Author Topic: updating Firefox plugins sucks! (Read 33896 times)

Curt · « **on:** March 26, 2010, 03:50 PM »

For the first time ever, I clicked Addons > Plugins > check for updates, in Firefox, and was very surprised to watch the following procedure.

First, I was sent to a homepage that knew what plugin versions I have. Unfortunately it didn't know more than 6 out of 28. The remaining 22 plugins were merely marked with a grey (gray) button saying "Unable to Detect Plugin Version".

Then, when clicking the first "update" button, (Adobe Shockwave), the homepage would send me to Adobe's homepage, using the same window !! I find this to be equal to idiocy. Of course it must use another window / tab!

Finally, when I clicked the first of the 22 grey (gray) buttons, HD View 3.3.0.0 Mozilla plugin, Firefox did *not* link me to the product's homepage, but merely gave me a google search (still in the same window) for current version plugin HD View !!

Realizing I still had 21 more plugins to go, I simply gave up and closed the plugin's box.

Do you 'auto-update' your Firefox plugins via https://www.mozilla....m/en-US/plugincheck/ ?
- or what do you do to keep your plugins updated??

TucknDar · « **Reply #1 on:** March 26, 2010, 03:58 PM »

- or what do you do to keep your plugins updated??

-Curt (March 26, 2010, 03:50 PM)

Didn't know I had to

The thought's never even crossed my mind, to be honest. Stuff either works or it's not installed yet. But the procedure you describe certainly does sound rather stupid.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #2 on:** March 26, 2010, 05:24 PM »

I rarely do the Check For Updates unless the FF on another machine has updated an AddOn or theme that I know I want to update. When I upgrade FF I never let it check. I wait to see if it passes my litmus tests(Silverlight Video and TV Guide Popdown descriptions.. seems if those work, everything I use will work.)

I use the Mr Tech Toolkit to override version checking. (I know I could do the about:config setting but I got in the Mr Tech habit and it also works with Thunderbird. I just keep it.)

I let it do the auto check on program load.. and just hit Skip if I don't want to bother with it. That usually avoids a deluge as the updates tend to come in 1s and 2s.

f0dder · « **Reply #3 on:** March 26, 2010, 06:44 PM »

For me, FireFox updates Addons quite automatically, and it definitely doesn't involve going to any website.

mrainey · « **Reply #4 on:** March 26, 2010, 07:11 PM »

I click the button to check for updates (14), and it only takes a few seconds plus a Firefox restart.

Tuxman · « **Reply #5 on:** March 26, 2010, 07:37 PM »

I auto-update add-ons. Concerning actual plugins I don't really care; the Java plugin is not installed, Flash is blocked by default, so there is not much of a chance I will ever become infected through some plugin hole.

Curt · « **Reply #6 on:** March 26, 2010, 08:08 PM »

I am sorry I didn't express my mind very well. But to avoid further confusing:
I was talking about Plugins only, not addons.

---------
@Tuxman
No Java or flash is of course a very good reason not to update the plugins!

cmpm · « **Reply #7 on:** March 26, 2010, 09:05 PM »

I'm not so sure about that site for plugin updates.
Didn't know it was there till now though.
It said I needed an updated plugin that didn't need an update.
And as you have seen, it doesn't recognize many plugins.

I keep an eye on the filehippo.com feed for some of them.
Other then that I'd think when a plugin is called on, whatever is using it would alert for an update.

bleh75 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 27, 2010, 04:18 AM »

I've moved to Google Chrome and my old backup browser Opera.Firefox is as bloated as IE

Neither have plugins as good as Firefox but I hate bloatware

I like filehippo.com and majorgeeks.com a lot

Curt · « **Reply #9 on:** March 27, 2010, 06:13 AM »

I've come across a page that is telling about the all new Mozilla page, that I've been referring to. So I guess that's the problem; the plugin updating feature is so brand new that most plugins not yet have been implemented, but in time may be.

The page is in Danish and from my IP supplier.

Edited:
The page is naming these plugins only:

Shockwave for Director
Java JRE
Silverlight
DivX Web Player
Shockwave Flash
QuickTime Plug-in
2007 Microsoft Office system
Microsoft Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin

Bamse · « **Reply #10 on:** March 27, 2010, 10:59 AM »

http://blog.mozilla....eople-upgrade-flash/ is why it does not suck and one of the many easy to fix reasons there are security problems. High percentage have no clue and will not maintain the handful of really important plugins known to be seen as en entry by malware makers. Many must also either disable autoupdate from Adobe or just ignore/cancel or how else can they detect so high percentage? May be "problem" is people being sceptical to sudden pop-ups so they cancel? Flash does not advertise update window much, will just appear X days after new release. Implementation, Flash update window, is wrong then. Better to let Mozilla take care of it. Well another page said something about problems detecting versions through a web page but if it can't detect Adobe pdf-plugin value decreases a lot. I guess they will not make this work automatically for all plugins until all are recognized. Sending people off to Google in search of updates is not optimal.

