Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin blocked on Mac OS X

Jorge Villalobos

86 responses

The Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin is currently causing problems for most Mac OS X users who have it installed. In the majority of cases, the plugin shows a blank page when a user clicks on a link to a PDF file. There are also reports of crashes when using the plugin in 32 bit mode. For this reason we have decided to add the plugin to the blocklist.

Mac OS X users who have this plugin installed will be prompted to disable it in the next 24 hours. You will have the option to keep it enabled, and even if you disable it when prompted, you will have the option to re-enable it in the Add-ons Manager. We are not blocking the Adobe Flash plugin, only the Adobe Acrobat NPAPI plugin.

We are currently working with Adobe so that a fixed version is released soon. We will post an update on this blog once that happens.

86 responses

  1. Grace wrote on :

    FYI, When it’s disabled, Facebook gives this message:

    “JavaScript is disabled on your browser
    Please enable JavaScript or upgrade to a JavaScript-capable browser to use Facebook. Alternatively, you can access the mobile version of Facebook.”

    However, I am still able to login to Facebook. Looking forward to the new version from Adobe.

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      This block has nothing to do with JavaScript. Are you using NoScript or have you disabled JavaScript globally?

      1. Relaxed wrote on :

        I was advised to disable java by someone technically knowledgeable that suggested it was a security risk. I use NoScript. I understand from the earlier blog that this block is nothing to do with these but it made me wonder. In general, should I worry about java being enabled if I use NoScript? or should I keep Java disabled? I have a Mac and I am concerned about security.

        Sorry about being off topic a bit.

        1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

          NoScript blocks plugin content by default, but it does it per-domain. So, if you go to, say, facebook.com and enable JavaScript for that domain, it will also enable Java for that domain. Since these older versions of Java pose a very clear security risk, we recommend that you either update to the latest version or keep it disabled.

          1. june lush wrote on :

            how can i reopen the blocked plug in

          2. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

            Go to the Add-ons Manager, select the Plugins pane and then look for the Acrobat Reader plugin. You should be able to enable it from there.

        2. Tommy wrote on :

          Also you should be aware that Java and Javascript are two very different things despite the unfortunate similarity in their names. You might never notice the lack of Java, but Javascript is essential to the operation of most popular web sites.

  2. jose wrote on :

    no abre esta pagina

  3. ron wrote on :

    nice to finally read why I keep getting these blank screens.
    Would have been nice to figure it out before I reloaded every thing for third time but at least i know.
    Now if on of the MAC browsers would just get fixed and work it would be great but maybe Adobe is not in a hurry.

  4. Tanja wrote on :

    In my case the plugin shows a blank page when I click on a link to a PDF file.
    It causes me (too) many problems daily.
    Any idea when this problem will be solved?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      Firefox should have prompted you to disable the plugin. If it hasn’t yet, you can disable it in the Add-ons Manager.

      1. mary wrote on :

        how do I find the add-ons manager?

        1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

          Tools > Add-ons, from the main menu.

        2. evelyns wrote on :

          how do i enblock blocked pugins???????

  5. Clinton Dyches wrote on :

    I know that you must open Firefox in 32-bit mode to run Adobe Acrobat NPAPI Plug-in, Version 10.1.3, but I had no problems until I installed the new Flash Player. I’ve posted here, on the Acrobat Users Forum, and in the Apple forums but no one seems to have experienced precisely what I’ve experienced.

    Anyone else?

    Thanks.

  6. Vicki wrote on :

    You can option click the PDF link and the PDF will still download for those of you who do not want to disable the Acrobat plugin.

    1. Dave wrote on :

      Thanks, been fighting this for awhile waiting for the solution

  7. adambaumer wrote on :

    Thank You very much for blocking this problem!

  8. Ryan B. wrote on :

    Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

  9. Eric wrote on :

    I haven’t experienced any problem, viewing many PDFs every day. OS X 10.6, Intel Imac. I was already in 32-bit mode when I installed it.

  10. MaryMc wrote on :

    I’ve been getting a blank page when I click on a link to a .pdf for months now–is this an additional, new problem? I’ve been able to choose “open link in a new window” and get the .pdf to open, but that’s a minor pain in the butt.

    (I did disable the plug-in when I got the prompt to do so.)

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      After you disable the plugin, when you click on a PDF link Firefox should ask you to either download it or open it with one of your installed applications. Sometimes a blank tab is opened when this happens, but you should immediately see a dialog with these 2 options. You won’t be able to view PDFs in Firefox tabs until Adobe releases a fixed version of their plugin.

