The latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge only support the Flash plugin. You’ll need to find an alternative browser if you want to use Java, Silverlight, or any other ActiveX or NPAPI-based plugin.
- Best Internet Browser For Mac 2017
- Best Browser For Mac 2017 Chrome Plugin Compatible Meaning
- Best Browser For Mac 2017
How to Update Adobe Flash in Chrome Browser Jul 11, 2017 - 7 Comments The Chrome web browser is perhaps best suited for running Adobe Flash because Chrome sandboxes the Flash player plugin, making it a bit more secure. Best Browser for WordPress Site Owners. May 10, 2012 by MaAnna Stephenson. By far, the most stable browser of them all, on both Windows and Mac, is Firefox. The Next Best Browser. A Word About Chrome. Chrome has a lot of nice features and nifty add-ons. However, I found that it was not as stable for me as FireFox. The Best Free Browsers app downloads for Windows: Mozilla Firefox Google Chrome PDF Download Torch Browser UC Browser Google Chrome (64-bit) Opera Int. If you are looking for an old version of Chrome with support of Java, silverlight or other NPAPI plugins, you would have to use Slimjet Web Browser, which is based on Chromium and retains support of Java, silverlight and other NPAPI plugins.
Most web users can get by without these plugins. That’s why browser developers no longer support them. But some websites, especially old business and government applications, still require these old technologies. So if you need them, what should you use?
Use Internet Explorer (Even on Windows 10)
RELATED:Why Browser Plug-Ins Are Going Away and What’s Replacing Them
Internet Explorer is Microsoft’s legacy browser, and Microsoft still supports it with security updates. Even on Windows 10, where Microsoft Edge is the default web browser, Microsoft still includes the old version of Internet Explorer 11 for compatibility purposes. This is important because Microsoft Edge, Microsoft’s modern browser, doesn’t support any ActiveX-based plugins. It only supports its own built-in version of Adobe Flash.
Whether you’re using Windows 7, 8, or 10, you’ll find Internet Explorer in your Start menu. On Windows 10, you’ll find it hidden under Start > Windows Accessories > Internet Explorer. If you use Microsoft Edge, you can click menu > Open With Internet Explorer on any web page to quickly open that web page in Internet Explorer.
![Best Browser For Mac 2017 Chrome Plugin Compatible Best Browser For Mac 2017 Chrome Plugin Compatible](https://s22908.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/capture2-copy.png)
If you dislike both Safari and Chrome, you can always look to our list of best alternative browsers for Mac users 9 Great Safari Browser Alternatives for Mac Users 9 Great Safari Browser Alternatives for Mac Users It is not that Safari is a bad browser or that it has a limited feature set -- you may just want a different focus, or major updates.
You probably won’t want to use Internet Explorer as your browser all the time, but you can launch it whenever you need to use a website that requires a plugin. To install these plugins, just launch IE and visit the appropriate website—Oracle’s Java site or Microsoft’s Silverlight site, for example.
If Java doesn’t run properly, make sure the browser plugin is enabled in its control panel. You’ll find the Java control panel at Control Panel > Programs > Java. On the “Security” tab, ensure “Enable Java content in the browser” is enabled. You may need to restart your browser after changing this setting.
RELATED:How to Enable and Use Internet Explorer 11’s Enterprise Mode
If you have to access an old web page that doesn’t work with Internet Explorer 11 and requires an older version of Internet Explorer, you can use Internet Explorer 11’s Enterprise Mode. This requires the Professional version of Windows 10, though, and isn’t available on the Home version.
Install Mozilla Firefox ESR on Windows, macOS, or Linux
Mozilla ended support for traditional NPAPI browser plugins, aside from Flash, with Firefox 52 on March 7, 2017.
However, Mozilla offers an “Extended Support Release”, or ESR, branch of the Firefox browser. This browser is intended for organizations to have a stable, long-term platform that only receives security updates, not the frequent feature updates and changes that the main version of Firefox receives.
Firefox 52 ESR was released on March 7, 2017 and includes support for non-Flash browser plugins. Mozilla will continue supporting Firefox 52 ESR with security updates until sometime in the second quarter of 2018. At that point, the next ESR version of Firefox will drop support for NPAPI plugins.
Visit the Download Firefox Extended Support Release page to download the ESR version of Firefox. If you’re not sure which version to download, choose the 32-bit version of Firefox for maximum compatibility with older plugins. Older plugins may not have 64-bit versions available.
