Do I need Microsoft® Silverlight ?

With my MS windows 7 I have Microsoft® Silverlight and it's Configuration Utility.

What use are they too me and if it's optional what could happen if I remove it from my setup?

Thanks in advance.

 

it allows you to view silverlight content and if you remove the app not being able to view it is the only consequence

 

Thanks, I'll remove it since I don't use it.

 

I added Silverlight (via MS Update) to my XP ages ago because it was supposed to be the coming "in" thing for multimedia. However, after many months of never once encountering a site that used it, I said the heck with it and took it out again. What the heck, one less thing needing frequent updates.

I doubt if MS has abandoned hopes for it, if they're still upgrading it, but it sure doesn't seem to be catching on with site operators.

 

Right! and one less piece of software for baddies to attach to!

 

HTML5 should hopefully replace both Silverlight and Flash (the only 2 plugins I have in all my browsers).

 

There's a rumor that Microsoft will eventually require Silverlight in order to use the MS Update site.
I have no way of knowing if that's actually true or not.

I wanted to watch an NFL football game online last year at NBC.
The game was only available through Silverlight.

This is obviously because Microsoft has thrown some money NBC's way.
There's no other logical reason why NBC would choose to stream the games via a format that is nowhere near universally adopted.

I declined to install Silverlight because I don't like being coerced, and I consider this a form of coercion.
So, no online football for me.

Just pointing these things out.
Whether or not to install Silverlight is something that's up to the individual user.
But Microsoft is eager to have it adopted, and as they seem to be willing to pay certain sites to adopt it, there are likely to be more sites in the future that use Silverlight for media content.

And many people like it, and say it renders superior to Flash.
There's nothing specifically bad or evil or insecure about it, that I'm aware of.

And if a time should come that I feel like I should or need to install it, I will.
Last year, I wasn't so hot to watch a football game online that I felt like I wanted or needed to install it.
YMMV.

 

Considering the "MS Update Site" is for Windows XP and below, I highly doubt they'd do any more changes to it at all, it will eventually just die. I'm going to guess you've never used Vista/7, as updates are now done from an application built into the system, like they always should have been.

It is superior to flash, but as much as Microsoft or whoever enjoys it, it will eventually die off from being mainstream, and both plugins will just become a rarely used tool.

 

As I said-- "rumor".
Though it's not inconceivable to picture Microsoft requiring Silverlight for XP users who wish to use that site.

You're a good guesser.

I have been on Vista and Win7 machines a time or two, but I'm an XP user, yes.

 

sorry to come back to my simple op, but does anybody using windows 7 KNOW how to delete Silverlight?

The usual program uninstall doesn't seem to show it?

Maybe my eyes need updating

 

Yes, "Microsoft Silverlight" should be listed in the uninstall programs section.

 

one time i opened a webpage to stream a video broadcast. it said i needed to install silverlight to view the stream, so i installed it and then i watched the show... install it when you need it.

 

its mostly microsoft sites that need silverlight.

 

Thanks to all who helped me!

After reboot, it appeared on the normal list of programs.

When highlighting it, uninstall didn't appear. BUT if users click change you can then uninstall.

MS is making it "harder" to remove this sw.

 

That's not how it appears for me.

 

That happened to me so I installed it and kept it. I'm not afraid of it being exploited.

 

Yesterday I got the first popup requested to install Silverlight to view the webpage. Then I reinstalled it again.

 

Correct. Is their a SL replacement for Linux?

 

Right!

Microsoft Has Seen The Light. And It’s Not Silverlight.

 

Yup, it's called Moonlight and it's compatible with Silverlight 2.x. They currently also have a preview release witch is compatible with Silverlight 3.x.

 

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the biggest users of Silverlight: Anytime you stream a Netflix movie online you must have the latest Silverlight. They used to use Flash but began switching a couple of years back and as of August of '09 required everyone to use Silverlight to stream Netflix movies online.

 

It was mentioned (maybe not in so many words)
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1694336&postcount=18