Flash plugin crashes frequently

Question

In various websites, at random times and with no apparent pattern, the Flash plugin will crash. This has occurred in every browser, and I typically have at least one crash a day. According to Mozilla's plugin check I have the latest version of Flash (10.1.102.64)

This is a new MacBook Pro (17", 2010 unibody version) running fully updated Mac OS X 10.6.5.

Does the plugin just crash for everyone, or is this unique to me? How often does Flash crash for you? Is there anything I can check, or is there a way I can reinstall Flash or some other diagnosis I can run? I haven't been experiencing other issues with my computer or my browser.

Answer 1

There's a reason why Apple appears to onlookers to be so anti-Flash, and it's because Flash sucks on Macs (it may also suck on other OSs, but I don't use them enough to be knowledgeable).

What to do about it depends on what browser you use (your question doesn't say, as Mozilla's Plugin Check isn't FF-only):

• Safari - the answer is ClickToFlash. Honestly, C2F is something that should just come pre-installed on every Mac.
• Firefox/Camino - As Ken mentioned in a comment, you want the FlashBlock extension.
• Chrome - use the FlashBlock for Chrome extension.

As has already been said: you can get along fine on almost all sites without Flash. Here's some additional recommended reading, both of which are from John Gruber at Daring Fireball:

• Going Flash-Free on Mac OS X, and How to Cheat When You Need It
• Masquerading as Mobile Safari to Get Websites to Serve HTML5 Video to Safari on Mac OS X

Answer 2

Flash on the Mac is the single-largest cause of Safari crashes. That's just the way it is.

Answer 3

Flash crashed so often for me, I have gone flash free and only use flash in Google Chrome browser. Google installs flash within that one app, updates flash behind the scenes and Safari hasn't crashed once in 6 months.

I would recommend three useful and stable Safari extensions if you disable flash in Safari:

• YouTube5
• HTML5 Audio
• H.264 Flickr Video

Answer 4

I recently found FlashVideoReplacer for Firefox. It replaces Flash videos with native players like Quicktime when available. Flash is a CPU killer for me, so this helps.