Java Vulnerability Risk 2013 Tutorial

keep bugs out of computer graphic Avoid a serious computer security risk reported in US Government breaking news with this Java vulnerability risk 2013 tutorial. You likely have Java running on your computer. Visiting the wrong website could put you at risk.

The US Department of Homeland Security issued this warning on 10 Jan 2013, and then already updated details yesterday and today! The government sponsors the CERT Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University to track security risks.

Update 19 Jan 2013: One day after this post Oracle released a Java security update on 13 Jan 2013 to resolve this vulnerability risk. Follow that link for details. To enable Java in your browser download and install the new Java version before you reverse the steps in the tutorial here.

Read their current Vulnerability Note VU#625617 subtitled Java 7 fails to restrict access to privileged code for details.

Owners should act now to protect their personal computers from this exploit that can infect your system and execute a function to allow full privileges. Malicious behavior could follow without you knowing your pc was infected.

How can you protect your computer? For your convenience, we have assembled the following tutorials to set your browser to disable Java.

Tutorials by Browser Listed Alphabetically

Firefox

Quickly disable Java with these steps from the top menu while in Firefox.
1. Select the option for Tools from the horizontal menu at the very top.
2. Under Tools search the list and select the option for Add-ons.
3. Find all Java Console entries; click the Disable button next to each.

Google Chrome

The fast approach with Google Chrome open to disable Java is as follows.
1. Type this in your address bar: chrome://plugins/ and hit enter.
2. Page down through all the plugins installed in Chrome and look for Java.
3. Find the links for Enabled and select each to change them to Disabled.

Internet Explorer

If you use IE, Internet Explorer presents higher risk* and exposure of infection because it is more difficult to disable and protect. The different options that “may work” can be found by searching for the phrase: disable java in internet explorer.

*Report source quote: “Note that applications that use the Internet Explorer web content rendering components, such as Microsoft Office or Windows Desktop Search, may also be used as an attack vector for this vulnerability.”

Safari

While in Safari their interface provides a quick procedure to disable Java.
1. Select the gear icon located in the far top right.
2. Select the option for Preferences from the drop down menu.
3. Next, select the Security tab to see security related options.
4. Locate and uncheck the Enable Java box.

The procedure takes less than 5 minutes for 3 out of the 4 top browsers. Protect your computer today, and please share this tutorial with friends and coworkers, too.

It is not surprising that Internet Explorer is that 1 out of 4 major browsers that make it difficult to disable Java. I stopped using Internet Explorer years ago! Here’s another reason why.

Web Design Pros Dislike Internet Explorer

It’s true that web design pros dislike Internet Explorer. Some would say hate!

From personal experience in web design, Internet Explorer has cost the web development community long hours and lost revenue tweaking websites with backward compatible code workarounds to render sites properly for users with outdated versions of IE.

This vulnerability news has convinced us even more! The risk presented by the current Java vulnerability for Internet Explorer users may mean it’s time to reconsider your choice.

Browser downloads are free. Firefox, Chrome, and Safari each design their browsers to the latest worldwide code standards. Our choice is Google Chrome. It is the most recent browser entry, yet has grown quickly to dominate the market and taken over first place.