Bejay I can understand your reluctance to install things but there are precautions you can take to protect yourself. One is coming to places like this forum. Remember if I deliberately gave you false information others would immediately jump in and tell you not to take any notice of my suggestion. This is a huge built in safety factor for anyone who frequents these types of forums. Second. Download from reputable sites. Of course you do not know all of them but filehippo.com - download.com - pcworld.com - tucows.com are a few to start your list of safe sites to visit. Others will add more I suspect. Third. Google your choice and see what comments are out there. Look for the first 4 or 5 pages to see if they all heavily promote the program. If so probably best to stay away because those places get paid for each download and have little interest in whether the program is good, bad or indifferent. Look instead for reviews. Fourth. Learn how to create a Restore point. Then before any install create that Restore point so that if you are not happy with your new program you can simply restore to the point prior to the install.

RC, one of your links said to look for these...... "install_flash_player.exe" and "install_flash.exe" I did a search on my C drive for both and found neither. My FF extensions does show this as the latest entry: "Adobe DLM (powered by GetPlus(R)) 1,6,2,44 A GetPlusR download-,upload-And Installation Manager is a sophistocated tool for an efficient distribution of digital goods." My Plugins show this for the latest entry: "getPlusPlus for Adobe 16244 1.6.2.44" Now I recall yesterday morning, as I was working in Excel, suddenly my mouse was acting up...would highlight when I was trying to type, wouldn't switch from caps and lower case, etc. I rebooted and all was fine...except I was prompted to download the newest update for Firefox. I didn't do it at that time. Last night I decided I'd do "check for updates" for FF. It said there was one so I said to download it. Just afterward, the Adobe Flash prompt popped up so I thought it was connected to the FF update. However, I did not allow access to the internet for the Adobe PlusPlus request via Zone Alarm. My daily AVG didn't catch anything this morning (and I see from Virus Total's list that it might not). I ran Malwarebytes yesterday after the computer acted funny and it was negative. Is there an online scan for Firefox browsers? Thank you. Pam Am I sunk?

What is Adobe® AIR Adobe AIR is a cross-operating-system runtime that lets developers combine HTML, JavaScript, Adobe Flash® and Flex technologies, and ActionScript® to deploy rich Internet applications (RIAs) on a broad range of devices including desktop computers, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, and TVs. AIR allows developers to use familiar tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver®, Flash Builder®, Flash Catalyst®, Flash Professional, or any text editor to build their applications and easily deliver a single application installer that works across operating systems. How does Adobe AIR compare with Flash Player? Adobe Flash Player is a browser plug-in that provides advantages for users and content creators in the browser, including the ability to deliver RIAs in the browser. AIR incorporates technologies originally developed in Flash Player and enables RIAs on the desktop. AIR and Flash Player provide complementary deployment methods for RIAs.

Someone here is having good results with amending clay with 50 percent sand and then topping the area with sandy loam. The nurseryman who runs Laguna Hills Nsy and gave the soils class takes the stock he buys and removes most of the mix around the roots. Then he replaces it in peat moss, perlite, pumice,sand and some charcoal. He would add more sand in the mix he sells bagged but the bags would rip or be too expensive to ship. The charcoal is there because the world's best soils have some charcoal content. A building supply in Costa Mesa sells something called Rick's mix that is sandy loam and decomposed granite for improving clay. I have used the best potting mixes I could buy and watch the plants die off in a year. With the mix from Laguna Hills, it doesn't happen. Now I use a mix of my own soil, sand and the Laguna Hills formula. I have been making charcoal all winter and sifting it to throw out the ash which is alkaline. In the old days the nurseries planted in Sandy loam and sold bareroot. No one amended the holes or they planted high in large mounds or raised beds if drainage was poor. Now the wholesalers who planted in real soil are being edged out by those who plant in composted wood. The plants grow fast and are lighter to ship but eventually the breakdown of the planting material kills the plant. You can slow the process by letting the mix dry out almost completely before watering again, but it stresses the plants, especially in our warm climate. In the old days, a nursery could water every day with no root problems at all. A nursery could keep their stock for years and water every day and feed once a month until it sold. Now it's a race to sell the plant before the mix degrades and the roots die. The nurseries have to move their stock quick before then. Even if you plant it in good soil, the plant might not make it to five years because the mix around the trunk has become poisonous to the plant. Some plants grow fast enough to get roots out beyond into good soil. Arborists use augers to drill out holes around the trunk and backfill with sand to get the oxygen into the toxic area. You can also dig into one side and replace with 100 percent soil and six months later do the other side. The formula is stay away from three times the diameter of the trunk when removing roots. That was the formula for moving plants sold in soil wrapped with burlap. Any plant you fix needs to be shaded for two weeks. You can also help them by spraying the leaves with 1 gallon water 1 oz Karo syrup 1 oz seaweed 1 oz fish fertilizer a little wetting agent I hope this helps anyone trying to save a plant. I think it's rotten that plants are being sold that they know will have problems later on. People think it's their fault. The landscape reflects the trend towards only plants that can overcome the crappy potting mix and we all get taught wrongly to add this stuff to the soil at planting time.