Firefox/Crash Protection

Crash Protection is the name of the Firefox feature based on Gecko's out of process plugins technology. It first shipped in Firefox 3.6.4 for Windows and Linux only, running Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime and Microsoft Silverlight in a separate process called plugin-container.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when a plugin crashes in Firefox with crash protection?

When a plugin crashes or freezes while using Firefox with crash protection, the browser will stay running while the portions of web pages controlled by the plugin will be disabled. The plugin content can be restarted by refreshing the page.

How many plugin crashes does Firefox with Crash Protection eliminate? Can you quantify or add some detail to “a significant number”?

Our data from a beta audience of close to one million users indicates that as many as one in three crashes are caused by plugins, and are diverted to plugin-only crashes with Firefox 3.6.4

Why can’t the crashing plugin be updated or fixed?

Why is there no support for Firefox with crash protection on Mac OSX? When will it be available?

When will Firefox with crash protection support Mac?

Will crash protection be offered for older versions of Firefox (3.5 and older)?

Crash protection will not be released in older versions of Firefox. All Firefox users are highly encouraged to upgrade to the latest version of Firefox for free by visiting www.firefox.com or by using the "Check for Updates" function in the Tools menu.

Firefox crash protection is a new feature - why is it being added to a security and stability update?

Crash protection offers enhanced stability for Firefox users, and Mozilla is always looking for more ways to bring users valuable features and improvements as quickly as possible. Firefox 3.6.4 is the first time a new capability has shipped with a Firefox security and stability update.