Mozilla developers have launched a new online tool that tells Firefox users whether popular add-on components such as Java or QuickTime are up to date.

The new Plugin Check page tests for more than 15 popular plugins right now, and Mozilla plans to add more in the future. "Visitors to the page can see which plugins they have installed and, for any that are outdated, follow an easy link to the update site," wrote Mozilla's "human shield," Johnathan Nightingale in a Tuesday blog posting.

A test version of the site was introduced last week. The final page tests for plugins such as Silverlight, Picasa, iTunes and Acrobat.

Firefox can already check to make sure that add-ons, installed through the addons.mozilla.org Web site, are up to date. But this can't be done with the plugin software targeted by the new Web page, Nightingale said in an e-mail interview. "Plugins like RealPlayer, Flash or Silverlight are pieces of software installed on your machine outside of Firefox's control," he said. "They interact with Firefox, but they are independent software packages, and make their own choices about when and how to update."

Full story: http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...plugin_checker