Firefox 34.05 says plugin is out-of-date, insecure, and thus disabled. But...my version is higher than the blocked version
Upon updating to Firefox 34.05, I've been faced with the fact that this version of Firefox (erroneously) thinks some of my plugins are out of date, and has disabled them, for my safety.
For instance, it tells me that "Adobe Acrobat Reader is known to be vulnerable and must be updated". Upon clicking the link to update it, it informs me that "Adobe Reader 9.5.1 and lower has been blocked for your protection.". Okay, cool right? An update should solve that.
Problem is, I don't *have* a version of AR that is 9.5.1 or lower. My version is, according to Firefox itself, version 10.1.4.38. So why is it blocked? Updating the version, as advised in other threads on similar issues, does not seem to work. In fact, the Mozilla plugincheck tells me that my version is up-to-date and is fine.
It is very inconvenient to have to open an entirely different browser, like Opera, just to do certain things that I could previously do with Firefox.
I'd also like to voice my overall disapproval on the way many features of Firefox (enabling disabling Javascript, images, certain stylistic features, the add-on bar) have been done away with and users are being told "you can install an add-on to add that functionality back on". It has always been my understanding that the less add-ons installed the better, given that they are apparently the number one problem when it comes to Firefox having issues. Having to disable 5 new add-ons anytime I want to troubleshoot a problem is not convenient, and makes locating the source of various problems more difficult.
I have no idea why Mozilla is so committed to making changes that users hate, and act as if having third-party add-ons to restore functionality is any kind of solution.
Modified by reallysickofthis
All Replies (4)
I've called the big guys to help you. Good luck.
Firefox 34.0.5 is not doing the blocking as it is due to the blocklist. https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/blocked/
Adobe Reader 10.0 to 10.1.5.* has been blocked for your protection. https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/blocked/p158 (Blocked on October 5, 2012)
You were looking at another blocklist page which was https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/blocked/p156 posted on same day.
The https://www.mozilla.org/plugincheck/ is not always accurate or reliable (needs to be manually updated) as Adobe has not been keeping the Adobe products versions to check for updated on that page as the recent Flash updates on December 9 has shown.
It is however accurate when it says versions in Plugins panel of Addons Manager is outdated.
There is Adobe Reader 11.0.10 though it seems like Adobe still provides 10.1.4 at http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/ yet newer versions are at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=10&platform=Windows
Modified by James
James said
Firefox 34.0.5 is not doing the blocking as it is due to the blocklist. https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/blocked/ Adobe Reader 10.0 to 10.1.5.* has been blocked for your protection. https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/blocked/p158 (Blocked on October 5, 2012) You were looking at another blocklist page which was https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/blocked/p156 posted on same day. The https://www.mozilla.org/plugincheck/ is not always accurate or reliable (needs to be manually updated) as Adobe has not been keeping the Adobe products versions to check for updated on that page as the recent Flash updates on December 9 has shown. It is however accurate when it says versions in Plugins panel of Addons Manager is outdated. There is Adobe Reader 11.0.10 though it seems like Adobe still provides 10.1.4 at http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/ yet newer versions are at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=10&platform=Windows
James, why does the Firefox addon page link to the 9.5 "blocked for your protection" page instead of the 10.5 blocked page? Is that a mistake/failure to update on Adobe's part? That seems like something that should be controlled on the Mozilla side, since it has the 10.5 blocked page in existence as well. Should someone be notified that it's giving the wrong page to people?
The adobe update you linked to made it stop saying it's out of date, but what about the Java Development Toolkit? (As pictured in attached image #3). How should I go about getting that up to date?
Modified by reallysickofthis
> but what about the Java Development Toolkit? ... How should I go about getting that up to date?
Updating the Java Deployment (not "Development") Toolkit is a distinct issue from updating Acrobat.
Most end-users don't need the Deployment Toolkit anyway, since its audience is Java developers... so the warning from Add-Ons Manager can be ignored by most people.
That said, the solution I identified (and implemented on my Windows 7 machine) is found at https://www.java.com/en/download/help/firefox_java.xml
In short, update Java to the current version using your system's Java updates tool, e.g. Windows... Start -> All Programs -> Java -> Check for Updates
Modified by BillM