Java Update to kill the BEAST

Phone Man said:

Although I have not had Java on my systems for the past 6 Months I started this thread to inform those that use it to be sure and get it updated. Now if I could just do without Flash I would have a safer system.

Jim

Couldn't agree more. :)

Finally the developers of Java get it: Alert: Java’s Forward-Compatibility Promise Has Been Revised - Microsoft's USGCB Tech Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Should you continue to use older versions of Java, or even have them installed on your systems? Probably not – the risk is obviously high. Oracle (which acquired Sun Microsystems and Java) specifically recommends that you do not. Says Oracle:

We highly recommend users remove all older versions of Java from your system.
Keeping old and unsupported versions of Java on your system presents a serious security risk.

MowGreen began the campaign in 2005 attempting to convince Sun Microsystems (then the owner of Java before Oracle's purchase) to change the Java auto-updater to uninstall previous (vulnerable) versions of the program. At that time, the current version was Java JRE 5.0 Update 5.

Three years later, with JRE SE 6u11, the update mechanism for Java was finally changed to remove the previous install. However, it did not remove installations prior to update 10.

Wow. Good thing I never trust auto-updates (except to check for new versions, but not auto-install them).

As others have said, and as my sig says, java is not needed, and is becoming more so as each day passes.

I only have Java on my laptop because from time to time I use an app called Your Freedom which runs in Java. Practically never use it in Firefox, though.