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VLC player add-on is not showing correct version.

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  • 422 have this problem
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  • Last reply by Peterd

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I downloaded the latest version of VLC Player today which is 2.0.8 but in my list of plug-ins, the version stayed the same at 2.0.6 and Firefox is saying it is vulnerable and needs to be updated.

My OS is Vista Home Premium.

Thanks for any help.

I downloaded the latest version of VLC Player today which is 2.0.8 but in my list of plug-ins, the version stayed the same at 2.0.6 and Firefox is saying it is vulnerable and needs to be updated. My OS is Vista Home Premium. Thanks for any help.

Chosen solution

The problem does not appear to be with Firefox - rather with VLC. For XP, after installation of Version 2.0.8, go to VLC program folder and right click on file npvlc.dll and then left click on Properties. Click the Version tab and it says 2.0.6. So the 2.0.8 download contains an updated desktop program, vlc.exe (version 2.0.8), but an old web plug-in file, npvlc.dll (version 2.0.6). In order for the problem to be solved, I believe VideoLan must update the web plug-in.

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All Replies (20)

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Have you tried closing and then reopening the listing? Plugin versions will not be updated automatically.

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Thanks for the reply and yes, I have closed Firefox and reopened it. I have also rebooted my PC and it has still stayed at version 2.0.6.

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Hi Booky, Firefox discovers many plugins by checking the Windows registry. In case Firefox has cached old information and is not updating it:

(1) Can you verify that Firefox is set to scan the registry for new plugins? That setting is accessible here:

(i) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(ii) In the search box above the list, type or paste scan and pause while the list is filtered

(iii) If plugin.scan.plid.all is not set to true, double-click it to restore it to its default value of true.

You might need to exit and restart Firefox to trigger a fresh scan. Does that help?

(2) If Firefox was already set to scan, the plugin registry file might have become corrupted. You can have Firefox regenerate it as follows:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using

Help > Troubleshooting Information > "Show Folder" button

Switch back to Firefox and Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename pluginreg.dat to something like pluginreg.old

Restart Firefox, and it should re-scan available plugins. Does that help?


If Firefox still shows the old version number, could you open a new tab and type or paste about:plugins in the address bar and press Enter, you should find the VLC plugin listed along with the full path to it on disk.

Is it in a folder under VLC's program files or in a Firefox-related folder?

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You can start with deleting the pluginreg.dat file.

You can use this button to go to the Firefox profile folder:

  • Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Show Folder (Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder)
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Exact same problem here, Windows 7 Professional. Tried all troubleshooting steps as listed by jscher2000 (was something left out in step 2? Simply opening Show Folder and exiting out invoked no cleanup...maybe Reset Firefox, something I'd like to avoid, if possible).

Also deleted pluginreg.dat file completely afterwards, still no success.

about:plugins is showing:

VLC Web Plugin

   File: npvlc.dll
   Path: C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\npvlc.dll
   Version: 2.0.6.0
   State: Enabled
   VLC media player Web Plugin 2.0.6

Properties in Program Files indicates 2.0.8 for the executable.

We have 4 people in the same forum so far reporting this problem.

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Same bug here :-( I have windows XP home edition. version 2002 serves pk 3. I use firefox browser 23.0. I checked add ons for up-dates and it said VLC need to be up-dated. So I went to add/remove progs and deleted VLC run atf and re-booted. then installed the new up-date "2.0.8." then looked in firefox again and done a rerun of the up-date. It was still saying it need to be up-dated. so I done it all again. same thing happened. It's 2.0.8 on My laptop and it's 2.0.6 in firefox. I've disabled it for now, because it said it was a threat. I can't delete it from firefox either.

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Did you delete the pluginreg.dat file to make Firefox once again scan for installed plugins?

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I done all that. plugin scan was true. then I done the trouble shooter bit. No good. and I've got 2 folders now ( 1 with reg and 1 with old ? lol

i done the last part about: plugin got 2 bits with Vlc in. application/x-vlc-plugin and application/x-google-vlc-plugin. I hope this helps PS what do I do about the pluginold and pluninreg

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No Cor-el, I didn't know I had to !

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It shows up in my log as pluginreg and pluginold not pluginreg.dat or pluginreg.old

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"Did you delete the pluginreg.dat file to make Firefox once again scan for installed plugins? "

Yes. Same results, still showing old version of VLC in Firefox, new version in C:\Program Files.

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To add further, this is happening with Firefox v23, no problem in prior versions.

Regedit shows HKLM\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins\@videolan.org/vlc,version=2.08 in the left pane, right pane showing Version REG_SZ 2.0.8

This is most likely a bug in v23.

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Edit: It took me so long to finish this post you beat me to it. Assuming you run 32-bit Windows.

Hi LarkBea, you wrote:

Path: C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\npvlc.dll
... Properties in Program Files indicates 2.0.8 for the executable.

I suspect the bad version information might be in the registry. Are you familiar with the RegEdit program? If so, do you want to check what is listed in the VLC key under this key:

32-bit Windows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins

64-bit Windows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\MozillaPlugins

For comparison, here's the Flash info:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\MozillaPlugins\@adobe.com/FlashPlayer

Path=C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\NPSWF32_11_8_800_94.dll

ProductName=Adobe® Flash® Player 11.8.800.94 Plugin

Vendor=Adobe Systems Incorporated

Description=Adobe® Flash® Player 11.8.800.94 Plugin

Version=11.8.800.94

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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Did you see my reply before yours? I did check regedit.

'To add further, this is happening with Firefox v23, no problem in prior versions.

Regedit shows HKLM\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins\@videolan.org/vlc,version=2.08 in the left pane, right pane showing Version REG_SZ 2.0.8'

This is most likely a bug in v23.

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This is also happening in v26 (Mozilla Nightly)

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I am having exactly the same issue as those above. I have the latest version of VLC player (2.0.8) and yet my add-ons list a plug-in for VLC 2.0.6.

I tried your fix and, like the others, it did no good.

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I have tried the fix also.

It did not work.

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Chosen Solution

The problem does not appear to be with Firefox - rather with VLC. For XP, after installation of Version 2.0.8, go to VLC program folder and right click on file npvlc.dll and then left click on Properties. Click the Version tab and it says 2.0.6. So the 2.0.8 download contains an updated desktop program, vlc.exe (version 2.0.8), but an old web plug-in file, npvlc.dll (version 2.0.6). In order for the problem to be solved, I believe VideoLan must update the web plug-in.

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Thank you. You are correct, npvlc.dll is showing as out of date.

I did post about this issue in VLC's forum and awaiting a response. If they post one, I will link to it in this discussion and cancel the bug report I submitted.

Admin on VLC's forum indicates "We will have a 2.1.0 version soon".

Modified by LarkBea

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