Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash), refers to the Flash Player and browser plugin needed to handle SWF videos, web page animations and interactive content. Even though the Flash plugin is also referred to as "Shockwave Flash", it should not be confused with the Shockwave plugin that handles "Shockwave for Director" content.
Flash Plugin For Firefox Mac
Note: On Windows, the Flash plugin is detected via plugin scanning. If you have installed the Flash plugin but it does not appear in the Add-ons Manager, open about:config and make sure that the preference plugin.scan.plid.all has not been set to "false" (if it has, right-click on it and select Reset to set it back to "true"). [2]
Note: If the Flash plugin is installed, make sure it is enabled in the Firefox (3.0 and above) or SeaMonkey 2 Add-ons Manager (see above); otherwise, the Flash test will not work and the "Shockwave Flash" plugin entry will not be displayed in the about:plugins list.
If Flash is not installed, this may trigger the Plug-in Finder Service, which you can use to download and install the Flash plugin on Windows (see below). At time of writing, the Plug-in Finder Service is triggered but fails to install the Flash plugin on Linux or Mac OS in Firefox 3 and above (you will need to manually download and install the plugin). [3] [4]
You can also see what version (if any) of the Flash plugin is being detected using about:plugins (see the linked article for details). If Flash is installed and enabled, the about:plugins list will include an entry similar to the following:
In Flash versions 11.2 and above, the file name includes the plugin version. For example, for Flash plugin version 11.2.202.235 on Windows, the plugin file name would be "NPSWF32_11_2_202_235.dll". In older Flash versions, for example, plugin version 10.3.183.18 on Windows, the file name would simply be "NPSWF32.dll".
Note: The about:plugins list is generated from data stored in the "pluginreg.dat" file. In some cases, the stored data may be incorrect. [5] To refresh the list, close the browser and delete the "pluginreg.dat" file, located in the profile folder in current Mozilla browsers.
If the Flash plugin is not installed and you visit a page that has Flash content that requires the plugin, the Plug-in Finder Service (PFS) can download and install Flash for you (see this article for details) but it may offer an outdated version. Note: Mozilla may either remove the PFS or change the process for downloading missing plugins, at some future date. [8] [9] [10]
Important: There are two Flash players offered for Windows users: the Flash ActiveX control for Internet Explorer/AOL and the Flash plugin for Firefox/Mozilla/Opera browsers. Each must be installed separately, since the Flash plugin installer does not add the ActiveX control and vice versa.
You would then have needed to copy these two files to the plugins folder of undetected browsers (e.g., zip builds). Note that an XPI package that was available for Flash 9.0.r28 and earlier using the "Install" link at PluginDoc also copied the Flash plugin files to the Windows System directory's Macromed\Flash folder and added a registry entry so that all Mozilla browsers could find the files through plugin scanning, using a Windows registry PLID scan [11]
Starting with Flash 9.0.r45 the Flash plugin installer for Firefox and other Mozilla-based browsers does not copy any files to the browser plugins folder. Instead, the files "NPSWF32.dll", "flashplayer.xpt" and related files are placed in the Macromed\Flash folder located in the Windows System directory (e.g., C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash) and the installer removes any copies found in the installation directory of detected browsers. A Windows registry entry is created enabling each Mozilla browser to detect Flash via plugin scanning (PLID scan). [12]
See Flash Player Help Uninstall Flash Player Windows at Adobe.com for a link to download the uninstaller and detailed instructions. Adobe's uninstaller will remove Flash from your system, including both the Flash Player plugin for Mozilla applications and the Flash Player ActiveX control used by Internet Explorer and AOL.
Warning: Some software may not work properly unless the Flash ActiveX control is installed. [19] [20] [21] If you only want to remove the Flash plugin for Firefox and other Mozilla applications, and leave the Flash Player ActiveX installed, just remove the "Adobe Flash Player Plugin" from the Windows Control Panel list of installed programs (see below).
Flash 11, Flash 10, and Flash 9.0 r45 or above: You can uninstall the Flash plugin for Mozilla applications (and keep the Flash ActiveX control, if installed) by selecting and removing just the "Adobe Flash Player Plugin" entry from the Windows Control Panel list of installed programs (e.g., Windows XP "Add or Remove Programs" or Windows 7/Vista "Programs and Features" list). If you see an entry for "Adobe Flash Player ActiveX", this is the Flash ActiveX control needed for Internet Explorer and AOL. Flash Player ActiveX may also be required for other software to work properly (see above). Note: It's possible to have two different versions of Flash Player installed; for example, Adobe Flash Player 11 ActiveX for Internet Explorer and Adobe Flash Player 10 Plugin for Mozilla browsers.
