The open-source developer also cited stability reasons for the move. "By only activating plug-ins that the user desires to load, we're helping eliminate pauses, crashes and other consequences of unwanted plug-ins," said Michael Coates, Mozilla's director of security assurance, in a Jan. 29 blog post.
Mozilla will be the first browser maker to disable the bulk of plug-ins by default. Chrome and Opera Software's Opera also include click-to-play, but both leave it turned off until the user enables the feature.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is gkeizer@ix.netcom.com.
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