I updated as soon as the user got the message that Flash needed updating. I can't remember the exact dates, but it has been, no kidding, three times in the last two weeks. When I imaged the machines this past summer, I specifically told Flash to update automatically when I created the initial image. All to no avail.
When I subsequently had to update the laptops, again, when given the choice (and it was not consistent across all the laptops), I selected the option to "auto-update" the player. In every single case, I still had to update the laptops manually. I can tell you it's getting to the point that, I swear, if there is another update within the next week or so, I am going to tell faculty I will no longer support Flash and that they need to stop using websites that use Flash. We can't use Flash sites anyhow on our iPods or our iPads, might as well extend that ban to the laptops as well.
This is just inexcusable behavior from Adobe (an otherwise, fine company, it's as if Flash is made by a completely different company) to disable the ability to use Flash until it's updated.
I have read recently that Apple is disabling the ability to run JAVA until it's patched and I can understand that. After all, JAVA was supposed to be a security language - something about a "sandbox"??
If there was a way to push out updates across the network, that would be acceptable (in fact, I CAN do that with JAVA), but there is, evidently NO WAY to do that with Flash and Adobe tech support (and I use the term loosely) has NO CLUE what I'm even talking about when I call for help with this.
BTW, I should point out we are an ALL APPLE shop - I have ONE Windows laptop in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse. The "solutions" I've seen seem to apply only to a Windows shop.