Plug-ins based on the NPAPI architecture will be blocked by default in Chrome starting early next year as Google moves toward completely removing support for them in the browser. "NPAPI's 90s-era architecture has become a leading cause of hangs, crashes, security incidents, and code complexity," Justin Schuh, a Google Chrome security engineer, said Monday in a blog post. "Because of this, Chrome will be phasing out NPAPI support over the coming year."