They have bigger plans, Plugin Directory http://blog.mozilla....he-plugin-directory/ Version check is part of that project.

J-Mac · « **Reply #11 on:** March 27, 2010, 10:59 PM »

I have been going between Chrome and Firefox lately. I agree with bleh75 that Firefox has become more difficult to use lately - ever since about 3.5 if I had to guess. I do have about 25 extensions installed and there is no way to see if any are causing a problem other than disabling all and turning them back on one by one, which is a real PITA. Plus if the problem is an intermittent one then there is no way to diagnose it.

And I love how asinine the Mozillazine forums have become. I have often said that the best thing about Firefox is the extensions, and the worst thing about Firefox is the extensions. Yet post about a problem at Mozillazine and you get Mods and long-time users telling you that it's naturally the extensions - that they don’t use any extensions. Really? Then what other reason is there to use Firefox? Baloney!

Firefox now starts slow, browses slow, shuts down slow - if at all - and it uses so much memory that it is a definite hog. Although Chrome, while being much faster than Firefox, is an even bigger memory hog. I recently had 9 tabs open in Chrome and the Windows Task Manager showed exactly 30 processes named "Chrome", each taking from 35 to 50 MB of RAM. Crazy!

Opera is looking better and better - if only the developers there weren't so damned elitist.

OK - whining rant all done!

Jim

cyberdiva · « **Reply #12 on:** March 28, 2010, 09:27 AM »

Opera is looking better and better - if only the developers there weren't so damned elitist.
-J-Mac (March 27, 2010, 10:59 PM)

+1

cmpm · « **Reply #13 on:** March 28, 2010, 11:27 AM »

20 extensions and my FF does ok.
I trashed the useless ones and unused ones a long time ago.

The only plugins that I care about keeping up to date are,
adobe flash and Java.

And, sorry, CleanMem works.
Idling at 70,000kb to 90,000kb or so anytime I look.
More depending on how many tabs are open, about 10,000kb a tab I figure.

Minimizetotray Plus helps immeasurably.
https://addons.mozil...S/firefox/addon/2831
It works, so sticking with it.

bleh75 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 28, 2010, 12:55 PM »

Good stuff J-Mac

I haven't used Firefox for awhile now. Last time I used it was using like 400,000 K lol

Thats when I ditched it

Curt · « **Reply #15 on:** March 28, 2010, 01:55 PM »

if you want Firefox or any other application to use less memory right here and now, you will at any time be better off using f0dder's TrimAll. Click it and Firefox will AT ONCE go down from say 130MB to less than 10MB. (Of course it will then rise again.) TrimAll really is superior to CleanMem and all the others. Very fine work, f0dder!

Direct link to exe: https://www.donation...=2794.0;attach=17116

Here you go

"trimall.exe" automatically trims all processes, has no GUI or status indication or whatever (thus the small size). It still won't trim system processes.
-f0dder (April 20, 2007, 08:30 AM)

Tuxman · « **Reply #16 on:** March 28, 2010, 02:01 PM »

For me it does nothing.

Curt · « **Reply #17 on:** March 28, 2010, 02:04 PM »

@tuxman > Quote: "No GUI, no nothing", meaning there is nothing to see unless you are watching via your task / process manager 'Memory Use' Before/After. TrimAll wil AT ONCE lower the total memory use with approx 20 %

Tuxman · « **Reply #18 on:** March 28, 2010, 02:06 PM »

I read that there is no GUI, but my Firefox did not decrease in any way, so I was just wondering...

Curt · « **Reply #19 on:** March 28, 2010, 02:10 PM »

I did the test with Firefox just before posting, so I used the real values; my Firefox went from 130MB to 10MB in a second. Then it started building up again.

Tuxman · « **Reply #20 on:** March 28, 2010, 02:20 PM »

Ah, now I got it. Works.

J-Mac · « **Reply #21 on:** March 28, 2010, 02:51 PM »

Hey folks, I use an extension called AFOM Addon, "Firefox Memory Leakage Recover Application" - I imagine the developer meant "recovery" instead of "recover". That is working well but of course that is only for the memory-hogging issue. The rest of my rants are still biting me.

Thank you.

Jim

Curt · « **Reply #22 on:** March 28, 2010, 05:27 PM »

- it actually has been corrected to 'recovery' - at least on your link's page.

bleh75 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 28, 2010, 05:31 PM »

I can't get TrimAll to work at all I stuck it in an empty folder and tried both .exe

Whats it supposed to do exactly there is no readme or anything ?

Curt · « **Reply #24 on:** March 28, 2010, 05:36 PM »

- TrimAll:

...: "No GUI, no nothing", meaning there is nothing to see unless you are watching via your task / process manager 'Memory Use' Before/After. TrimAll wil AT ONCE lower the total memory use with approx 20 %
-Curt (March 28, 2010, 02:04 PM)