hello JCW2 - yes, it's a legitimate part of firefox - all plugins (like flash videos) are running within plugin-container.exe, so it should be allowed full access to the internet for plugin content to work properly (i'm not sure what "FTPZone" means within your firewall though)...

>>...it should be allowed full access to the internet...<<

It's good to know that "Plugin Container" is legitimate, but what does the above statement mean? Web-browser access (ports 80, 8080, and 443 plus DNS, I think it is) or something more (FTP would add ports 21 and 990, I think)? Surely I don't need to allow unfettered access to every port with every protocol?!

And how do I tell if I haven't allowed enough access. Right now my firewall has automatically set itself to deny all access to the program, but both FireFox and its plugins APPEAR to be working properly. I'm getting no indications that access is being denied. Under what conditions does "Plugin Container" actually access the Internet?

Sorry for the insistent questioning, but I try to grant minimum necessary access to every program that asks for it. When the firewall doesn't make the right choice automatically (new module for FireFox, I guess), I need to over-ride it with the correct choice...

You would at least need Web-browser access, but plugins can also use other TCP and UDP connections, so you may need to keep an eye on that in case of problems. Plugins won't use FTP connections.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Plugin-container_and_out-of-process_plugins