Windows servers maintain detailed installation records in the Event Viewer. The most relevant logs are:

# PowerShell command to query installation events
Get-WinEvent -LogName "Application" | 
Where-Object { $_.Id -eq 11707 -or $_.Id -eq 11724 } | 
Format-List -Property TimeCreated, Message, UserId

For applications installed via MSI packages (including Flash), we can dig deeper:

# Check Windows Installer execution history
Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\*\Products\*\InstallProperties | 
Select-Object @{Name="User";Expression={$_.PSParentPath.Split('\')[5]}}, 
              DisplayName, InstallDate, InstallSource

When standard methods fail, try these sophisticated approaches:

# Parse Prefetch files for execution evidence
Get-ChildItem C:\Windows\Prefetch\*.pf | 
Where-Object { $_.Name -match "FLASH" } | 
Select-Object Name, LastAccessTime

The Windows Registry maintains timestamps that can reveal installation patterns:

# Check Uninstall registry keys with timestamps
Get-ChildItem "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" | 
ForEach-Object {
    $props = Get-ItemProperty $_.PSPath
    if($props.DisplayName -match "Adobe Flash") {
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Name = $props.DisplayName
            InstallDate = $props.InstallDate
            Publisher = $props.Publisher
            EstimatedSizeMB = [math]::Round($props.EstimatedSize/1024,2)
        }
    }
}

Cross-reference installation events with security logs for user context:

# Correlate installer execution with logon sessions
$events = Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{
    LogName = 'Security'
    ID = 4688
    StartTime = (Get-Date).AddDays(-30)
} | Where-Object { $_.Properties[5].Value -match "msiexec" }

$events | Select-Object TimeCreated, 
    @{Name="User";Expression={$_.Properties[1].Value}},
    @{Name="Process";Expression={$_.Properties[5].Value}}

When auditing server security or troubleshooting application issues, identifying the original installer of a program becomes crucial. Here's a comprehensive technical approach to trace Adobe Flash Player installations on Windows systems:

Windows Event Logs maintain detailed installation records. For Adobe Flash specifically:

# PowerShell command to filter Flash installation events
Get-WinEvent -LogName "Application" | 
Where-Object { 
    ($_.Message -like "*Adobe Flash*") -and 
    ($_.Id -in @(1033, 1035, 11707)) 
} | 
Format-List TimeCreated, UserId, Message

When installations occur without UI (common in enterprise environments):

# Registry paths containing installer metadata
$paths = @(
    "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall",
    "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall"
)

Get-ChildItem $paths | 
Where-Object { $_.GetValue("DisplayName") -match "Flash" } |
Select-Object PSChildName, @{
    Name="InstallerUser"; 
    Expression={ $_.GetValue("InstallUser") }
}

For enterprise-managed servers, check configuration management logs:

# Query SCCM application deployment history
Get-WmiObject -Namespace "root\ccm\ClientSDK" -Class CCM_Application | 
Where-Object { $_.Name -match "Flash" } |
Select-Object FullName, InstallUser, SoftwareVersion

When standard methods fail, consider:

• File system timestamps comparison (installer vs. created files)
• Prefetch file analysis (%SystemRoot%\Prefetch)
• User profile correlation (installer temp files)

Implement these PowerShell functions for proactive monitoring:

function Register-InstallWatcher {
    param($appName)
    $query = @"
    SELECT * FROM __InstanceCreationEvent 
    WITHIN 10 
    WHERE TargetInstance ISA 'Win32_Product' 
    AND TargetInstance.Name LIKE '%$appName%'
"@
    Register-WmiEvent -Query $query -Action {
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            AppName = $Event.SourceEventArgs.NewEvent.TargetInstance.Name
            Installer = (Get-Process -Id $Event.SourceEventArgs.NewEvent.TargetInstance.InstallProcessId).Path
            Timestamp = [DateTime]::Now
            User = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent().Name
        } | Export-Csv -Path "C:\Audit\Installs.log" -Append
    }
}