Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Firefox 3.6 will check if the plugins are updated

The next version of Firefox will tell the user if some of its plugins are obsolete. With the latest update of Firefox (3.5.3 and 3.0.14), the Mozilla Foundation has been involved in the case of the Flash plugin. At first launch the browser and only at that point, the What's New page informs the user if the version has the most current Flash Player. If this is not the case, a link allows the repatriation via the Adobe website.

Mozilla has indicated that it was only a first approach and that this audit would be extended to other plugins. Older versions of plugins can indeed be the cause of stability problems, not to mention the security risk for a potentially vulnerable version. Firefox 3.6, a first beta is expected next week, will benefit from this work around plugins .

The Mozilla WebDev team has recently developed a Web page called Plugin Check where a quick analysis of these plugins in Firefox is made to determine those that are not updated. This page goes beyond the current page What's New in dealing not only the Flash plugin, but Adobe Reader, Java, RealPlayer ... Eventually the overview should be as complete as possible.

This verification mechanism will be integrated in Firefox 3.6 so far without the user having to manually go to the page Check Plugin. When loading a Web page that seeks an outdated plugin (and hence no longer the first launch of browser), the user will be notified directly via the appearance of a bar (below). If desired, a button on the toolbar on the lead page Check Plugin from where it can make the update.

The user will be notified via the Plugins manager add-ons where plugins will be updated not indicated.

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