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is there any recommended alternative to adobe flash

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  • Last reply by James

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I have Firefox 38.0.05 on Windows XP 5.1 Build 1600 Service Pack 3. Adobe Flash (AF) was not listed in my plugins, so I did not know that it had been installed, certainly not intentionally by me. (I do use Adobe Acrobat plugin.) Minutes ago when trying to access a link to an interactive page I have been using for years, I began to get a popup (see image) that said I needed an AF upgrade. I found many similar questions on this forum, but none mentioned that AF had been installed without their knowledge, or that they wanted to use an alternative.

I unstalled AF as a diagnostic measure. Now when I click on the link that had caused the popup, I get the message: "A plug in is needed to use this content."

I am aware of many complaints about AF, and before I download and install the latest version of AF, I would like to try a recommended alternative for accessing interacive sites.

Any suggstions?

I have Firefox 38.0.05 on Windows XP 5.1 Build 1600 Service Pack 3. Adobe Flash (AF) was not listed in my plugins, so I did not know that it had been installed, certainly not intentionally by me. (I do use Adobe Acrobat plugin.) Minutes ago when trying to access a link to an interactive page I have been using for years, I began to get a popup (see image) that said I needed an AF upgrade. I found many similar questions on this forum, but none mentioned that AF had been installed without their knowledge, or that they wanted to use an alternative. I unstalled AF as a diagnostic measure. Now when I click on the link that had caused the popup, I get the message: "A plug in is needed to use this content." I am aware of many complaints about AF, and before I download and install the latest version of AF, I would like to try a recommended alternative for accessing interacive sites. Any suggstions?
Attached screenshots

All Replies (5)

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You can check for problems with current Shockwave Flash plugin versions and try this:

See also:

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By the way, on the Add-ons page, Plugins section, Flash is listed under its old name Shockwave Flash. Elsewhere you might see the name Adobe Flash. However, beware of a fake Flash extension named Adobe Flash. That would appear in the Extensions section of the Add-ons page instead of the Plugins section. If you find that extension, remove it ASAP.

Regarding alternatives to Flash, I'm not sure any are good enough to recommend. Mozilla has a project named Shumway that attempts to use open technologies to render Flash media in a manner close to the original. It is still under development. To find out more: http://www.areweflashyet.com/shumway/

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I am grateful for both responses.

The answer from cor-wl was not helpful because newer versions of microsoft flash products don't work with XP.

jscher's answer was partially helpful. I unistalled Adobe Flash, but the problems got worse. I installed shumway and it fixed access to to some of the problem sites, but not all.

I have posted a new question seeking help to uninstall FF and resinstalling it clean without plugins or extensions so I can add them back one-at-a-time diagnostically. I uploaded images of lists of these addins. I really am unsure of which of these addins participte in iteractive animation. All the sites I have problems with are of that type.

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The latest Flash player for Windows still supports Windows XP.

Did you try to install the latest Flash player?

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Some say it may be better to use the 13.0.0.296 ESR version on WinXP.