Firefox 3.6 will automatically check for outdated plug-ins
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Mozilla said Tuesday that the upcoming release of the Firefox 3.6 web browser will automatically scan users' browsers for outdated versions of plug-ins, beginning with 15 popular plug-ins including Adobe Flash Player.
Firefox 3.5.3 and 3.0.14 already check for outdated Flash plug-ins and Mozilla said the popularity of the in-browser service resulted in 10 million users updating their Flash within the first week it was available.
"This is a really important project for us, because old versions of plug-ins can cause crashes and other stability problems and can also be a major security risk," Mozilla's Jonathan Nightingale said on the Mozilla security blog.
Flash, the software that allows users to see movies and animations in their web browser, is one of the most common website applications. Out-of-date versions of Flash Player have been used by cyber attackers to take control of user PCs.
Mozilla is developing a plug-in checker web page that users can visit to scan for outdated plug-ins, including Apple's Quicktime video player and Microsoft's Silverlight. Mozilla said it is working to allow the plug-in checker to work with other browsers as well.
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