Amy,
Welcome to the HP Forum.
Adbobe Flash FROM ADOBE is OK -- it is the "stuff" buried in the download that might be the problem. You have to read the Download and Installation instructions carefully and then UNCHECK everywhere to keep things from creeping into, and onto, your browsers and computer: scanners, Toolbars, possibly other "helpful" programs.
Commentary
Your computer may have ingested something relatively harmless if you downloaded from the Adobe site itself -- McAfee scanner of some such thing is annoying but should not damage your file system. (That is an opinion -- I do not know much about it as I have never let the scanner onto my system.)
If you downloaded the Flash from OTHER than Adobe, then you might have collected something a bit more ugly along the way. That may be harder to get rid of -- you may have been infested with vermin. For some clean up advice, see: Malwarebytes That's the bad news.
If NOT Vermin:
There may be an easy way to step away from the whole mess if you have a recent Restore Point. Restore points are sometimes created by the computer -- just before Windows Updates, just before some kinds of software installations -- and Restore Points can ALSO be created manually (just so you know for later). Restore Points are "backup" points to which you can take the computer in case an Update or a program installation fails or has problems.
IF you have a Restore Point that was saved by the computer, or one you chose to save for yourself, that was made on a date just before the fiasco with the Adobe change, then you can "step back in time" to before you installed the Adobe update.
Restoring Windows to a Previous Point (Windows 7)
Using Microsoft System Restore (Windows 8)
Assuming that works, you can then go back to the Adobe site and carefully opt to reinstall the Flash Update, THIS time paying attention to every box and every little oppurtunity to UNCHECK any place where the download OR installation might try to add an extra program or Toolbar.
Adobe is not evil -- they are just making money on free software by allowing other software people to ride piggy back on their free downloads.
Click the KudosThumbs-Up to say “Thanks" .
Although I strive to reflect HP's best practices, I do not work for HP.