Where to download the last Chrome version with Java (NPAPI) support?

Question

The Google Chrome browser version 45 completely dropped support for NPAPI in September 2015. This means plugins for Java, Silverlight, Facebook Video and other similar NPAPI based plugins will no longer run in Chrome.

Where can I download the last stable release of Chrome or Chromium (for OS X / Windows / Linux) which still had Java / NPAPI support?

Other info: http://www.chromium.org/developers/npapi-deprecation

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Edit: My reason for the question is that a web-app, which requires Flash and Java, suddenly stopped working. So I'm looking for a quick workaround to temporarily run the old version of Chrome side-by-side with the current version. - Also for web-development I'm used to be able to do some testing with previous versions. From my experience with Firefox, I am able to do this without jumping through lots of hoops, as Firefox makes all old versions available for download! I do not understand the policy of Google in this regard.

In researching this, the top hit on Google for 'Chrome 45 Java' does not answer the issue at all: 'How to enable Java in Google Chrome 45'. Other links only recommend to switch browsers. On the StackExchange sites, I could not find this particular question or a download link to Chrome 44. The reason for asking this here, is to help users or web developers, who may be looking for the same thing and to possibly find a download source similar to the Firefox archive.

Solution 1

The last stable release of Chrome 44 would be 44.0.2403.157 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, as stated in this blog post: googlechromereleases.blogspot.com/2015/08/stable-channel-update_20.html. As Chrome is no longer availabe from any official sources, the alternative is to look for the last Chromium 44 release in the continuous builds archive.

The direct links are:

• Mac-330231-chrome-mac.zip

• Win-330231-chrome-win32.zip

To enable the NPAPI plugins, follow these Steps:

1. Open a new tab and enter chrome://flags/#enable-npapi
2. Enable NPAPI Mac, Windows: click "Enable"
3. At the bottom of the page click "Relunch Now"
4. Test with www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp
5. right-click to run the plugin, and allow after prompting

Chromium will not auto-update, thus this will keep on working albeit without any security updates, so use at your own risk (better in a VM). - More versions can be found by following the step-by-step instructions for Downloading old builds of Chromium: www.chromium.org/getting-involved/download-chromium

Chrome 44 is much harder to locate than Chromium. One way is to search for googlechrome.dmg on the HD or in old backups and verify the version from the Info.plist, if you're using OS X.

File Hippo lists previous versions with the correct MD5 hashes, but always links to the latest official one. This information still helps, as the MD5 can be used to find out, if an unofficial source has the original file. Here is one such file with Chrome 44.0.2403.130 on SourceForge: sourceforge.net/projects/gnuhub/files/googlechrome.dmg/download - The MD5 is listed here filehippo.com/download_google_chrome_for_mac/tech/62573 2E0A856BF525D196323890D72A80E902 If you trust the source of the MD5 hash, then the file should be trustworthy, but Google does not publish the hashes of their releases. The same steps can be followed to locate a windows version of Chrome 44 by searching for chrome_installer.exe.

Solution 2

Windows:
https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/chromium-browser-snapshots/index.html?prefix=Win/330231/

Mac:
https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/chromium-browser-snapshots/index.html?prefix=Mac/330231/

Linux:
https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/chromium-browser-snapshots/index.html?prefix=Linux/330231/

Reference:
https://www.chromium.org/getting-involved/download-chromium

Solution 3

Recommend Chrome v41.0.2272. This gives you clean support of NPAPI out-of the box.

In v42.0.2311, they started deprecating NPAPI, "Support for NPAPI plugins disabled by default." [1]

In 44.0.2403.157, you may encounter some hassles. You will have to enable NPAPI support in settings, "Enable NPAPI Mac, Windows. Enables the use of NPAPI plugins. This flag will be removed in Chrome 45, along with NPAPI support." There is also a "Deprecation guide" in place. [2]

In tune with previous posts, in v45.0.2454, "Support for NPAPI plugins permanently disabled." [1]

1. https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Google_Chrome_version_history.html

2. https://www.chromium.org/developers/npapi-deprecation

Solution 4

You can download the last stable version of CHROME mentioned above (Chrome v44.0.2403.157) at the following GitHub link DIR DOWNLOAD LINK 32-BIT INSTALLER CHROME V44.0.2403.157 https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FBouowmx%2FGoogle-Chrome-44.0.2403.157-win%2Fraw%2Fmaster%2F44.0.2403.157_chrome_installer.exe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFz_6Y_nck25ITPfo81NgRmaSpOfQ

It was provided in the Google Forums at https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/_TuYS3xOo0Y

I downloaded it so I too could re-enable Flash, Java, and NPAPI plugins. It works brilliantly. Hope this helps! -str8arrow

NOTE: The only caveat: some security vulnerability(ies) were patched in v45..so I suggest using this browser with a reputable AdBlocker (like Adblocker Plus, Adblock) and a good anti-malware/antivirus combo like ESET/Malwarebytes.

(Please vote this post up if this helps.)

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Comments

[ChrisW]

I'm new here, so I would appreciate a short comment for the reason of the downvotes. Do you believe the question has been asked before or is it lacking research or relevance? Is there some way to improve the question?

[DavidPostill]

Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations are off-topic. See On Topic.

[ChrisW]

Thanks for giving that insight, David. I suppose you could interpret the rules in that way. It's not that clear though, as other, similar questions were upvoted such as Where can I find really old versions of Firefox? or a question about where to Download installer for old version of Git. I understood asking for a 'product recommendation' as asking 'What is the best browser to use' and such.

[DavidPostill]

They should have been close voted as well. Note that the first of those links is a 6 year old question and what is accepted as on-topic has changed over the years. Please don't assume that something that was considered on topic a long time ago would still be on topic if posted today. In addition, off topic questions do get upvoted (people think they are useful), but that doesn't magically make them on topic.

[Stephen Cheng]

You might want to try Slimjet which is built on top of Chromium but continues the support of Java. Check out this link: slimjet.com/en/lp/java-silverlight-support-in-chrome.php . If you sign into your gmail account, syncing your bookmarks from Chrome into Slimjet is just one click away.

[Daniel]

I'm also confused as to why this was downvoted. I found it incredibly useful. Also, I'm not familiar with the exact rules, but your quote "Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations are off-topic" does not seem to apply. He is not looking for a "recommendation" for a product. He is looking for a way to download a specific version of a specific product.