Adobe Flash Update Not Notifying

Only when I restart do I get notified of a new update. I went to the Global Settings on the adobe site but I can't bring up any panels. Why can't I see the panels?

I also happened to notice at one time that a shockwave activex was listed in my add-ons and seemed to be an older version. Should I update that and why wouldn't I be notified of a new version?

Thanks.

Donload and use secunia. It notifies of new updates for adobe and many other software once a week or you can check manually at any time.
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/