Silverlight?

Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't
know if it's useful or not.

--
Thank you,

Jo-Anne

Jo-Anne wrote:
Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to substitute for Flash
on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't know if it's useful or not.

I never found a use for Silverlight and so hide all updates for it.

Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Jo-Anne wrote:
Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash
on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't know if it's useful
or not.

I never found a use for Silverlight and so hide all updates for it.


I believe that Netfilx uses Silverlight.

On Thu, 30 Jul 2015 19:09:43 -0400, Dino wrote:

Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Jo-Anne wrote:
Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash
on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't know if it's useful
or not.

I never found a use for Silverlight and so hide all updates for it.


I believe that Netfilx uses Silverlight.

Yes it does but it will also use HTML5 if the browser
supports it.

--
Wildman GNU/Linux user #557453
The cow died so I don't need your bull!

On Thu, 30 Jul 2015 18:35:01 -0500 "Wildman" wrote
in article
Yes it does but it will also use HTML5 if the browser
supports it.


...and Chrome and Firefox have decided not to support either Flash or
Silverlight for security reasons.

On 7/30/2015 5:19 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't
know if it's useful or not.


Thank you, everyone (except Good Guy, whom I killfiled a long time ago
but whose message I saw quoted in someone else's). I'll hide the
Silverlight "update" too.

--
Jo-Anne

On 07/30/2015 05:53 PM, FredW wrote:

[snip]

Silverlight is dead, development is ended by Microsoft (!).

Dead? The same way you are dead because you're no longer getting
"childhood immunizations" :-)

[snip]

--
Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; Give him a religion,
and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish

Jo-Anne wrote:

Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't
know if it's useful or not.

I had Silverlight installed for a couple years. In all that time, I had
yet to hit a site that used Silverlight - other than deliberately
looking for one to test Silverlight was working. Eventually I
uninstalled both Flash and Silverlight. There was an estimate that 2%
of multimedia sites were using Silverlight. I've yet to hit one in all
the time Silverlight was on my computer. That 2% must've been some
special list in favor of Silverlight. I've seen it more used for
in-house presentations within companies than with publicly accessed web
sites. It was Microsoft trying to compete with Adobe but many years too
late and so late that HTML5 will be replacing it.

Netflix switched from Silverlight to HTML5. Youtube (Google) switched
from requiring Flash to using an HTML5 player. There are sites that are
heavily invested in Flash content, like CNN, and few that are invested
in Silverlight so they won't discard those media players for quite
awhile. So far, after uninstalling both Flash and Silverlight, I've
found little that was "hidden" that wasn't available via some other
method. Not having them sure does quiet down the busy web sites that
want to shove crap in your face for just visiting their home page.

Both are ancient technologies that are getting replaced with HTML5 or
Javascript players at most of the sites that I visit or they stream the
video or they provide a link to a video file that will play.
Silverlight is dead. No one expects there to a version 6. Even at
Microsoft, for example, they discarded the Silverlight UI for the
Windows Azure portal to replace it with an HTML5 UI. Even their "Meet
the new Windows Azure" announcement was streamed using Flash instead of
Silverlight. Guess they wanted to have a larger audience see their
announcement. VisualStudio Lightswitch which generates Silverlight apps
is being revised to also offer HTML apps.

In all the time you had Silverlight installed, did you ever happen to
visit a web site that Microsoft didn't drag you to? Microsoft says
Silverlight is dead so you should follow their lead.

On Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:55:57 -0500 "VanguardLH" wrote in
article
In all the time you had Silverlight installed, did you ever happen to
visit a web site that Microsoft didn't drag you to?


The nearby public radio station has a live studio video feed. It uses
Silverlight...the only non-MS site I've come across that does.

Jo-Anne wrote:
On 7/30/2015 5:19 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't
know if it's useful or not.


Thank you, everyone (except Good Guy, whom I killfiled a long time ago
but whose message I saw quoted in someone else's). I'll hide the
Silverlight "update" too.


If Silverlight is present on the computer:

1) Update it, to keep the plugins secure.

or

2) Disable the plugins (or the browser does this
for you, based on the vulnerability status maintained
by the browser designers).

or

3) Silverlight has a removal program. Mr.Fixit to the rescue.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2608523

*******

If Silverlight is not present on the computer,
you do not need any "update". Or first copy thereof.

So if you were tricked into getting Silverlight
at some previous point, you may want to either
keep it secure, or turn it off, or remove it.

On Firefox, you can do "aboutlugins" to get
information on the Plugins. Although most browsers
also have menu items which will help you display
the status of such things. Firefox has a number
of functions like that, such as "about:memory"
that can be loaded as a URL.

HTH,
Paul

On 7/30/2015 10:13 PM, Paul wrote:
Jo-Anne wrote:
On 7/30/2015 5:19 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't
know if it's useful or not.


Thank you, everyone (except Good Guy, whom I killfiled a long time ago
but whose message I saw quoted in someone else's). I'll hide the
Silverlight "update" too.


If Silverlight is present on the computer:

1) Update it, to keep the plugins secure.

or

2) Disable the plugins (or the browser does this
for you, based on the vulnerability status maintained
by the browser designers).

or

3) Silverlight has a removal program. Mr.Fixit to the rescue.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2608523

*******

If Silverlight is not present on the computer,
you do not need any "update". Or first copy thereof.

So if you were tricked into getting Silverlight
at some previous point, you may want to either
keep it secure, or turn it off, or remove it.

