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How do I disable Java in my browser?
Question of the day: I read your blog about the Java exploit. I want to remove it from my computer. How do I do that?
Thanks for reading the avast! blog. As Jiri Sejtko described in our blog today, serious security flaws in Java version 7 allow hackers to take control of PCs and Macs. The Avast Virus Lab is releasing generic detections and using behavioral and dynamical detection mechanisms to protect our users, however they also recommend that you disable Java in your browsers. The Virus Lab explains the exploit in details on our blog, and here are instructions on how to unplug Java from different browsers.
For Windows: go to Start > Control Panel, click the Uninstall a program link. Find Java on the list of programs. If you have version 7, uninstall it.
For Mozilla Firefox: From the main menu select Tools > Add-ons. In the Add-on management window, choose Plugins. Find any plugins on the list that say Java and click the Disable button. Restart Firefox.
For Google Chrome: Type “chrome://plugins/” (minus the quotes) into the browser address bar. Find any plugins on the list that say Java and click the Disable button.
For Internet Explorer: I have been told that disabling Java in IE is complicated. The U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team (USCERT) has some steps here. This may be a good time to switch to a different browser.
For Safari: Click Preferences > Security tab > uncheck the Enable Java option.
For Opera: Type “opera:plugins” (minus the quotes) into the browser’s address bar. Find any plugins on the list that say Java and click the Disable button.
For OS X 10.7 and 10.8: go to Macintosh HD/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/ and remove the 1.7.0.jdk file. Older versions of OS X run Java 6.
Also, make sure that you have up-to-date avast! antivirus protection because avast! detects the latest Java zero day exploit in real time as Java:Dong-A [Expl] . We would appreciate your recommendation as well. We make it easy to share with your Facebook friends via our Recommend avast! app. Thank you!
edit: added Opera instructions
IE’s long good-bye
It was bound to happen. Some years back, that upstart Firefox tempted us with tabs, add-ons and fun themes. And it seems like only yesterday that Chrome’s speed and minimalist design seduced us even further. Yes, it was bound to happen.
For the first time in ten years, tech blogs are reporting that Microsoft’s web browser, the ubiquitous Internet Explorer, has fallen below 50 percent of global browser usage (you have to factor in mobile browser usage to make the numbers add up). Once the undisputed leader in market share, residing on an astounding 95 percent of the world’s desktops, browser watchers say that IE is in steady decline.
Whether the numbers work or not, and whether IE’s decline can be attributed more to the rise of mobile browsers, than a migration of users to different browsers, we thought it would be fun to look at which browsers avast! users prefer. Here is a breakdown of browser usage among avast! users this year. Looks like our users are ahead of the trend!
Security reminder: An interesting and dangerous fact is that there is still major usage of old versions of Internet Explorer. IE 6 and 7, which are not supported on any version of Windows, are still used by over 25 percent of Internet Explorer users, which equals a bit over 13 percent of all desktop users. Whether you use Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome (or any of the others), to keep your computer secure, please make sure you have the most recent browser version and install any patches that are available.
Four browser nets and one phish
Not all browser nets can catch the same phish. One Friday evening, just before I wanted to go home, I received an interesting email.
It contained sentences like “ We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your PayPal account
may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party” and words like “protected“, “security” and “unauthorized“. Of course, at the end of the email, there were directions to click on a “Paypal” link to update information like login name and password.
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