I never got all the hostility against flash. Some of it will be in 3.6, some of we’ll be doing in parallel and some of which is longer term.
We’re also talking about using Adobe’s Express Install system, which can update flash from the flash plugin without having to use a separate installer.
We’re going to try to get to the point where you can upgrade the plugin via the plugin service that we currently use for installations.ĥ. If it sees that you have one that’s out of date, you’ll be sent to that page.Ĥ. Firefox 3.6 will check for newer versions of plugins just like we check for newer versions of Firefox or extensions. Second, we’re going to have a regular page that you can go to to check the state of other plugins as well. This is what we’ll include with 3.5.3.Ģ. The first is to do a check when we update the browser. This is only the first step in a multi-step process that we’re going down:ġ. Even though I’d rather see this as an integrated part of the browser, Firefox is at least taking the first proper steps to address the Flash issue. Mozilla will work with other plugin providers to build-in similar functionality for other plugins than Flash. This page will inform users that their Flash version is out of date, and will direct them towards Adobe’s Flash site where they can download the latest version. The checker is not an integral part of Firefox itself, but is instead part of the “What’s new?” page after upgrading to the latest Firefox version. Old versions of plugins can cause crashes and other stability problems, and can also be a significant security risk,” Mozilla’s Johnathan Nightingale writes, “For now our focus is on the Adobe Flash Player both because of its popularity and because some studies have shown that as many as 80% of users currently have an out of date version.” “Starting with the upcoming releases of Firefox 3.5.3 and Firefox 3.0.14, Mozilla will warn users if their version of the popular Adobe Flash Player plugin is out of date.
It has been shown that 80% of the people who have Flash installed are using an outdated version, so the Mozilla team has decided to take matters into their own hands, and will include a version checker in Firefox 3.5.3 and 3.0.14.
Thanks to the near-ubiquity of the Flash plugin, it’s a very attractive attack vector for people with malicious intent. The Mozilla team has now announced that Firefox 3.5.3 and 3.0.14 will include a Flash version checker. This older version had security holes in it, so Adobe advised everyone to upgrade. Earlier this week, news got out that Apple was shipping an outdated version of Adobe’s Flash Player with Snow Leopard if you updated to a more recent version before the upgrade to Snow Leopard, you would receive a downgrade.