Flash 9.0 r28 and below: Your Windows list of installed programs may have an entry for "Adobe Flash Player ActiveX" but this will only remove the Flash Player for Internet Explorer and AOL. To completely remove Flash from your system, download the Flash uninstaller from Adobe.com. To remove Flash from Mozilla browsers only, delete these Flash plugin files from all locations. [22]
If the uninstall don't work:1. type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Find the preference plugin.expose_full_path and change the value to "true" (double-clicking the preference name will toggle the setting).2. type about:plugins and locate the flash plugin. Remove the plugin files (both .so and .xpt)
Warning: Installing an old version of Flash may be suggested as a workaround for some Flash issues; however, this can make your system vulnerable to security exploits that have been addressed in the latest Flash version. [23] Also, Mozilla adds outdated Flash plugin versions to its Add-ons Blocklist as a security measure. In some cases, this may may result in "infobar" notification in the browser. In other cases, outdated Flash plugins may be disabled in the Firefox or SeaMonkey Add-ons Manager or, starting in Firefox 17, may require Click to play activation.[24] [25]
Starting in Flash 11.3 the Flash Player plugin used in Firefox and SeaMonkey runs in a Protected Mode by default on Windows Vista and above. This security feature has been causing problems for some Firefox or SeaMonkey users since it was introduced in Flash 11.3. See Flash Player 11.3 Protected Mode - Windows (below) for suggested solutions and workarounds, which also apply to Flash 11.4 and above.
As a workaround, you can disable Flash Protected Mode (see below) or you can downgrade the Flash plugin to a version previous to 11.3, such as Flash 11.2 or 10.3; however, older Flash versions have security vulnerabilities and may be blocklisted. To downgrade Flash, uninstall the Flash plugin via Windows Control Panel "Programs and Features" (or use Adobe's uninstaller), and then install the older plugin version. See Adobe's How do I revert to a previous version of Flash Player? page for details. Also note that the latest Flash 10.3 plugin installer was previously recommended because it included all known security patches. As of July 9, 2013, however, Flash 10.3 will no longer be maintained. [36] [37]
Starting in Firefox 3.6.4 on Windows and Linux, the Flash plugin is isolated from the browser process and runs in a separate "plugin-container" process ("plugin-container.exe" on Windows). On Mac OS in Firefox 4 and above, this process is named "Firefox Plugin Process (Shockwave Flash)". See Plugin-container and out-of-process plugins for more information about this crash protection feature.
User Agent Switcher The User Agent Switcher extension allows you to spoof your user agent so that websites may think that you are using a different browser or operating system. This can can cause problems on websites that depend on that information to activate the Flash plugin. [79] Select the "Default" entry in the User Agent Switcher list to restore your correct user agent.
In Firefox 3 (or SeaMonkey 2) and above, you can disable the ActiveX plugin via "Tools -> Add-ons (or Add-on Manager) -> Plugins"; otherwise, exit the browser and look for the file "npmozax.dll" in the installation directory plugins folder. If found, rename the file "Xnpmozax.dll" to disable the ActiveX plugin. If Flash content plays correctly afterwards, remove the ActiveX plugin.
Note: This issue should no longer exist in QuickTime 7.3.1 or above. See the QuickTime article for help updating QuickTime for Windows. Mac users can update via the OS X Software Update feature. After updating, you may also need to delete the "pluginreg.dat" file from the profile folder location [81] [82]
If you see a QuickTime symbol with a question mark where the Flash content should be, it means that QuickTime has taken over Flash content; in particular, the application/x-shockwave-flash MIME type for Flash media (.swf extension). To see which plugins are being detected and the MIME types handled, enter about:plugins in your Mozilla browser Location Bar. Note: For security reasons, the Flash media handler is disabled starting in QuickTime 7.3.1 so this should not be an issue in current QuickTime versions. [83] If you are using an old version of QuickTime (before 7.3.1):
If the problem persists, remove the file "pluginreg.dat" from the "Firefox" or "Mozilla" folder in the profile folder location. Important: On Windows, also open the Mozilla Suite/SeaMonkey or Firefox \plugins folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plugins) and remove all "npqtplugin.*.dll" files found. Your browser will then detect the QuickTime plugins based on the MIME types selected in your QuickTime Preferences. [85] 2ff7e9595c
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