“Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam (Tutorial) - Removal Instructions
“Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam Removal Guide
What is “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam?
“Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” – fake alert that might show up on the browser after adware infiltration

“Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” is a pop-up that alerts about missing Flash Player[1] that is required for displaying content on the particular website. However, this notification is not legit and tricks users into installing unknown and potentially dangerous software on the computer.
Users are usually redirected to “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam website once adware sneaks inside the computer. This potentially unwanted program (PUP) might arrive on the system together with freeware or shareware. Then it makes modifications to the system and web browser and starts annoying activities.
The purpose of “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” virus is to trick users into installing fake Adobe Flash Player update. When users end up on a compromised website, they receive a pop-up saying:
Adobe Flash Player 28.0.0.126 was not found
The web page you are trying to load is displayed incorrectly, as it uses the “Adobe Flash Player 28.0.0.126”. To fix the error and display the next you have to update the “Adobe Flash Player”.
Manufacturer: Adobe Systems Software Ireland Ltd
Current Version: Adobe Flash Player 26.3.3.500
Latest version: Adobe Flash Player 28.0.0.126
Unfortunately, credentials make this notification look legitimate. However, users should be aware that software updates are not delivered in this form. Thus, you have to ignore “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” and do not download anything from such site.
However, the scam seems similar to “The HoeflerText font wasn’t found” ads, “The Mercury Text Font Was Not Found” virus and similar cyber threats that were trying to trick users into installing fake updates. In this way, criminals trying to make people installing malware, ransomware[2] or data-stealing trojans to the system.
If you are continuously redirected to this website, you should check the system for the adware. The quickest way to do it is to obtain anti-malware software and scan the device. Tools like FortectIntego will remove “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” malware within a couple of minutes.
However, you can also scroll down to the end of the article where you can find manual “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” removal instructions. But we want to remind that it might not be easy to locate all adware-related components.

Paying attention to software installation can help to avoid adware hijack
“Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” pop-ups seem to appear out of nowhere. However, they are triggered by adware program which usually arrived on the system bundled with freeware or shareware. PUPs are often attached as optional components to various free programs you can download from the Internet.
The hijack occurs when users rely on Quick/Recommended installers that do not openly disclose about third-party software that is offered to download together. However, using these settings users give indirect permission for PUPs to get on your PC.
For this reason, you have to use Custom/Advanced settings that allows seeing all “optional downloads” and reject their installation by unmarking pre-selected entries. Security specialists from
virusler.info.tr[3] also remind to read Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and other documents provided by the developers in order to be certain that any unwanted apps will not be installed too.
Stopping redirects to “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam website
If you are frequently being redirected to scam website, you have to remove “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” adware from your computer. We highly recommend using anti-malware software for this task. However, you can do it manually too.
You can find manual “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” removal guide below. Please follow them carefully. If you leave some adware-related apps, extensions or files, these annoying alerts will come back to your Chrome, Firefox, Explorer or another web browser you use.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Getting rid of “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Follow the guide to remove adware which is responsible for redirecting to “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam site. Additionally, reset affected web browsers.
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
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Uninstall “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam and related programs
Here, look for “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
Delete from macOS
To terminate malware-related components from the Mac OS X, follow the steps below. Additionally, you should reset your web browsers to stop redirects to “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” website.
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data…
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

Delete from Safari
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences.
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Here, select Extensions and look for “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari....
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Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam removal process.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of “Adobe Flash Player Was Not Found” scam registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting malware
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
- ^ Derek Erwin. How to Tell if Adobe Flash Player Update is Valid. Intego. Mac security blog.
- ^ Fake Adobe Flash Update Installs Ransomware, Performs Click Fraud. Symantec blog. Cyber security bog.
- ^ Virusler. Virusler. Security news and malware reports.