For some of us, thoughts of the ’90s induce warm memories of flannel shirts and grunge rock. As we get older, those memories just get sweeter and more nostalgic – kind of like an early John Cusack movie. Unfortunately for a few of our favorite technology products, such as, say, an aging browser plug-in architecture, while they too might hold fond memories, they can also contain some pretty serious security issues. And this is why Google Chrome has decided it’s time to phase out support for NPAPI plug-ins.
According to Google, the 20+ year-old NPAPI technology has been a leading cause of hang-ups and crashes, and eliminating them is key to Chrome’s ongoing security, speed and stability, especially when it comes to their extensions. However, it doesn’t hurt to have an added extra bit of protection, when it comes to online security – see more at websafetyadvice.com. Unfortunately, this change will also mean that Nitro Pro and Nitro Reader users will no longer be able to view PDF files using the Nitro plugins directly within the Chrome browser. Instead, PDF viewing in Chrome will now default to the browser’s native PDF viewer.
Of course, Nitro isn’t the only plug-in affected. Starting in January 2015, all old-school NPAPIs will be blocked – including Silverlight and Google Earth, to name a few – and by September 2015, any remaining whitelisted NPAPIs will also be nixed.
Nitro customers have a couple options to circumvent these troublesome browser encounters. Sure, you could consider switching to using Internet Explorer as your browser (at least when dealing with PDF documents) – or, you could get on the good foot and use Nitro Cloud to view documents in any browser, and on any mobile device.
Nitro Cloud is one way we’re supporting smarter document technology to minimize productivity interruptions. When you use Nitro Cloud, you’re ensuring that future issues with browser compatibility and old tech won’t be a concern – and you’ll be working with a program that is constantly updated and advanced by document productivity professionals.
Then, you’ll be able to rest easy and just worry about whether or not your plaid shirts and ripped jeans will ever really go out of style. (They won’t.)
