Hi this is Gary with MacMost Now.
On today's episode let's talk about Java in your web browser and how and why you should
disable it.
So over the past year, and particularly over the past few days, I've been getting asked
should I disable Java and if so how and why.
So what is Java.
Well you can think of Java as an extension on your Mac.
It has extra functionality.
Somebody can create an App written in Java and then you can run that App on your Mac
as long as you have Java installed.
The same can be true inside a web browser.
A Java App can be installed inside of a web page and you can see it as a small application
in a rectangle on a web page as long as you have Java installed on your Mac and you have
the browser set to allow Java Apps to run.
So recently people have been talking about a vulnerability in Java.
So what is a vulnerability?
A lot of people immediately jump to the conclusion that there is some sort of virus or trojan
or other malware out there that they need to protect themselves from.
But a vulnerability is just that.
It is basically the possibility of a hole in the software that can be exploited.
Think of it like this.
If you got locked out of your house you know a way to get in.
There is some sort of window that can be forced open or there is an extra key under a rock.
That would be a vulnerability for your house.
It doesn't mean that somebody else knows about the vulnerability, knows you have that vulnerability,
and plans to exploit it and break into your house.
It doesn't mean that at all.
It is just the possibility that it could be.
In this case researchers have found out that there is something in Java that could be exploited
but there is no exploit right now and they can patch this hole before there is some sort
of malware out there that takes advantage of it.
So, there is no need to panic.
But what you can do is take precautions.
One of the precautions is simple to turn off Java.
If Java is turned off then the hole doesn't exist because you don't have Java running.
It is very easy to turn off particularly in your browser where this type of vulnerability
is most likely to be exploited.
Let me show you how.
Here we are in Safari and I'm going to go into Safari Preferences.
Under Preferences I am going to go under the Security tab.
Here you can see a bunch of different check boxes and one of them is Enable Java.
I am going to simply turn that off.
Now any web page I go to that has a Java app in it simply will not show the Java App.
Java is turned off for my browser.
Now it is important to realize that right under it is something called Enable JavaScript.
Despite the fact that they have similar names they are completely different things.
Basically Java is this environment we have been talking about.
It is very powerful and is used by a small fraction of one percent of all the web sites
out there.
So a typical user may never run into Java.
JavaScript on the other hand is a scripting language that drives almost every web page
that you go to.
If you turn off JavaScript the web would look very different.
Many web sites would not work and others would show very simplified versions that looked
like they were from the nineties.
Now if you use Firefox here is how you would turn off Java there.
In there you don't go to Preferences but you go to Tools/Add-ons.
Under Add-Ons you click on Plugins here on the left and then you scroll down the list,
find Java Applet Plug-in and hit disable.
What about with Chrome?
Well with Chrome you go to Chrome/Preferences.
Preferences you click on Settings here on the left.
Then you go all the way down to the bottom, Show Advanced Settings, and under that you
scroll all the way down to the area Privacy/Content Settings under Privacy, and then you scroll
down in there to Disable Individual Plug-ins.
That brings up a whole other page and in Disable Individual Plug-ins you search in here for
Java, right here, and you hit Disable.
So what are the down sides to disabling Java?
Well if there is a web site that you go to that does use it then you might run into trouble.
The easiest way to find out is to disable it and then go about your business and you
will know sooner or later.
I disabled Java more than a year ago and I have yet to run into any web page that I use
and I surf all day long.
So it is probably a safe bet to turn it off especially in Safari where you can turn it
on so easily.
If you do run into a page occasionally that you have to turn Java on to access you can
turn it on, access that page, and then turn it off again.
Now Oracle, the owner of Java, has already fixed this flaw and chances are Java at least
will seem to be perfectly safe by the end of this week to use.
However, Java has run into many security flaws like this over and over again so if you are
not using Java it is probably best just to turn it off and then you don't have to worry
about Java security alerts at all anymore.
But I should also add that Java runs outside of the web browser as well.
Here it is a little bit more common.
There are some applications out there,,some of you may use, that require Java there for
some of the functionality.
But this is a whole different level because these are apps that you've installed and apps
from software vendors that you trust so you aren't really in any danger of running Java
on your system like that if you need to as long as you've turned it off in your browser
where you may be browsing one day and run into a web page that has a malicious piece
of Java on it.
So while there are those who recommend removing Java completely from you Mac that is a more
extreme step and something that I don't necessarily recommend.
So I hope you found this useful.
Until next time this is Gary with MacMost Now.