Tylerdowner, you said, This fix was not released for older versions of Flash (such as 10.3 or 11.2) but those versions are vulnerable to this security issue..

However, the reference link you posted, http://forums.adobe.com/message/4621126#4621126 8/14/2012 - Flash Player Security Update ... says this:

Flash Player 10.3.183.20 was not impacted by this security issue and was not updated.

I am already using the latest flash update: 11.3.300.271.

So that is not the fix for this problem with firefox.

briggl, have you disabled protected mode?

I do not want to disable protected mode. I reiterate:

I WANT IT TO WORK THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.

briggl, I understand. Unfortunately Flash's protected mode doesn't work properly, and until they fix it, there is nothing you can do except disable it.

Note FlashPlayer 11.4 has now been released, it may resolve some of these issues, use /plugincheck to upgrade. You may then be able to use protected mode again as intended.

(If you have manually disabled protected mode you will need to re-enable it by editing mms.cfg file to remove line ProtectedMode=0 see http://kb.mozillazine.org/Flash#Flash_Player_11.3_Protected_Mode_-_Windows )

John99 wrote, (If you have manually disabled protected mode you will need to re-enable it by editing mms.cfg file to remove line ProtectedMode=0 see http://kb.mozillazine.org/Flash#Flash_Player_11.3_Protected_Mode_-_Windows ).

MozillaZine's KB is currently down but this is from the cached version of that article:

Starting in Flash Player 11.3, the Flash plugin used in current versions of Firefox and SeaMonkey runs in a Protected Mode in Windows Vista and above. Note that, when Flash is running in Protected Mode, you will see two "FlashPlayerPlugin_<version>.exe processes in Windows Task Manager (e.g., “FlashPlayerPlugin_11_300_257.exe”).

<snip>

Disabling Protected Mode in Flash 11.3

You can disable Protected Mode in Flash 11.3 by adding the line ProtectedMode=0 to the Flash "mms.cfg" file located in:

   (Windows 32bit) C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash 
   (Windows 64bit) C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash 

For example, on a Windows 7 64-bit system, open the C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash folder, copy the file "mms.cfg" to the desktop, open it in Notepad, add a new line ProtectedMode=0 and then close Notepad, saving your changes. Next, go back to the C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash folder, rename the original file to "mms.cfgBAK" (to save it as a backup) and then drag and drop in the modified "mms.cfg" file from the desktop. You can later re-enable protected mode by either restoring the backup or by editing the mms.cfg file to remove the ProtectedMode=0 line you added.

Adobe references:

• http://forums.adobe.com/message/4588765#4588765
• http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1018071?tstart=0

P.S. To upgrade Flash, see Flash Plugin - Keep it up to date and troubleshoot problems under Updating Flash.

Adobe's 8/21/2012 - Flash Player 11.4 Release Announcement has more information.

I was having the same problem.... But I keep forgetting that when you upgrade firefox... or it updates automatically... you need to right click on the firefox start up icon, go into properties, click on the compatibilities tab, and put a check in the "Run This Program As An Administrator" box, then hit apply. Start Firefox, and it should work OK. Problem is...each time you upgrade firefox and/or I think Adobe flash... you need to make sure that box is checked. This is on Firefox 15.0.1 with Adobe Flash 11.4.402.278 all up to date, Windows 7 64bit. If Firefox has Adobe flash add-on, it needs to run in admin mode or it will crash.

Hi cutmetal, I haven't had to use "run as administrator" on either of my Win7 Pro x64 systems (1 desktop, 1 laptop). There may be some difference in how user permissions are configured at the Windows level. I don't know whether there is a support article on that anywhere, but it probably would be a good idea to have one.

cutmetal,

Checking your username for previous posts (here) I see that you also posted the same information in a number of other threads today.

You don't normally need to check the "Run This Program As An Administrator" box in Firefox -> Properties -> Compatibility tab, to prevent crashes after updating Firefox or Flash. If you need help with this issue, you should ask a new question. You can use this link as a starting point: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/new

Well, I have used and sworn by Firefox for more than 5 years and I am about to BAIL on this latest piece of crap they have released. SAME thing as everyone else. I can go to IE or Chrome and videos work flawlessly. Whereas with FF 90% of my videos, whether Youtube, or flash, or whatever, won't load, causing the page to freeze, my pages to load slowly, or similarly. This seems to have been going on MONTHS and I am sick and tired of having to keep a Chrome browser open simply to watch video's.

I am not going to deal with, "Uninstall this and reinstall... then try this... then try this..." Why in the heck would I possibly put myself through that when Chrome has the functionality to migrate all my bookmarks, of which I have hundreds, and not wanting to go through the pain in the butt that would be migrating those, THAT is all that has prevented me from switching thus far. I am about 2 millimeters from migrating to Chrome and deleting Firefox from my system altogether.

Firefox, you are only as good as your latest release, of which the current one SUCKS. You better have an autoupdate soon fixing the bugs, or myself and many others will be gone for good.

Hi alienalias28, you wrote:

This seems to have been going on MONTHS and I am sick and tired of having to keep a Chrome browser open simply to watch video's.

Since the release of Flash 11.3 on June 8th, which added a unique protected mode feature for users of Windows Vista and Windows 7, there have been a lot of Flash problems in Firefox due to conflicts with certain add-ons and settings. Adobe has fixed many of these in Flash 11.4, but apparently some remain. Real Networks also has updated its add-ons to resolve issues those were causing.

I understand you are frustrated having to do third party software updates and in some cases make manual configuration changes, but there isn't an automated solution, as far as I know.

Just to recap, the headline suggestions for working around Flash problems usually include the following (try in this order) -- no uninstalls or reinstalls required:

(1) Disable Flash player protected mode (Win Vista and Win 7 only)

This involves creating or editing a text file buried in the Windows folder. See this support article from Adobe under the heading "Last Resort": Adobe Forums: How do I troubleshoot Flash Player's protected mode for Firefox?

(2) Disable hardware graphics acceleration in Firefox and in Flash

(A) In Firefox, un-check the box here and restart:

orange Firefox button or classic Tools menu > Options > Advanced > General > "Use hardware acceleration when available"

(B) In Flash, see this support article from Adobe: http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/video-playback-issues.html#main_Solve_video_playback_issues

(3) Check for and resolve conflicts with other Firefox add-ons (e.g., using Safe Mode or a clean profile)

(4) For display issues with scrolling, disable Smooth Scrolling and Autoscrolling here:

orange Firefox button or classic Tools menu > Options > Advanced > General