You can verify you’re using the ESR version of Firefox by clicking menu > Help > About Firefox. You’ll see “Firefox ESR” here if you’re on the ESR update channel.
Enable Plugins in Safari on macOS
Apple has disabled plugins by default in Safari on macOS. Even Flash won’t play by default, and you’ll have to enable it whenever you visit a web page you want to use Flash on.
![Browser Browser](https://0.s3.envato.com/files/111889280/590x300.png)
Despite these aggressive moves, Apple hasn’t removed NPAPI plugin support from Safari—at least as of macOS Sierra 10.12. Safari continues to support Java, Silverlight, Unity, and other NPAPI-based plugins. In fact, it’s the last modern browser to continue supporting these plugins. Even if you normally use Chrome or Firefox on your Mac, you’ll need to use Safari when you want to access a web page that requires a plugin.
Best Internet Browser For Mac 2017
We wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple completely drop support for plugins in a future version of macOS. But Apple hasn’t publicly announced a timeline for this.
You can use these plugins normally in Safari. You’ll just have to enable them first. To do so, install the plugin normally. For example, you can download Java from Oracle’s website.
Head to Safari > Preferences > Security > Plug-in Settings. Enable the installed plugin you want to use.
You can enable the plugin for all websites or only for specific websites. For example, to make Safari ask you if you want to use a plugin whenever a web page you’re visiting wants it, select the plugin and then set the “When visiting other websites” option at the bottom of the window to “Ask”.
Best Browser For Mac 2017 Chrome Plugin Compatible Meaning
Of course, the real solution is moving on from web content that requires plugins. Applications created with Java, SIlverlight, and Unity still function properly outside of the web browser. Desktop applications written in Java or Silverlight are safe and will work normally.
For delivering video to web browsers, Microsoft now recommends HTML5 video instead of its own Silverlight plugin. Netflix was the most famous user of Silverlight, and has dropped Silverlight for cross-platform HTML5 video.
Flash is still widespread, which is why it’s been spared the axe. It’s also integrated by default into Chrome and Edge, which helps keep it sandboxed and updated. But even Flash will likely be left behind one day.
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Whether you develop for the web and need to see how your site or web app displays itself in multiple browsers, or you just want to visit a site that requires a particular browser that you don't want to use, you may eventually need to use a browser other than Safari. While most of the web is free to access through any browser you'd like, there are occasionally websites (particularly older ones) that need you to use browsers like Internet Explorer, or worse yet, would like you to be on a Windows PC. Or maybe you'd like to see how your site or web app presents itself in Safari on iPhone or iPad, or Chrome on Windows.
Luckily, Safari on Mac has the answer for you. Safari allows you to masquerade as the user of other browsers and Windows through a tool in its Develop menu: changing the user agent. Changing the user agent tells websites that you're using a browser other than the version of Safari that you're using on your Mac. It can event tell a website that you're running Windows.
Safari for Mac supports the following user agents:
- Safari for iPhone
- Safari for iPad
- Safari for iPod touch
- Microsoft Edge
- Internet Explorer 11
- Internet Explorer 10
- Internet Explorer 9
- Internet Explorer 8
- Internet Explorer 7
- Google Chrome for Mac
- Google Chrome for Windows
- Firefox for Mac
- Firefox for Windows
Keep in mind that, though Safari will appear to be another browser, it won't actually be that browser. Any web app or site that requires, say, Chrome's Blink rendering engine (which Safari doesn't have) won't work properly, even if Safari's user agent is changed to Google Chrome.
Here's how you go about changing the user agent in Safari.
How to access websites in Safari that require a PC or another browser
- Open Safari from your Dock or Applications folder.
- Click Safari in the Menu bar.
- Click Preferences.
- Click Advanced.
- Check the box next to Show Develop menu in the menu bar.
- Close the Preferences window. The user agent choices will be grayed out and unselectable if you don't.
- Click Develop.
- Hover over User Agent.
- Click on the user agent of the browser you need. If you need to pretend that you're using a PC, choose Microsoft Edge, a version of Internet Explorer, Google Chrome — Windows, or Firefox — Windows.
Doing this should get you through a website detection-checker.
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Questions?
If you have any questions about masquerading Safari as a Windows web browser, let us know in the comments.
Best Browser For Mac 2017
Updated May 2019: Updated through macOS Mojave.
Serenity Caldwell contributed to a previous version of this article.
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