'pepflashplayer.dll' has downloaded without my permission.

Question

My Adobe Flash settings (which must be edited online, for some stupid reason) are set to notify me if a download is available, but there IS NO SETTING for "do not download until I consent".
Norton has informed me that 'pepflashplayer.dll' has downloaded without my permission.  How do I prevent Flash from downloading or installing updates without my permission?  I would gladly grant it as soon as I verified that it really is a Flash update, but I am simply not comfortable with ANY software downloading or installing updates on its own, without the consent of the computer user.
How can I stop this from occurring?
Here is the Nortion file insight:
"Full Path: c:\Documents and Settings\Cam\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\PepperFlash\11.5.31.139\pepflashplayer.dll
Developers Adobe Systems Incorporated
Version 11.5.31.139
Identified 2/5/2013 at 1:44:44 PM
Last Used Not Available
Startup Item No
Very Few Users
Fewer than 5 users in the Norton Community have used this file.
Very New
This file was released less than 1 week ago.
Good
Norton has given this file a good rating.
Source File:
pepflashplayer.dll
File Thumbprint - SHA:
bd97281fd622e14aa65895989ddd55d6c65be2247c04ca5555970793bd8ac5ce
File Thumbprint - MD5:
ec155c323a3b777441bf6a2bf4077fcc

Answer 1

I helped launch Norton Insight - so I can provide a little insight here.
Insight identifies executables by making a digital "hash" of the file.  It then tracks how that file behaves on your system - does it lead to crashes, does it use lots of resources, is it associated with potentially malicious behavior (such as downloading files without permission, changing security settings - about 400 different behaviors).  It reports back Symantec - data it collects from 50 or 60 million users.  This is what Symantec calls the file's "reputation".  It uses an algorithm to rate the safety of the file based on behaviors, the file's source and on how many people use the file without showing signs of infection.
So insight is a way to detect malicious code - or files infected with malicious code, even files Symantec has never seen before. 
If the file changes, even if one byte changes, the hash will no longer match and it will be considered a new file.  So only 5 people are using that exact version of the file - but many other versions of that file could be used by many other people.