      1. Kathy wrote on :

        that didn’t happen for me.
        found a pdf-viewer plugin
        here http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/

  11. Kerry Wilson wrote on :

    Thanks so much for the answer to this. It was driving us crazy last week as we were trying to get PDF’s off a school site for my son’s fall semester. Used to work then all of a sudden it didn’t so it had me chasing every setting I could find in firefox to try and find what had changed.
    Now everything works again.

  12. Bob B wrote on :

    For anybody who wants to be able to view PDFs in the browser window, there’s a PDF Viewer extension for Firefox available at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/pdfjs/ which works fine in Firefox on Mac in 64-bit mode.

    1. Clinton Dyches wrote on :

      PDF Browser Plugin 2.4.4 works exceptionally well – http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/ – hope this can help others until the problem is resolved.

      Clinton

      1. Rick wrote on :

        Thanks the Browser Plugin is exactly what I was looking for!

    2. Kathy wrote on :

      that didn’t work for me either.

  13. VN wrote on :

    What is the solution?
    Thanks
    vn

    1. Clinton Dyches wrote on :

      PDF Browser Plugin 2.4.4 works exceptionally well – http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/ – hope this can help others until the problem is resolved.

      Clinton

  14. Andrew wrote on :

    This is unacceptable. As an academic I read pdfs constantly on the web and apparently either have to open a new browser to do this or accept a security risk. Talk about choosing between cruddy options.

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      You can install the PDF Viewer add-on, which provides the same functionality without the stability problems.

  15. Carl wrote on :

    Well my computer worked fine until I blocked this plug-in. Now i can’t view any videos anywhere. BS.

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      This plugin block doesn’t have anything to do with videos, so the problem must be something else. I recommend that you look for help on our support site.

  16. languorous lass wrote on :

    Thanks a whole hell of a lot. I don’t usually use Firefox — I use Safari on all my Apple devices — but was having trouble opening some PowerPoint presentations on a website, so came to Firefox. I’d been having absolutely no problems with PDF files, but when Firefox advised that I disable the Adobe Reader plugin, I did so. Now I can’t open PDF files in either Safari or Adobe Reader itself. I tried re-enabling the Adobe plugin in Firefox, to no avail. You’ve ruined my work day and screwed up two other software programs on my Mac.

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      You can enable the plugin again if you need to. Just go to the Add-ons Manager and click on the Enable button.

  17. matt Handy wrote on :

    I am having problems printing international shipping labels through ebay/paypal with both Safari and Firefox. I have Firefox 14.0 and Safari 5.1.7. The labels are in adobe reader format, I have the 10.13.1 adobe reader. I have updated everything and disabled the plugin that this forum is referring to, but no luck. In Firefox the pdf is completely blank, in Safari it will pop up but when I go to print the little window with the small image of the file is completely blank. When I ask to print the message “this document can not be printed,” appears and the document is completely blank. I have to take a screen shot of the labels to print now.

    Any advice or help is greatly appreciated.

    -Matt

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      You should be able to download the PDF files and print them without using the browser. I recommend that you give this a try.

  18. June Higgins wrote on :

    It’s been over a month since this plug-in was blocked. Any news on progress with Adobe to fix the problem? I’m getting tired of having to switch browsers so I can get the PDF files.

  19. Larry Welton wrote on :

    This was a real problem for us today. Our business is 100% Mac based. Our EDI interface person in logistics was using an older version of Acrobat Reader. She just upgraded her copy of Reader to 10.1.3 and we found ourselves in a real pickle.

    Our EDI system is web based through a third party. Barcodes, shipping labels, and the like are generated directly through the plugin – we can’t download the PDF’s. After upgrading, we got blank screens and no options. After the upgrade, Safari and Seamonkey wouldn’t work either. Chrome isn’t compatible with the EDI partner. We were essentially shut down.

    The only thing I could think of was to totally uninstall every last trace of Reader that I could find on her machine and install an old version of Reader. I went with version 7 because that one was known to work without problems. It is quite nostalgic. Since this is all she uses the app for EVER, I guess Reader 7 will do for now.

    Regardless, this is nuts.

    Is this going to be fixed?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      As mentioned a couple of times before, you can go to the Add-ons Manager and enable the plugin again if you need it.

  20. Clearly Cache wrote on :

    Jorge, can you comment on the status of Adobe’s progress thus far? Does this look like it will be a matter of another week or so, or, are we facing the possibility of a month+ ?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      We haven’t heard back from Adobe about this, unfortunately, so I wouldn’t expect a fix in the near future.

