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Adobe Flash

  • 6 replies
  • 10 have this problem
  • 32 views
  • Last reply by Si

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I understand you have removed the ability of Adobe Flash to run on your browser, but a majority of the websites still use Adobe Flash for video content. And by removing access Adobe Flash on those websites requires me to use a different browser (Chrome and IE). In which case, I may decide to stick with the other browser.

Maybe your organization can come up with a security patch for FireFox, instead of removing the access until Adobe resolves the issue to your liking ?

I understand you have removed the ability of Adobe Flash to run on your browser, but a majority of the websites still use Adobe Flash for video content. And by removing access Adobe Flash on those websites requires me to use a different browser (Chrome and IE). In which case, I may decide to stick with the other browser. Maybe your organization can come up with a security patch for FireFox, instead of removing the access until Adobe resolves the issue to your liking ?

All Replies (6)

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Hey there! Adobe has actually released an update that is now safe to use! Hopefully this helps: http://t.co/9lD9t9Rwrm Good luck :)

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Mozilla never removed the ability to play Flash in Firefox. Any article you read you either misunderstood or was misinformation.

All they did was put the previous versions of Flash player for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux on a blocklist. This action was done as pretty much all versions since Dec 2014 has been getting hit with proven in wild exploits. The security concerns were not a issue before Dec 2014 since Feb/Mar 2013 for Flash player versions to be on list at time.

Any version on blocklist is soft blocked or click to play.

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/blocked/

The current versions at https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html has been out for two weeks now and are Not on blocklist.

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

Note if you do have the current 18.0.0.209 or even 13.0.0.309 ESR make sure you do not have older versions still installed. Some users who installed say 18.0.0.209 on Windows have found they still had 18.0.0.203 and Firefox was doing click to play on Flash.

Modified by James

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I think you have not received the complete story...

Mozilla had "soft-blocked" version 18.0.0.203 and earlier. What is that? Instead of letting all sites use Flash automatically, which was the default setting, Flash was temporarily switched to requiring sites to have express permission to use Flash, to help protect against "drive by" attacks.

Adobe released an update to resolve the critical issues it admitted were in the 18.0.0.203 version. You can get version 18.0.0.209 on this page:

https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

In the first table, look for the row for "plugin-based browsers" and you can use either the EXE or the MSI installer.

To ensure that the old version is removed, please close any tabs that are using Flash, or exit out of Firefox, during the update.

Now, no one can promise that this kind of block will never happen again. Should that occur, this might be helpful...

If you are not accustomed to using the "Ask to Activate" feature with any of your plugins, here's how it works:

When you visit a site that wants to use Flash, you should see a notification icon in the address bar and usually (but not always) one of the following: a link in a black rectangle in the page or an infobar sliding down between the toolbar area and the page.

The plugin notification icon in the address bar typically looks like a small, dark gray Lego block. When the page wants to use a soft-blocked plugin, the icon turns red to alert you to the concern.

If you see a good reason to use Flash, and the site looks trustworthy, you can go ahead and click the notification icon in the address bar to allow Flash. You can trust the site for the time being or permanently.

But some pages use Flash only for tracking or playing ads, so if you don't see an immediate need for Flash, feel free to ignore the notification! It will just sit there in case you want to use it later.

I have been using this as my default setting for over a year and hardly ever run into any problems with it.

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Hi, I've jst been trying to install flash player 19 but I've had what for me is a customary level of success, that being no success at all, despite uninstalling with their tool and following their guides to the letter. The files are sitting in SysWOW64 and System 32 but I want them in Firefox, which is what I was hoping you could help me with? You bailed me out previously, in impressive style, and I think I warned you I'd be back as I seem to be in a near-constant state of 'inability to help myself' and here I am yet again. The thought of being unable to watch the football tonight is deeply troubling so if you can help I will recommend your being knighted, or maybe a street in your namesake? Or a building? Tough call, eh? Let me know, many thanks as always.

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Hi SiCo, last month you posted from Firefox 42 (Nightly?) 64-bit. What version are you using now?

For 64-bit Firefox on a 64-bit Windows 7 system, Firefox should use the version in

C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash => NPSWF64_18_0_0_232.dll

Assuming that file is physically present, this is the checklist of next things to check -- based on what I know about 32-bit versions of Firefox; there may be 64-bit specific preferences as well that I haven't heard of.

Does "Shockwave Flash" show up on the Add-ons page?

Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. On the right side, can you find that plugin? Please check the grayed area at the bottom for any disabled plugins and change "Never Activate" to "Ask to Activate" if found there.

If the plugin does not show up anywhere: There are several possible things to investigate.

Confirm that Firefox is scanning the registry for plugins

Firefox finds most plugins from a registry entry. Some users have the scanning turned off for some reason. Here's how to check and fix that:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste scan and pause while the list is filtered

(3) If plugin.scan.plid.all is not set to its default value of true, double-click it to toggle it back to the default.

If you changed this setting, exit and restart Firefox to trigger another scan.

If you check the Add-ons page, Plugins section again, can you find the Flash plugin there, either enabled or at the bottom disabled?

If Firefox is set to scan but still does not find the plugin and list it on the Add-ons page...

Remove Firefox's plugin registry file

Sometimes the pluginreg.dat file becomes corrupted. You can remove it and have Firefox re-scan for plugins.

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
  • Help menu > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, click the "Show Folder" button to launch a new Windows Explorer window showing your settings files.

Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "power" button
  • File menu > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename pluginreg.dat to something like pluginreg.old

Start Firefox back up again. (If you want to restore your previous non-private session, use History > Restore Previous Session.)

When you return to the Add-ons page, is the Flash plugin finally there?

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Sir, got to start with thanking you for your prompt, and comprehensive reply, I'm truly grateful for the public service you supply, without humble servants such as yourself my neighbours would question my mental stability more than they already do, I'm sure, cries of despair haven't been uncommon since I got online. However, NPSWF32.19.0.0.162.dll is proudly on board (19, not 18, you'll notice, I like to be on the cutting edge!), I somehow managed it not long after contacting you but all the info you provided has been a key to whole new world. The settings files are particularly interesting and will no doubt lead to new kinds of trouble but will also, hopefully, help me to solve issues for myself some day, but I won't be throwing out your contact details just yet. Have a peaceful Sunday, with gratitude, SiCo