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Have you guys done anything to block/disable Realdownloader/Realtimes?

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was down loading a video using Real Downloader, (as i have done off and on for maybe 15 years) Friday evening, 21 April, and during the download the little picture download button changed to blue with no video to download, and all the Realplayer guys suggestions have proved fruitless, so they asked if i had issues with Firefox, so i ask if you guys have blocked Realplayer/Realtimes Downloader? i like it and have used it for near on to 20 years and i like Firefox to but if this don't get solved, i will probably change over to Google Crome or Internet Explorer to download from youtube If you can help i be very grateful sincerely yours.

was down loading a video using Real Downloader, (as i have done off and on for maybe 15 years) Friday evening, 21 April, and during the download the little picture download button changed to blue with no video to download, and all the Realplayer guys suggestions have proved fruitless, so they asked if i had issues with Firefox, so i ask if you guys have blocked Realplayer/Realtimes Downloader? i like it and have used it for near on to 20 years and i like Firefox to but if this don't get solved, i will probably change over to Google Crome or Internet Explorer to download from youtube If you can help i be very grateful sincerely yours.

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When did this problem start?

If it began in Firefox 52, I would suspect it's related to all plugins other than Flash being disabled. More on this below (copy/paste).

If it began in Firefox 53, we might not have enough user feedback to know whether there is a specific reason for it, or maybe some mysterious combination of factors specific to your system.

Of course, there are many video downloading extensions for Firefox, so if you like Firefox in general, you could consider taking a look at one of those (read reviews carefully because some may be a vehicle to promote other software).


The regular release of Firefox 52-53 only allows one plugin, which is Flash. The Extended Support Release (ESR) of Firefox 52 will still run Java, Silverlight, and other old plugins. ESR was first developed to meet the needs of large organizations that wanted Firefox to change much more slowly, but anyone can use it so don't let that put you off. ESR gets security updates but no feature changes for about a year at a time.

More information on this change and ESR: Why do Java, Silverlight, Adobe Acrobat and other plugins no longer work?

Windows Users: When you get to the ESR installer list, you'll notice at least two different downloads for Windows:

  • Windows installer is the standard version for Windows that runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista through 10 (and 32-bit XP), the best choice for most users
  • Windows 64-bit installer ONLY runs the Flash and Silverlight plugins, so that is not what you're looking for. (If someone reading this only needs Silverlight and is considering switching to 64-bit, there may be some extra file cleanup to do on your system. See: How to switch from 32-bit to 64-bit Firefox)

Success?