In the past couple of years we have done a few articles on the importance of keeping java on your computer. In the past few months, our thoughts have totally changed. 
Today, java is the devils workshop.
Java is a hacker’s paradise for attempting to get your personal information. Today, I am going to make a total turnaround and tell you that in most instances, you will not need java installed on your computer. There are a few exceptions such as a game you might like to play or potentially your online banking. If you find you absolutely cannot live without it, keep it installed but be sure you have the latest version and the security is set to the highest level.
It is now a known fact that more then three quarters of the exploits that are out there are java based and enter your system by way of java. In addition, more then 90% of successful attacks were performed through a java exploit. Do you see why we have changed our tune? Java is evil and should be avoided as much as possible. Although it is true that vulnerabilities exist in flash as well, these vulnerabilities are quickly patched once they are discovered.
One of the issues with java is that it does not really fix the vulnerabilities. What Oracle has done is essentially put a bandage on the system so that it is almost impossible to use. Unless you have a vendor that spent a ton of dollars on getting their script signed, it will be blocked. Of course, many of the hackers have found a way around this so even that is no guarantee anymore.
Java is a popular target for hackers because few people even know that they have it and when they see the jqs security alert that there is an update; it is ignored thinking it might be Malware. The end result is that most folks do not keep their java up to date.
The other downfall of java is that it is only updated once every 3 months. That is not often enough to keep up with the constant onslaught of exploits that are introduced into the wild every week. After all, most security companies have enough trouble trying to keep up with new threats on a daily basis. In addition, you also get unwanted software in the download package.
If you do not uncheck the extra-unwanted stuff, you will be blessed with a program or toolbar you do not want. I do not think that important software like java or flash should have unwanted downloads included in the installer package. We all work too hard to keep that stuff out of our computers to allow mainstream trusted companies to undermine our efforts and introduce unwanted software to our computers.
Now that you know the story it will be your decision on whether to keep java on your system or to dump it. Personally, I have set it to the highest security setting possible and if a need to use it arises and I know I am on a trusted site, I can go into the java security panel located in the control panel and allow the site as an exception. This is the preferred way to use java if you are going to keep it on your machine. If you do uninstall it and find a site that you use requires it, you will have to reinstall it again.
Some browsers such as Firefox and Chrome actually disable java in their browsers by default and it is not enabled until you manually do so. This is the latest effort of third party browsers to keep your computer safe.
Leave a Reply