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Garmin plug in


ancient seekers

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From Aug 2015 The Garmin plug which enables geocaches to be directly downloaded to a Garmin GPS device has now become unsupported by Microsoft,crome firefox and others. Does anyone know if any browsers are still offering support or is there any other way to download caches to a GPS.

 

There's a very good reason for dropping the plugin support. Do a search, enough is been written already. If you don't care about your computer's security, go ahead, find a way to continue using the plugin. :ph34r:

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From Aug 2015 The Garmin plug which enables geocaches to be directly downloaded to a Garmin GPS device has now become unsupported by Microsoft,crome firefox and others. Does anyone know if any browsers are still offering support or is there any other way to download caches to a GPS.

You may place GPX files directly into the GPX folder of a Garmin GPSr, thus bypassing the plugin. This performs the same thing the plugin would do, but you may have the file copied in a fraction of the time it takes to fix the plugin when it breaks. :anicute:

 

Download the GPX file from Geocaching.com. (For a zipped Pocket Query, unzip the file, and you should now have at least one “GPX” file.)

Plug the Garmin into the USB port of the computer.

Find the Garmin as a [DRIVE] or [storage device] and open it;

Therein, locate a file folder named something like Garmin/GPX/;

Click, drag and drop (or copy) the downloaded GPX file(s) to that [DRIVE]:Garmin/GPX/ folder.

Right-click and select Eject, unplug the Garmin;

Go Geocaching.

(From Gitchee-Gumee's excellent instructions)

 

I got Garmin Communicator working in Windows 10 by following the steps here:

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=334207&view=findpost&p=5538114

I post a link since there are several things to consider when you do that.

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From Aug 2015 The Garmin plug which enables geocaches to be directly downloaded to a Garmin GPS device has now become unsupported by Microsoft,crome firefox and others. Does anyone know if any browsers are still offering support or is there any other way to download caches to a GPS.

 

There's a very good reason for dropping the plugin support. Do a search, enough is been written already. If you don't care about your computer's security, go ahead, find a way to continue using the plugin. :ph34r:

 

That is a bit misleading. The issue with the plugin is that it used a technology (NPAPI) which *could* be used as a a method of intrusion. Because, plugins which use NPAPI *could* be used for nefarious purposes some browsers have blocked them. That doesn't mean that this specific plugin takes advantage of the vulnerability, and is thus insecure.

 

It's sort of like how Javascript has been used as a means to intrude into systems so some people turn off javascript in their browsers, thus blocking every site which uses javascript but not in a way that is in any way nefarious.

 

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That is a bit misleading. The issue with the plugin is that it used a technology (NPAPI) which *could* be used as a a method of intrusion. Because, plugins which use NPAPI *could* be used for nefarious purposes some browsers have blocked them. That doesn't mean that this specific plugin takes advantage of the vulnerability, and is thus insecure.

 

I try to keep it simple because it seems that the daily question "plugin stopped working" people seem to be non-technical. Jumping through hoops to keep the plugin working means having NPAPI enabled and since there us a security issue it's not advisable to do so. In short, keeping the plugin working is a security issue.

 

Since the plugin only copies the GPX file to a GPS it's no big deal to do this yourself avoiding any plugin issues.

 

I have no problems with the plugin as any GPX file is opened by default with GSAK for further processing... B)

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I have no problems with the plugin as any GPX file is opened by default with GSAK for further processing... B)

 

I don't have GSAK, and my work around was Firefox when Chrome stopped supporting the Garmin plug in. Now that it is no longer supported by Firefox... I'm not sure, but it has been nice to be able to just click and download to my GPS in the past. :(

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That is a bit misleading. The issue with the plugin is that it used a technology (NPAPI) which *could* be used as a a method of intrusion. Because, plugins which use NPAPI *could* be used for nefarious purposes some browsers have blocked them. That doesn't mean that this specific plugin takes advantage of the vulnerability, and is thus insecure.

 

I try to keep it simple because it seems that the daily question "plugin stopped working" people seem to be non-technical. Jumping through hoops to keep the plugin working means having NPAPI enabled and since there us a security issue it's not advisable to do so. In short, keeping the plugin working is a security issue.

