Google has released version 45 of the Chrome browser to the stable channel. As computers update, they will lose the ability to run plugins like Java, Silverlight, and others with Chrome. Phasing NPAPI support out has been a long process with version 42 in April 2015 disabling NPAPI but allowing users to manually re-enable support with a Chrome flag. Most users will not see a difference but enterprises may, as they’re more likely to need plug-ins and may have re-enabled support organization-wide.
With version 45, Chrome removes the support entirely. After an update, I am running version 45.0.2454.85 and have confirmed that the Enable NPAPI flag no longer exists.
Without plug-in support, you may see errors saying “This plug-in is not supported.”. The only option to use plug-ins like Java is to use a different browser such as Internet Explorer, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox.
The Stable channel update for Chrome 45’s release instead focuses on the security fixes in this version but the Chromium 44.0.2403.157 to 45.0.2454.85 log captures the NPAPI changes and all other modifications in this version.