Java Auto Updates

Muppet81

The most irritating thing on my new laptop is the constant interruption by Java to advise me that there are updates. Driving me MAAAAAD!

Not too sure what Java actually does for me, assume it probably is better to keep it on. If updates are essential then fine but I read somewhere that java updates can be large and do not replace previous but sit by them so can clog up your system. Is this so?

Would turning off autoupdate be a bad thing? If I did, presume I could run a manual check every so often. if so, how often and how would i do this?

Want to keep my new laptop clean, tidy and not clogged up but want to do whatever necessary to keep it safe. Running Avast and malwarebytes free versions for this.

Advice would be much appreciated.

John_Gray

Uninstall the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and see if anything objects. You can always reinstall it if it is actually needed.
Most developers use Flash now instead of Java (LibreOffice and the going-obsolete Open Office being exceptions).

andy2004

why not just disable automatic updates of java, never had any problems with mine, i usually goto filehippo and check on fileupdate using their free tool update checker.

mart44

Ditto to andy 2004 on both points. In addition to that, I keep Java disabled in the browsers because Java applets are said to be a popular attack vector for malware. I haven't noticed a disadvantage to keeping Java disabled. It is kept installed and updated so that it can always be enabled if needs be.

Muppet81

mart44 wrote: »

Ditto to andy 2004 on both points. In addition to that, I keep Java disabled in the browsers because Java applets are said to be a popular attack vector for malware. I haven't noticed a disadvantage to keeping Java disabled. It is kept installed and updated so that it can always be enabled if needs be.

I am OK to disble auto update but how do I disable java in my IE8 Browser?

spud17

Muppet81 wrote: »

I am OK to disble auto update but how do I disable java in my IE8 Browser?

I'm running without Java, so can't check, but it's going to be Tools/Manage addons.
Find the Java plugin and there will be a way to disable it.

mart44

I haven't used IE very much but I remember someone here having trouble a while ago disabling Java in IE. I think it ultimately turned out to be done like this:

http://techlogon.com/2011/11/05/how-to-disable-java-in-ie/

See the sub-title: How To Disable Java in IE – Final Solution. It's worth reading the entire page for information purposes.

esuhl

When I installed Secunia PSI a few years ago I discovered that I had multiple instances of Java (including some old ones with security vulnerabilities). The problem occurred a few times, but hasn't happened recently. Might be worth downloading it for a quick scan...

John_Gray

Muppet81 wrote: »

I am OK to disable auto update but how do I disable java in my IE8 Browser?

You may be confusing the Java (Runrime Environment), JRE, with Javascript which is what browsers use. Why the names are so similar, I don't know...

mart44

John_Gray wrote: »

Why the names are so similar, I don't know...

There is an explanation in the Wikipedia page linked to below. See the first two paragraphs under the 'History' heading:

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/JavaScript