Web users ‘must disable Java’!

[karl]

Java’s makers, Oracle, issued a fix for a ‘serious security flaw’ on Sunday, but the US government said it was not sufficient and asked users to disable Java on all internet browsers.
In an updated alert, the department said “unless it is absolutely necessary to run Java in web browsers, disable it. This will help mitigate other Java vulnerabilities that may be discovered in the future.”
Government intervention in such software issues is rare, but last week the Department for Homeland Security wrote on its website that “[The] Java 7 Update 10 and earlier contain an unspecified vulnerability that can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system. This and previous Java vulnerabilities have been widely targeted by attackers, and new Java vulnerabilities are likely to be discovered.” It has since added that update 11 remains flawed.
Java is installed on more than 3 billion devices worldwide, and has been plagued by security problems. Some reports blame it for more than half of all cyber attacks globally.
In Kaspersky Labs’ latest security bulletin, the firm wrote “While we called 2011 the year of the vulnerability, 2012 can justifiably be described as the year of the Java vulnerability, with half of all detected exploit-based attacks targeting vulnerabilities in Oracle Java”.


Full story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9803426/Web-users-must-disable-Java.html

[Lyra Heartstrings]

So..we had to uninstall it (I believe?), reinstall it, and now disable it?
Really?

[Cicero]

thats scary. I think it's scarier how we rely on so much technology, I read that people can control heart equipment from a simple computer.

[Breakeven]

o.o im too lazy to disable it

[Darkness.]

Ha, that's funny. VT's chat uses Java. So I wonder how many people will Diable Java. I also wonder if people outside of VT will disable it.

[Abyssal Echo]

I doubt I'll disable it since alot web sites I go to require Java

[Lost in the Echo]

Damn, that's fucking crazy. I don't think i'll disabe it though, I don't really feel like doing so.
I think i'll be fine. ^_^

[Jess]

I think I will run into problems if I disable Java...so no thanks I won't be disabling it.

[Thunderstorm]

thats scary. I think it's scarier how we rely on so much technology, I read that people can control heart equipment from a simple computer.

It's true. My biology teacher told me that they put a pceamaker or something along those lines in his heart, and they can control if he dies or not. The doctor pushed a remote and he died, and then brought him back to life.

[Silicate Wielder]

I guess its a good thing I can't seem to get java working on my web brower.

[TheMatrix]

And this is why they invented IcedTea6 (http://icedtea.classpath.org/).

[ImAll4U24]

I was to lazy to install it. :)

[Mirage]

I'm not disabling it. No way, too much stuff requires it.

[TigerBoy]

This is why I use NoScript (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/) and a few other similar browser add ins. With this you can disable java globally and turn it on for specific sites via a simple menu off the right-click context menu. This is handy for blocking an awful lot of the annoying 'look at me' stuff on web pages too.

[FreeFall]

Now if only half of the sites I need to go on, like for school, didn't require it :\

[Silicate Wielder]

And this is why they invented IcedTea6 (http://icedtea.classpath.org/).

I already have it, it just doesn't work in Opera.