diff --git a/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/PluginStarter.java b/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/PluginStarter.java
index 3aaf34e5b4..c844f936a3 100644
--- a/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/PluginStarter.java
+++ b/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/PluginStarter.java
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ public class PluginStarter implements Runnable {
     }
 
     static boolean pluginsEnabled(I2PAppContext ctx) {
-         return Boolean.valueOf(ctx.getProperty("router.enablePlugins")).booleanValue();
+         return Boolean.valueOf(ctx.getProperty("router.enablePlugins", "true")).booleanValue();
     }
 
     public void run() {
diff --git a/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/PluginUpdateChecker.java b/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/PluginUpdateChecker.java
index 8b5d2c0147..28c1e5aa56 100644
--- a/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/PluginUpdateChecker.java
+++ b/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/PluginUpdateChecker.java
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ public class PluginUpdateChecker extends UpdateHandler {
             _appName = appName;
             _oldVersion = oldVersion;
             System.setProperty(PROP_UPDATE_IN_PROGRESS, "true");
-            I2PAppThread update = new I2PAppThread(_pluginUpdateCheckerRunner, "AppChecker");
+            I2PAppThread update = new I2PAppThread(_pluginUpdateCheckerRunner, "AppChecker", true);
             update.start();
         }
     }
diff --git a/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/SummaryBarRenderer.java b/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/SummaryBarRenderer.java
index 153ef06301..4e33cd9a57 100644
--- a/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/SummaryBarRenderer.java
+++ b/apps/routerconsole/java/src/net/i2p/router/web/SummaryBarRenderer.java
@@ -185,9 +185,9 @@ public class SummaryBarRenderer {
            .append("</a></h4><hr>\n");
 
 
+        // display all the time so we display the final failure message, and plugin update messages too
+        buf.append(UpdateHandler.getStatus());
         if (_helper.updateAvailable() || _helper.unsignedUpdateAvailable()) {
-            // display all the time so we display the final failure message
-            buf.append(UpdateHandler.getStatus());
             if ("true".equals(System.getProperty(UpdateHandler.PROP_UPDATE_IN_PROGRESS))) {
                 // nothing
             } else if(
diff --git a/history.txt b/history.txt
index 177623dc66..086f35eee6 100644
--- a/history.txt
+++ b/history.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+2010-02-19 zzz
+    * i2psnark: Make file box bigger
+    * Plugins:
+      - Fix display of download status
+      - Unhide
+
 2010-02-18 zzz
     * Clock: Slew tweak
     * i2psnark: Improve error message when finding HTML
diff --git a/router/java/src/net/i2p/router/RouterVersion.java b/router/java/src/net/i2p/router/RouterVersion.java
index f179518228..fb40e5644f 100644
--- a/router/java/src/net/i2p/router/RouterVersion.java
+++ b/router/java/src/net/i2p/router/RouterVersion.java
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ public class RouterVersion {
     /** deprecated */
     public final static String ID = "Monotone";
     public final static String VERSION = CoreVersion.VERSION;
-    public final static long BUILD = 2;
+    public final static long BUILD = 3;
 
     /** for example "-test" */
     public final static String EXTRA = "";