Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Plug In's - None of the authors "are verified". So how do I know with confidence which ones are safe to add. Example the current version of Adobe Flash Player

  • 1 reply
  • 2 have this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by philipp

Mike1Firefox
Mike1Firefox
more options

In "Check your Plugins" I am really confused about:

1. Vulnerable Plugin's: Adobe Flash Player Shockwave Flash 17.0 r0 vulnerable 17.0.0.190

Question: My assumption is not to Update since I see the warning - Vulnerable. Is this the right assumption?

2. Up & Coming Add-On's. None of the authors are verified (ex: Flash Player for YouTube). Are all the Add-On's listed here private (individual) developers and not the actual software provider (Google for You Tube)? If yes, how can you add with any confidence

3. Unknown Plug-Ins. The only option button is "Research". What the heck do I do with these Plug-In's?? For example my list has Office 2010, Google, Canon (I have a Canon printer).

Being a painful victim of viruses and malware in the past, I need guidance please. Thank you

In "Check your Plugins" I am really confused about: 1. Vulnerable Plugin's: Adobe Flash Player Shockwave Flash 17.0 r0 vulnerable 17.0.0.190 Question: My assumption is not to Update since I see the warning - Vulnerable. Is this the right assumption? 2. Up & Coming Add-On's. None of the authors are verified (ex: Flash Player for YouTube). Are all the Add-On's listed here private (individual) developers and not the actual software provider (Google for You Tube)? If yes, how can you add with any confidence 3. Unknown Plug-Ins. The only option button is "Research". What the heck do I do with these Plug-In's?? For example my list has Office 2010, Google, Canon (I have a Canon printer). Being a painful victim of viruses and malware in the past, I need guidance please. Thank you

Modified by James

All Replies (1)

philipp
philipp
  • Moderator
more options

hi Mike1Firefox, i'll try to answer your questions briefly:

  1. the status vulnerable refers to your currently installed version 17 of the adobe flash plugin. the latest version of flash that you should update to is Flash Player 18.0.0.194 - it fixes various vulnerabilities that are actively exploited in the wild. the update is also available at https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html - for firefox please use the windows exe-installer for plugin-based browsers.
  2. the "author not verified" warning will appear for any unsigned addon at the moment (this will change in firefox 40 for signed addons). addons listed on addons.mozilla.org get created by independent third-party developers most of the time and will subsequently be reviewed by mozilla before they are publicly listed. addons with a green "+ add to firefox" button are fully reviewed and should be safe to use.
  3. less common plugins which data isn't maintained on the plugin check website fall into the unknown plugins category. since most of the time they will be unnecessary for normal browsing and aren't used to display web content, you could go ahead and set them to never activate in the firefox menu ≡ > plugins > extensions.