On Firefox, you can do "aboutlugins" to get
information on the Plugins. Although most browsers
also have menu items which will help you display
the status of such things. Firefox has a number
of functions like that, such as "about:memory"
that can be loaded as a URL.

HTH,
Paul




Thank you, Paul. I think this was the first offer of Silverlight, not an
update. I didn't find it in a search by name, and it's not in the list
of what used to be called Add/Remove Programs. Is there anywhere else I
should look?

--
Jo-Anne

On 7/30/2015 8:55 PM, VanguardLH wrote:
Jo-Anne wrote:

Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't
know if it's useful or not.

I had Silverlight installed for a couple years. In all that time, I had
yet to hit a site that used Silverlight - other than deliberately
looking for one to test Silverlight was working. Eventually I
uninstalled both Flash and Silverlight. There was an estimate that 2%
of multimedia sites were using Silverlight. I've yet to hit one in all
the time Silverlight was on my computer. That 2% must've been some
special list in favor of Silverlight. I've seen it more used for
in-house presentations within companies than with publicly accessed web
sites. It was Microsoft trying to compete with Adobe but many years too
late and so late that HTML5 will be replacing it.

Netflix switched from Silverlight to HTML5. Youtube (Google) switched
from requiring Flash to using an HTML5 player. There are sites that are
heavily invested in Flash content, like CNN, and few that are invested
in Silverlight so they won't discard those media players for quite
awhile. So far, after uninstalling both Flash and Silverlight, I've
found little that was "hidden" that wasn't available via some other
method. Not having them sure does quiet down the busy web sites that
want to shove crap in your face for just visiting their home page.

Both are ancient technologies that are getting replaced with HTML5 or
Javascript players at most of the sites that I visit or they stream the
video or they provide a link to a video file that will play.
Silverlight is dead. No one expects there to a version 6. Even at
Microsoft, for example, they discarded the Silverlight UI for the
Windows Azure portal to replace it with an HTML5 UI. Even their "Meet
the new Windows Azure" announcement was streamed using Flash instead of
Silverlight. Guess they wanted to have a larger audience see their
announcement. VisualStudio Lightswitch which generates Silverlight apps
is being revised to also offer HTML apps.

In all the time you had Silverlight installed, did you ever happen to
visit a web site that Microsoft didn't drag you to? Microsoft says
Silverlight is dead so you should follow their lead.


Thank you, Vanguard. I don't think the program is installed. My
impression was that this was the offer to download it. As I mentioned to
Paul, I couldn't find it in a search by name, and it's not in my list of
what used to be called Add/Remove Programs.

--
Jo-Anne

On 7/30/2015 9:40 PM, Jason wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:55:57 -0500 "VanguardLH" wrote in
article
In all the time you had Silverlight installed, did you ever happen to
visit a web site that Microsoft didn't drag you to?


The nearby public radio station has a live studio video feed. It uses
Silverlight...the only non-MS site I've come across that does.


Love it! So Microsoft is offering me what appears to be a close-to-dead
program.

--
Jo-Anne

Jo-Anne wrote:
On 7/30/2015 10:13 PM, Paul wrote:
Jo-Anne wrote:
On 7/30/2015 5:19 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't
know if it's useful or not.


Thank you, everyone (except Good Guy, whom I killfiled a long time ago
but whose message I saw quoted in someone else's). I'll hide the
Silverlight "update" too.


If Silverlight is present on the computer:

1) Update it, to keep the plugins secure.

or

2) Disable the plugins (or the browser does this
for you, based on the vulnerability status maintained
by the browser designers).

or

3) Silverlight has a removal program. Mr.Fixit to the rescue.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2608523

*******

If Silverlight is not present on the computer,
you do not need any "update". Or first copy thereof.

So if you were tricked into getting Silverlight
at some previous point, you may want to either
keep it secure, or turn it off, or remove it.

On Firefox, you can do "aboutlugins" to get
information on the Plugins. Although most browsers
also have menu items which will help you display
the status of such things. Firefox has a number
of functions like that, such as "about:memory"
that can be loaded as a URL.

HTH,
Paul




Thank you, Paul. I think this was the first offer of Silverlight, not an
update. I didn't find it in a search by name, and it's not in the list
of what used to be called Add/Remove Programs. Is there anywhere else I
should look?


I don't have Silverlight here, so can't help by
doing a search of this computer :-)

I only learned about the removal tool, when
helping someone else with Silverlight. I set
up a VM and test OS, "polluted" it with Silverlight,
and tried the removal tool. And it seemed to work.

The only place I would normally run into Silverlight,
is on Microsoft web pages. Some of their "help"
videos are Silverlight, and they did this only
to promote that stuff. They took perfectly
good Windows Media Player help movies, and
converted them to Silverlight. Since I refuse
to keep Silverlight plugins running here,
I cannot view a help movie.

Good luck,
Paul

On 7/30/2015 5:19 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
Today I was offered two optional updates at Windows Update:

* An AMD graphics driver update that I'm going to hide.
* Silverlight.

Should I allow the download of Silverlight? I gather it's supposed to
substitute for Flash on some websites in Internet Explorer, but I don't
know if it's useful or not.


I JUST received yet another optional update to Silverlight, so I went
back to the ones I had hidden, and it appears I now have three optional
updates--which appears to mean that somewhere I do have the program
(although I can't find it). The updates are

KB2636927
KB2977218
KB3056819

How can I tell if I have the program?

--
Thank you,
Jo-Anne