  21. P. Deering Chgristopher wrote on :

    This is a pain in the ass. I guess I might as well remove Firefox. Reader isn’t the only issue here. It’s causing problems with Java Flash as well! There still is Safari, Chrome, IE, Tor, Opera…
    Let me know when it is fixed.
    Thanks for your time.

    -Not Enjoyin’ the Ride anymore
    04006

  22. PM wrote on :

    Open the Library Folder. [Not your User Library, the System Library on your hard drive on which the System folder resides.] Open the Internet Plug-Ins folder. Look for a file named “_Flash Player.plugin”. Remove this file from the Plug-Ins folder. When I did this, Flash was no longer blocked.

  23. jaseywacey wrote on :

    Adobe have just updated the reader. I read the fixes but couldn’t discern if this problem has been addressed.

  24. rebecca wrote on :

    i cant play anything off of youtube, it has a blank screen and has ‘blocked plug-inn’ on the screen where the video should be played, is it adobe that’s affecting it?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      Rebecca, go to plugin check and make sure your plugins are up to date.

  25. Jan Georgia wrote on :

    What the heck? I go to plugin check and I get that horrible screen to download flash. I tried to download and it wants a password. I have NO idea what the heck I’m supposed to do. When in Safari trying to reserve a court at my tennis club, I get a ‘blocked plug in’ message I never saw before. I’ve had the MAC for over a year now, and I’m still not comfortable with it!!

  26. AnneD333 wrote on :

    I have updated Adobe Reader but I still cannot open a PDF in firefox at all on my Mac. What can I do to read a PDF? Anything? I have also tried PDF Viewer and PDF Browser Plug-In. Nothing works!

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      Please visit our support site to get help fixing this.

  27. Osjka wrote on :

    Try this guide to troubleshoot the issue:

    http://www.pdfshareforms.com/pdf-forms-on-mac-with-firefox/

    Basically it shall work fine given you configured it properly plus 10.1.4 fixed the issue.

  28. Tara wrote on :

    THANKS!!!! I was trying to figure this out all night!!! My PDF would open up blank and its the start of a new semester so super annoying….A quick disable button does wonders!

    greatly appreciated:)

  29. sudarshan goomar wrote on :

    I am not aware how y
    to sort this problem? I can’t get into anything no u tube no games, nothing I have wasted my 1600 dollars with this mac book I would like to have apple refund my money. sudarshan goomar

  30. mauburn939 wrote on :

    adobe flash keeps chasing when palying a game bob and Sam and lose my leval help

  31. mohmmd wrote on :

    Rebecca, go to plugin check and make sure your plugins are up to date.

  32. Matt wrote on :

    I had no problem with this before. Now all of the sudden I can’t view .pdf’s in my browser. Even with the .pdf.js plugin. This is ridiculous. I don’t understand how something can work and then not. It’s like people do it on purpose. I send .pdf’s to my clients through invoices, estimates, proofs, etc. If they are using FF then they won’t be able to view them. You got to get this fixed!!!

  33. Pat wrote on :

    Mac OS X Intel 10.7.5
    Firefox 16.0.1
    Be patient with this 71 yr old lady. I was getting a register message and I kept hitting “later”. Yesterday PDF’s were a blank page I installed Adobe XI. Disabled the NA? thing in Plug-Ins. Moved Adobe X to the desktop. Trashed Adobe XI. Moved X back into Apps. The Mozilla test page opens but no pdfs on a Google search open. I’m frantic since I’m helping my brother research for a book. Do I have to buy the Schurbit reader?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      Current versions of the Adobe plugins should work correctly. If they don’t, you can go to the Add-ons Manager, select the plugins tab and disable them. If they are all disabled, then clicking on a PDF should download it instead of open it in the browser. Once you download a PDF, you should be able to open it with another application. For more help, I recommend visiting our support site.

  34. Hugh wrote on :

    OS X, with Firefox 16 using Adobe X Pro does not work – a pdf in the URL will only display a blank screen.
    For some reason, I am also not able to print from Adobe X Pro to a HP 2480 printer, but other printers are ok – but I can print anything else (pictures, docs) to that HP 2480 printer from the Mac … It appears Adobe X Pro and Apple have a couple of issues.
    I’ve disabled the plugin to avoid the blank screen issue for now.

