plugin-container.exe internet access

Discussion of general topics about Mozilla Firefox
Anonymosity
Posts: 8779
Joined: May 7th, 2007, 12:07 pm

plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by Anonymosity »

Why does the Firefox plugin container (plugin-container.exe) require access to the internet through the local filtering proxy that I am using? I just updated the Flash plugin for Windows, and the firewall reported that this program had been prevented from using 127.0.0.1 TCP outgoing access. The Flash video loaded and played anyway, so why does this program need outgoing communication?
User avatar
LoudNoise
New Member
Posts: 39900
Joined: October 18th, 2007, 1:45 pm
Location: Next door to the west

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by LoudNoise »

Moving to Firefox Builds.
Post wrangler
"Choose between the Food Select Feature or other Functions. If no food or function is chosen, Toast is the default."
User avatar
Bluefang
Posts: 7857
Joined: August 10th, 2005, 2:55 pm
Location: Vermont
Contact:

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by Bluefang »

I'm guessing that on Windows, the OOPP use TCP sockets to communicate with the browser. The address 127.0.0.1 is localhost/loopback. It is a virtual network that is only accessible from your computer back to your computer. (EDIT: wasn't paying attention to who the OP was. I suspect you already knew that Anonymosity)

If it only happens when using the Flash plugin, it's anybody's guess as to what it's doing. Does it still happen with OOPP disabled?
There have always been ghosts in the machine... random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul...
User avatar
Tiago Sá
Posts: 110
Joined: June 14th, 2010, 6:16 am

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by Tiago Sá »

The code is open, so anyone interested enough can go in and look for what's happening.
Isn't it annoying when someone uses an avatar that says absolutely nothing about themselves and is there just to look cool?
Isn't it annoying when it
doesn't look cool?
User avatar
LoudNoise
New Member
Posts: 39900
Joined: October 18th, 2007, 1:45 pm
Location: Next door to the west

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by LoudNoise »

Moving this back to Support. Next time I check the update schedule... :)
Post wrangler
"Choose between the Food Select Feature or other Functions. If no food or function is chosen, Toast is the default."
HKPolice
Guest

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by HKPolice »

Can anyone explain why plugin-container.exe needs to access the net for some sites but not others? It's NOT trying to access localhost, but the actual website that I'm trying to surf. If I deny it access, everything still runs fine.
User avatar
Bluefang
Posts: 7857
Joined: August 10th, 2005, 2:55 pm
Location: Vermont
Contact:

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by Bluefang »

The plugin container only talks to Firefox. If it is attempting to connect to the internet, then it's the actual plugin trying to make the connection.

The reason you're seeing it now is because plugin-container.exe is a new process that your Firewall doesn't have rules for. You didn't see this previously because the plugins were being run as part of the firefox.exe process, which already had permission to access the internet.
There have always been ghosts in the machine... random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul...
User avatar
patrickjdempsey
Posts: 23686
Joined: October 23rd, 2008, 11:43 am
Location: Asheville NC
Contact:

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by patrickjdempsey »

If you don't allow plugin-container access to the internet you cannot load the plugin content, it's that simple. Mozilla should probably do some PR about this, but knowing them, they won't.

I just re-read your post... it is odd that the Flash content loaded anyway. When I block plugin-container with Zone-Alarm, it will not load Flash content, although I haven't used a wide enough variety of sites to see if that is true everywhere.
Tip of the day: If it has "toolbar" in the name, it's crap.
What my avatar is about: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/seamonkey/addon/sea-fox/
User avatar
T0morrow
Posts: 302
Joined: April 9th, 2010, 9:16 am

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by T0morrow »

Better question is can i tweak the time it takes to unload the plugin-container.exe process after the plugin that initialized the container(and tab) has been closed?

Because from where is stand it takes way too long to unload this process.
User avatar
Bluefang
Posts: 7857
Joined: August 10th, 2005, 2:55 pm
Location: Vermont
Contact:

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by Bluefang »

If the plugin container isn't actively being used in a page, it isn't consuming any resources other than the base-level memory it needs (which will be cached to disk if needed by other processes). There is no gain from closing it.

AFAIK this behavior is not really any different from the way in-process plugins are handled; you just can't see it.
There have always been ghosts in the machine... random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul...
User avatar
T0morrow
Posts: 302
Joined: April 9th, 2010, 9:16 am

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by T0morrow »

Bluefang wrote:If the plugin container isn't actively being used in a page, it isn't consuming any resources other than the base-level memory it needs (which will be cached to disk if needed by other processes). There is no gain from closing it.

AFAIK this behavior is not really any different from the way in-process plugins are handled; you just can't see it.

Yeah well at times there are 4-5 plugin-container.exe processess running.Each consumes about 5-10MB of memory while doing nothing.
Also i havent noticed firefox.exe taking less RAM.It still seems the same to me.On my case around 100MB with 1 tab.

I assume the plugin-container.exe behaviour is still controlled by the general setting?.Say i have set firefox to cache to RAM instead of disk so the plugin-container.exe will follow this rule?
User avatar
Bluefang
Posts: 7857
Joined: August 10th, 2005, 2:55 pm
Location: Vermont
Contact:

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by Bluefang »

Wrong kind of caching.

When plugin-container.exe isn't actively running, yes it consumes "virtual memory" (active RAM + harddisk cache). If the plugin-container.exe data is in RAM, and that space is needed by another process, Windows will move it from RAM to the pagefile on your harddisk. It will stay there until it is needed by the plugin-container.exe process (i.e. it starts running again).

Unless you are running low on virtual memory (unlikely), there is no ill effect of keeping those processes.

AFAIK there are no settings in Firefox to determine how soon the plugin-container.exe processes are killed. Currently they are killed when Firefox exits.
There have always been ghosts in the machine... random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul...
Anonymosity
Posts: 8779
Joined: May 7th, 2007, 12:07 pm

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by Anonymosity »

Bluefang wrote:I'm guessing that on Windows, the OOPP use TCP sockets to communicate with the browser. The address 127.0.0.1 is localhost/loopback. It is a virtual network that is only accessible from your computer back to your computer. (EDIT: wasn't paying attention to who the OP was. I suspect you already knew that Anonymosity)

If it only happens when using the Flash plugin, it's anybody's guess as to what it's doing. Does it still happen with OOPP disabled?

First, what is OOPP?
With Firefox on Windows, I am using Proxomitron for filtering, and it is a local proxy, so Firefox is going out thru 127.0.0.1:8080, and that is what plugin-container.exe was trying to do.
Right now, I set a rule in my firewall to block it, but if I have problems loading videos, I can change the rule to allow it.
User avatar
LoudNoise
New Member
Posts: 39900
Joined: October 18th, 2007, 1:45 pm
Location: Next door to the west

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by LoudNoise »

OOPP-- Out of Process Plug-ins. It is what plugin-container.exe does.
Post wrangler
"Choose between the Food Select Feature or other Functions. If no food or function is chosen, Toast is the default."
User avatar
Bluefang
Posts: 7857
Joined: August 10th, 2005, 2:55 pm
Location: Vermont
Contact:

Re: plugin-container.exe internet access

Post by Bluefang »

https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/i ... available/

Right now, I set a rule in my firewall to block it, but if I have problems loading videos, I can change the rule to allow it.

You should probably allow it. It's just the plugin doing whatever it does. This was already happening before, it was just done through the firefox.exe process (which was already allowed by firewalls/proxies).
There have always been ghosts in the machine... random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul...
Post Reply