, MLB.com, streaming TV shows.....etc.

So will 64-bit Flash Player operate / mirror 32-bit and I can run it unattended 24-7, other than it's improvements to my video surfing on Firefox? Or should I just stick with 32-bit?

 

[razel]

64 bit flash will only work with 64 bit browsers. 64 bit browsers require 64 bit OS. Last that I checked browser installs are often 32 bit by default. So I doubt you'll want 64 bit Flash.

If you want the best available to you.. At least for youtube you can double-check that you are using HTML5 instead of Flash by going to youtube.com/html5. Request the HTML5 player if it is not set as the default. If you stream onto your computer that is connected to a TV, the $25 (on sale) ChromeCast for youtube and MLB is unbeatable with it's picture quality.... unbeatable.... Off YouTube, it seems to get the rawest, most native, highest quality stream.

 

[6starprez]

I wonder if it will let you. There's something "Flash" that's already in Windows 8. I think it was flash player, not 100% sure. Anyway, I remember seeing a message saying it was built into Windows.

 

[sicko]

Whenever possible* you want to go with the 64-bit version of an OS or application. The reason being is that code has to be re-written for the 64-bit version, which means it should be more secure (companies have changed their software development process to reduce security issues, and some 32-bit programs have very old code in them that has just tagged along from version to version).

* Caveat is that you obviously don't want to go with the 64 bit version of something if you're not running it on 64 bit hardware, OS, etc. Or if it will mess something else up.

I would go with the 64-bit version of Flash, if something doesn't work, then go back to the 32-bit version.

 

[JustinH]

you do not need to play with the flash plugins if you use chrome browser.

I would just put chrome on there.

Go to a website called mozilla plugin checker and that will tell you what plugins you need for firefox if you want to go that route.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

If you're running a 64-bit native Operating System (OS) then you should, whenever possible, use the 64-bit versions of any application, plug-in, etc.

Adobe Flash is often targeted by hackers, so it's essential that you keep it up-to-date, as Adobe issues a security-related update often.

I agree that an alternative video codec is better when available (eg HTML5).

NEVER update Flash if prompted by a webpage. If you do get a prompt, navigate to Adobe dotcom and update from there.

If you find Adobe says your installation is up-to-date, well, there's an example of how you dodged a bullet. The webpage was probably going to install malware under the guise of a Flash update.