  35. DAVID wrote on :

    P.S. Going to Firefox Toolbar-Tools-Options-Applications ~ the following appears where appropriate in righthand column – “Use Quick Time Plugin 7.3 (In Firefox)”

  36. DAVID wrote on :

    APOLS, JUST REALISED I HAD POSTED THE FOLLOWING AMONGST POSTS ABOVE.
    PLEASE HELP BEARING IN MIND THAT I AM APPROACHING 80.
    I HAVE VISTA AND FIREFOX WITH ADOBE READER X 10.1.4, ADOBE FLASH PLAYER 11 PLUGIN, TOGETHER WITH ADOBE MEDIA PLAYER AND ADOBE AIR.
    RECENTLY I HAD TO RELOAD FIREFOX DUE TO A FAVOURITE SITE PROBLEM.
    EVER SINCE I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO VIEW EITHER INTERNET VIDEOS – YOUTUBE OR SLIDE SHOWS – PICASA.
    I DO KNOW THAT THE LATEST ADOBE VERSION 11 CONFLICTS WITH FIREFOX THEREFORE IT SEEMS ODD ADOBE HAVE DOWNLOAD VERSION 11 PLUGIN?
    IS THIS THE PROBLEM?
    ALSO NOTE THE CONTENT OF APPLICATIONS BOX “USE QUICK TIME PLUG IN 7.3”?
    WHAT PLUG DO I NEED FOR VERSION 10 AND HOW DO I OBTAIN IT OR ARE THE TWO NOT CONNECTED?
    WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE A REPLY TO MY EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE
    THANKS IN ANTIC..

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      It sounds like what you need is the Adobe Flash plugin, which is different that the Adobe Reader plugin. You can get the latest Flash Player from this page: http://get.adobe.com/es/flashplayer/.

  37. DAVID wrote on :

    THANK YOU JORGE.
    A PLUGIN DID DOWNLOAD (FOREGN LANGUAGE NOT UNDERSTOOD!) BUT DID NOT INSTALL. I DID RESTART MY COMPUTER UPON COMPLETION.
    IF I TRY TO UNINSTALL PLUGIN 11 A NOTICE APPEARS THAT ADOBE READER WILL ALSO BE UNINSTALLED?
    PRESUMABLY I SHOULD REMOVE BOTH AND START AGAIN?
    DAVID

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      It should be possible to install and uninstall Adobe Flash and Adobe Reader independently from each other, so I don’t really know what could be going wrong.

      I think it’s best that you find someone to help you fix this problem in person.

      1. DAVID wrote on :

        THANKS FOR YOUR ADVISE JORGE.
        VIA TRIAL AND ERROR I AM NEARLY THERE.
        THERE ARE JUST A COUPLE OF PHOTO FILES I CANNO OPEN.
        E.G. PICASA.
        I DO HAVE PICASA INSTALLED BUT WHENEVER ANYBODY SENDS ME A LINK TO VIEW ONE OF THEIR ALBUMS I CANNOT OPEN IT?
        DO I NEED AN ADD ON – PLUGIN?

  38. DAVID wrote on :

    JUST FOR THE RECORD I HAVE NOT HAD TO ABANDON FIREFOX.
    BY TRIAL AND ERROR THE ANSWER LAY IN MY ADD ONS AND PLUGINS THAT I HAD INSTALLED.
    BASICALLY I FIRST DISABLED THEM AND THEN ENABLED THEM AGAIN.
    WHATEVER, EVERYTHING IS WORKING THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.
    I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THOSE WHO ARE ENHANCING/DEVELOPING FIREFOX – VERSIONS 12, 13 AND 2 OF 14 ARE NOW AVAILABLE? – SHOULD ADVISE US LESSER BEINGS WHAT EACH VERSION IS SUITABLE/DESIGNED FOR.
    E.G. VISTA, IN CONJUNCTION WITH MCAFEE, WINDOWS 7 IN CONJUNCTION WITH NORTON, ETC. ETC.
    IN THE SAME WAY THAT ADOBE LISTS OPERATING SYSTEMS AND BROWSERS ETC.
    TAKING IT A STAGE FURTHER ISP’S COULD BE LISTED – E.G. BT INFINITY, TALK TALK, ETC.

  39. Ed Colio wrote on :

    When I use Adobe Reader in conjunction with Safari my MACBOOK with OS X I have no problem opening documents. When I am using Firefox and try to open a .pdf document I get a blank page. I do not know why but Mozilla seems to be blocking .pdf documents and the use of Adobe Reader 10.

