[Fredslist] SECURITY ALERT - Disable JAVA on Windows & MAC

[Raj Goel, CISSP]

Folks,

      There's a nasty, nasty bug in JAVA for which there's no defense.

      Until Oracle (or Apple and/or Microsoft) send out updates, it is 
STRONGLY recommended that you disable Java in your WEB BROWSERS (and 
preferably, the operating system) asap.

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FOR MAC USERS:
Disable Java Per Web Browser in Mac OS XIf you don’t want to disable 
Java everywhere because you need it for something like Eclipse or 
Minecraft, disable it on the web browser you use instead. Most of 
these browser-specific tips will work in Windows too if you feel like 
turning it off in the PC world too.
Disable Java in Safari
Pull down the Safari menu and select “Preferences”Click the 
“Security” tab and uncheck the box next to “Enable 
Java”Disable Java in Chrome
Type “chrome://plugins/” into the URL bar, locate Java and click 
disableDisable Java in Firefox
Open Firefox Preferences and under the “General” tab click 
“Manage Add-ons…”Select “Plugins” and find Java (and/or Java 
Applet), click the Disable buttonProtecting Yourself: Disable Java 
System-Wide in Mac OS XYou may recall that disabling Java was the 
number one tip we suggested when protecting a Mac against viruses and 
trojans, that’s because the majority of security problems that have 
effected Macs lately come from Java. If you haven’t done that yet, 
here’s how to do it now:
Open “Java Preferences” from /Applications/Utilities/Uncheck 
“Enable applet plug-in and Web Start applications”Uncheck “ON” 
next to Java SE
Most users won’t need Java on their Macs, but for the occasional 
cases when you do it can be beneficial to have one specific browser 
with  Java remaining enabled, that way you can only use that browser 
when you  need Java access, and use a more locked down browser for 
standard day to day web tasks.
If you need to, re-enabling Java is just a matter of going back to any 
of the preference panels discussed and checking the appropriate box 
again.


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FOR WINDOWS USERS:

Windows removal instructions Windows 7 and Vista users can go to 
Control Panel -> Programs. Older  versions of Windows will be under 
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs.
Find Java in the Program list, highlight it and choose Uninstall. 
Windows will prompt you to confirm. Say yes.
You can confirm that Java is no longer installed by visiting 
http://java.com. Click "Do I have Java?" Click verify and confirm that 
it says "No working Java was detected on your system.




FOR INTERNET EXPLORER:
If you use Internet Explorer version 7 or above, open Internet 
Explorer and select Tools | Manage Add-ons then skip to Step 3.
If you use an older version of Internet Explorer, open Internet 
Explorer and select Tools | Internet Options and continue to Step 2.
>From the Internet Options window, click the Programs tab and select 
Manage Add-ons.From the Add-ons windows, click once to select 
(highlight) Java Plug-in then click the Disable button. Click Close 
and OK to accept the change.Alternatively, you can also click Tools | 
Internet Options | Advanced.  If Java is installed in your browser, 
you will see a listing for Sun Java in the Internet Options menu. Just 
uncheck it to disable.When  you encounter a site that requires Java 
(for example, some small online  games and calculators), you can 
re-enable Java easily by following the same steps above, this time 
selecting the enable option.
Firefox disable instructions
Open Firefox and click the Firefox button -> Add-ons (Tools -> Add-ons 
in Linux, OS X and Windows XP). Choose the Plugins tab. Select the 
Java plugin(s) and click disable.


Chrome disable instructions
Open Chrome and type chrome://plugins into the location bar.
Click Disable underneath the Java plugin.
--Raj

Rajesh Goel, CISSP
cell (917) 685-7731
CTO: Brainlink International, Inc.
raj at brainlink.com
www.brainlink.com
www.linkedin.com/in/rajgoel
www.rajgoel.com

You run your business, and leave the IT to us.

Author of "The Most Important Secrets To Getting Great Results From 
IT"

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