This concerns (yet another case in an endless string of) Firefox & Flash not playing nicely together. Personally, I have no preference between Firefox and Internet Explorer when it comes to normal browsing, but if one does much online editing, Firefox is the way to go on a handful of levels.
The problems (videos not playing, freezing up the system, strange error messages, etc) started almost a year ago when Flash introduced some new security protocol. As a bit of background: Java, which was the Flash of its day before Shockwave/Flash came along, is so riddled with exploitable holes that the most recent advice from the experts has been to disable it completely. With Java fading and Flash coming into its own, the malware hackers have pulled out their 3000X electronic microscopes in an effort to find any weaknesses. So Flash can't be blamed for battening down the hatches.
Another pesky problem that's cropped up is Firefox opening new windows under the present window, not on top of, when clicking on certain links (in the WordPress editor, e.g.) or using the right mouse button on a link to open it in a new window. This is pretty common on sites like Hot Air, Instapundit, PJ Media, Drudge, etc, that don't automatically open external links in a new window, as they should. The reason they don't is because they want you to hit that 'Back' button to get back to their site, which adds another 'click' to their total which means they can charge more for their banner advertisements.
But I stray.
To fix this pesky problem:
— On a standard 32-bit Windows system, open 'Computer', then the C Drive, then Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash
— On a 64-bit Windows system, open C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash
— Edit the "mss.cfg" file with Notepad. Add this line to the bottom:
ProtectedMode=0
Save the file, reboot.
Speaking of Firefox, it went through a major security update of its own recently, so unless you're sure yours is updating automatically, go to the Help menu, 'About Firefox', click the 'Update' button.
Any questions or additions, give a holler in the comments like usual.
