Hi PatTra,

Sorry you are having problems.

Uninstall Flash 11.3 using adobe's installer and reinstall either the secure version 10.3 or take a risk on the less secure, but better featured 11.2. Follow the instructions in

• flash 11.3 crashes

If you have any type of RealPayer software installed please mention that. (I note you did not paste troubleshooting information in when you asked the question)

Please read the article, try the downgrade and post back with how you get on.

Hope that helps,
John

I have added more info under that some users may be interested in

CRASHES

It is helpful to submit crash reports, but you will not normally not get any specific reply about a solution. If you need a solution then you should look at

• Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly)
• and Send plugin crash reports to help Mozilla improve Firefox

I think Firefox could make that clear when users submit crash reports, but I suspect the thinking is that this support forum would be totally overwhelmed if any more than a minute proportion of crashes resulted in a forum visit and potentially a question being asked.

Techi Info for anyone interested, and reading this thread on the forum
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/931368

Problems affect Windows Vista and above Firefox with Flash 11.3,and relate to a security feature known as protected mode . Developers from Flash and Firefox have been working on the problem for quite a few days, and RealPlayer developers are investigating also. Some useful links

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Flash#Flash_Player_11.3_Protected_Mode_-_Windows
  that is a long article it will scroll. It should b up-to-date. It may well contain tips and links not yet included in official Firefox help articles
• FAQ How do I troubleshoot Flash Player's protected mode for Firefox?
  http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1018071?tstart=0
• http://blogs.adobe.com/asset/2012/06/inside-flash-player-protected-mode-for-firefox.html
• http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html NOTE you may need to use the Adobe uninstaller utility

The reason this seems contradicting is for two reasons: 1. Not all users are experiencing issues with Flash 11.3. For these users, being safe and secure with the latest version is most important. That is why the plugin checker recommended Flash 11.3 2. For those users that are having trouble, we've recommended installing a version other than 11.3 (<11.2). This is just temporary until Flash fixes their issues and relases an update.

TY Tylerdowner, I don't always present my thoughts as well on paper (or internet) as I do in my mind (you'll understand when you get older too-lol). But what I meant by 'contradicting' was that the article recommended me uninstalling 11.3 b/c of the constant crashing problem & installing either 10.3 or 11.2. It said that 10.3 had basically better security than 11.2, so I installed 10.3. Then I clicked on right side of page that said 'check plugins here' & Flash Player showed up in red as "vulnerable" & "update now" (in small box popped up when ran mouse over 'vulnerable' it says to update or disable). So my question was....why would one page (on the crashing) tell me to downgrade to 10.3 or 11.2 - then, on other page, tell me to update or disable b/c of security concerns? Which one? It can't be both. Sorry for confusion on original question. Thanks Again

TY John99--but I followed all instructions. My question should have explained what happened After I did all that. TY Again though.

Neither Flash 10.3 or 11.2 are updated anymore, so they are both insecure. What page told you that 10.3 was more secure? That is why the plugin updater says they are out of date and insecure, it's because they are.

Hi Tylerdowner,

"Neither Flash 10.3 or 11.2 are updated anymore, so they are both insecure. What page told you that 10.3 was more secure?"

Flash 10.3 is apparently updated for security to ensure compatibility with ESR

If you read flash 11.3 crashes you will see a link to an Adobe FAQ dated 12th June 2012

• http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1022066
  • stating :
    "... If you install the latest 10.3 build, you will get a player with all known security patches applied. ..."

Perhaps you may be interested in the two long discussion threads in the contributors forum one on Flash 11.3 issues and one on Firefox 13 issues. Obviously there are reasons for official advice to downgrade Flash Player in some circumstances.

Possibly following the recommendation to use the adobe Uninstaller before trying to downgrade may help if there is a message about an incorrect Flash version.

• see http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html
  • and uninstaller http://download.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/support/uninstall_flash_player.exe [Note that is an executable download]

PatTra,

Then I clicked on right side of page that said 'check plugins here' & Flash Player showed up in red as "vulnerable" & "update now"

Tylerdowner has already explained in a post above.

We are in a situation where advice does keep changing whilst all the people involved try for the best solutions. I know you probably do not need this sort of detail, but it may help some who wonder what is happening.

The pluginchecker is a relatively new feature and is not always absolutely correct in all situations. The pluginchecker will attempt to check any enabled plugins against what it sees as the latest upgrades available. As a general rule the latest version of something is what a user may want to use,and is likely to be the most secure.

Unfortunately some users of Firefox 13 on Windows above XP are having problems with Flash Player 11.3 . Often those problems are related to a security feature called protected mode. One solution is to turn off protected mode manually, which is not easy. Another solution is to downgrade to an earlier version of FlashPlayer, which is considered a simpler solution.

These methods both leave you without protected mode, so that is a security enhancement that you loose, but you get FlashPlayer working again.

The problem is complicated partly due to the facts that

• some Adobe installers set protected mode on, some set it off,
• some downloads are not available in a user friendly format.
• some Adobe information is confidential, and only available to Firefox staff, but not to those that normally write help articles
• some RealPlayer software may also have problems itself, or cause problems with FlashPlayer 11.3