 

Since the plugin only copies the GPX file to a GPS it's no big deal to do this yourself avoiding any plugin issues.

 

I have no problems with the plugin as any GPX file is opened by default with GSAK for further processing... B)

 

My primary computer is a Macbook Pro and I'm not going to install a virtual machine container and a copy of windows on it just so I can run one application (GSAK). I have access to a windows machine but it's not one that I would bring with me when I'm traveling and that's how I do most of my caching. For those running a computer with OSX, GSAK is not the "simple" solution. I use Basecamp on my mac, which can handle GPX files, and send the results to a GPSr, It runs both on Windows and on a Mac.

 

 

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I can no longer download files onto my Garmin Gpsmap 62s using chrome either , instead I have to use Internet Explorer which takes forever and can't even display the site properly because it's the ancient version that comes with windows 7. :P

 

Apparently the plugin which worked fine before is no longer supported by Google, not entirely sure why. Lately I have just been manually putting the coordinates of caches straight into my GPS. I've given up trying to make the plugin work. I miss being able to just click on the cache and load it straight in! :(

Edited by spirothebudgie
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I can no longer download files onto my Garmin Gpsmap 62s using chrome either , instead I have to use Internet Explorer which takes forever and can't even display the site properly because it's the ancient version that comes with windows 7. :P

 

Apparently the plugin which worked fine before is no longer supported by Google, not entirely sure why. Lately I have just been manually putting the coordinates of caches straight into my GPS. I've given up trying to make the plugin work. I miss being able to just click on the cache and load it straight in! :(

 

You might want to search the forum for communicator plugin, the workaround has been given so many times.

 

In short. click "GPX" instead of "send to GPS" and save to x:\Garmin\GPX\ where x is the drive letter for your GPS.

It's all the plugin did.

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In short. click "GPX" instead of "send to GPS" and save to x:\Garmin\GPX\ where x is the drive letter for your GPS.

It's all the plugin did.

+1

 

There's a web site issue with Geocaching.com, where many convenient places have the button "Send To GPS", and it's been a familiar feature commonly used. But it's getting real hard to keep that function working lately. It may be good to suggest that Groundspeak set up an option where "GPX File" (the manually saved file download) may be used in places where the "Send To GPS" link was found. Perhaps it should become the default, in case "Send To GPS" becomes too technical for people to repair. "Send To GPS" only works with Communicator anyway, right?

Edited by kunarion
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Thanks for that! I'll have to try saving the gpx file instead!

I just assumed I couldn't do that because I thought nothing worked full stop, but it makes sense now! :laughing:

Still it would be good to remove the send to gps option because it's a bit confusing for people who don't know it doesn't work!

Edited by spirothebudgie
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For now the Communicator still works in several browsers, so why should Groundspeak remove it?

 

They might move the button to a less obvious place (think "classic search" and "email contact").

Seeing the daily "plugin stopped working" threads it might even be a good idea to intercept "send to GPS" and show a message about the plugin's end of life before actually running the plugin.

Firefox does this for non-updated Flash and Java showing a message about security risks. You can the update or run anyway but at least everyone will be aware of the plugin's fate.

Remember the panic when tokens expired a while ago? :lol:

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Are the "communicators" for other brands working? I.e. DeLorme, Magellan, Falk and Rand McNally.

If they are working, the users wont be coming here and vote to keep the button alive!

 

If they use the underlying technology they will also stop working. The "problem" is not the plugin but the NPAPI it uses.

 

Code running in an NPAPI plugin has the full permissions of the current user and is not sandboxed or shielded from malicious input

 

So it's wise to think about that when changing settings trying to get the communicator to work :ph34r:

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Thank you everyone who answered my query about the Garmin Plug In. We have been on holiday and only just returned. As you can tell by our name we are rather ancient and it takes a little time to sort out all this jargon. However Mr A S has now managed to use some of your tips and has managed to download from GPX files some caches into his Garmin Etrex 20. Thanks again and sorry for the late reply

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