Firefox 3.6.4/plugin-container.exe

[Borg 386]

If you upgraded your FF you may/may not have problems with it's plugin-container.exe. It apparently causes crashes/lock ups of FF on some systems, slowdowns on others.

I saw some reports associated with this file, which takes up (in some instances) an inordinate amount of RAM, thus causing the browser to lock up.

Some AV/Malware programs are registering it as Malware.

On a personal note, it really does bug me that the file REQUIRES internet access (*and there is no option to bypass or disable it). If you don't allow it, some sites that require flash just won't load.

Aside from that, no problems with the new browser.

For release notes:

https://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.6.4/releasenotes/

 

[logicearth]

On a personal note, it really does bug me that the file REQUIRES internet access. If you don't allow it, some sites that require flash just won't load.

How else do you expect it to get content that resides online then? To put it into perspective, when Firefox encounters a plugin required container (object, embed) in the HTML it diverts those off to plugin-container.exe to handle and download the necessary resources it supports. So of course it needs access to the internet. It would be no different denying Firefox internet access.

 

[Borg 386]

I see that logicearth, I just wish they would have offered it as an option instead.

It eats up a good amount of ram in my sys. A bypass switch would have been good too.

 

[logicearth]

The memory usage is depended on the plugins you use have have installed. Look at it this way. That memory usage would have been used and taken up by Firefox anyways it is just now separated into its own executable. But memory usage is not something to worry about until you getting massive amount of page faults.

 

[Borg 386]

Yeah, I guess that's true logicearth.

Hopefully I won't have any problems...we'll see. It seem to run OK...so far (knock on wood)

 

[Aswala]

I just got FF4 and now the Plugin Container is taking up no less than 48% of my computers memory at any giving time and has cause my laptop to over hear 3 times today. That's never happened before. It's annoys me because I have no other programs open.

*Edit----
Nevermind. I figured out what was up. For some reason, it was running twice at the same time. This one explain why it overheated, even after I put it in power-saver mode.

 

[chrysalis]

it can be bypassed and I remember reading they actually disabled it vy default on the newest FF's.

It can be configured in about:config set dom.ipc.plugins.enabled to disabled.

Incidently I find the plugin container very useful, because firefox isnt process isolated I have a single firefox process handing over 150 tabs and it keeps stalling, stuttering etc. doing things like background garbage collection (how firefox got in such a poor state I dont know, the bug report has over 200 posts). Without the container using things like youtube involved having it pause every few seconds whilst firefox did some background work, but the container isolates flash etc. so allows them to not be affected by firefox slowdowns. Incidently I find it fine for flash but have had java crashing, but it can be made to work for flash but disabled for java, it can be toggled on/off depending on the external app.