  40. C. wrote on :

    This was originally issued in May 2012??? That’s odd because today Jan 16, 2013 is the first time I am getting the message to disable the plug-in for Reader 11.0.0.1 after recently updating to Firefox 16.0.

    I am also not clear why the plug-in is considered a ‘security’ risk if the only problem is the plug-in does not work correctly? A security issue would be if someone would be able to exploit your system via the plug-in not because there is a functionality or incompatibility issue.

    It was also strange to me that after updating Firefox, my Adobe Connect Plug-In was suddenly ‘not found’/uninstalled but was installed on my Mac and was working fine with Safari.

    I went into preferences and changed the pdf program from Adobe Reader (default) to Preview, I opened a new tab, pasted a URL containing a pdf file (www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/phss/meddisposal.pdf) and the pdf did not load into the new tab, instead the download box opened and then preview opened with the pdf file. In my opinion, this is actually a Firefox issue with pdf handling not an Adobe issue. (Note the Adobe Reader plug-in was disabled when testing with Preview.)

    Since the plug-in works fine with Safari. it is possible that Firefox is automatically downloading the pdf file (the ‘Save File’ Action) instead of opening it in the same window or new tab/window. The same thing was happening with Safari and the USPS website when trying to use Click N Ship. The labels to be printed were generated in a pdf file and were supposed to be opened in a new browser window to view but instead the browser window would be blank and the pdf file would just download. The problem turned out to be a Safari issue and how it processed the data and not an Adobe issue.

    Changing from Preferences from Reader to Preview:
    In the top menu click on Firefox then Preferences and select Applications. The left column is Application type, look for Adoeb Acrobat PDF Document and in the Action column click on Use Adobe Reader (default). Then select Use other… and when the application window opens select Preview then click Open. Repeat the same for the Content type Adobe PDF document.

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      Adobe Reader XI was blocked very recently. See this bug report for details. It was blocked because of stability problems, not security vulnerabilities. If you wish to continue using it, you can enable it in the Add-ons Manager.

  41. N.S. wrote on :

    I get the same thing, January 16, 2013 just now, as someone else mentioned. Jorge, your many posts tell people to use the Add-Ons Manager to fix the problem. So, I’m not sure what the Add-Ons Manager is or where to find it. Is it part of Firefox, part of Adobe Reader, part of Adobe Acrobat, part of my computer, or what?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      The Add-ons Manager is part of Firefox. You can open it from the main menu: Tools > Add-ons. Then select the Plugins pane and you should see a list of your installed plugins. You should be able to enable the Adobe Reader plugin over there.

  42. Kevin Scalf wrote on :

    February is now looming and I just restarted with a new Fix in Firefox. And alas no fix for the Proverbial Pdf Plug-in Problem. And after 8 months it seems that it is either too difficult a problem or too low a priority. I’m not sure, but I don’t have an afliction for “P”. And Safari has problems Viewing Video.

  43. Wihelmus wrote on :

    I have a problem with adobe acrobat plugin application can not be updated. Please help me.

    Thanks

    Wihelmus

  44. sarah wrote on :

    When I open the pdf in Adobe Reader it says “no audio” is there any way to fix this?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      I think that’s unrelated to this block and you should try contacting Adobe support.

  45. Todd Pierpoint wrote on :

    I agree with Keven. What is taking so long to get this problem worked out. Please get this fixed so we all can enjoy this the PDF plugin again.

    Thanks.

  46. IAN TELFORD wrote on :

    blocked plug ins .bought my apple in january installed adobe and all worked well until February since then blocked plug ins.Seems this has been going on since May 2012 poor show

  47. Saru Arifin wrote on :

    My adobe has been blocked, so I can’t open any file or article from online article or paper and even book. So, please let me know how to enable it. Thank you so much.

  48. Kilian wrote on :

    It’s been nearly 1 year now since you announced that the plug-in is blocked – why is there still no solution?

  49. JESUS wrote on :

    JESUS!! that was almost 1 year ago! (may!!)

  50. sebastian wrote on :

    i understand that for a lot of people the internal pdf-plugin which was introduced with firefox 19 will take away the pressure.
    what about those people who due to software restrictions need the adobe reader plugin in firefox? are there any efforts of adobe/mozilla to guarantee a better plugin support for mac os? I’m talking about reader x and xI mostly.
    thanks

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      That’s really up to Adobe to decide if they want to support the plugin. We only block a plugin if there is a significant security or stability problem for users.

      Keep in mind that we’re only blocking the Firefox plugin. You can still download any PDF and open it locally in Reader.

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