Department of Homeland Security advises computer users to disable Java

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

No, we are not talking about coffee

java_logoWASHINGTON (AP) ― The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has advised computer users to disable Java.

The recommendation came in an advisory issued late Thursday, January 10, 2013, following up on concerns raised by computer security experts.

Experts believe hackers have found a flaw in Java's coding that creates an opening for criminal activity and other high-tech mischief.

Java is a widely used technical language that allows computer programmers to write a wide variety of Internet applications and other software programs that can run on just about any computer's operating system.

Oracle Corp., who bought Java as part of a $7.3 billion acquisition of the software's creator, Sun Microsystems, in 2010, had no immediate comment with regards to this apparent problem and security risk.

Having an Internet Browser with an automatic block of Java script is, therefore important and Firefox (though I am not sure about Microsoft's Internet Explorer) blocks scripts by default and both Google Chrome and Opera can have extensions fitted to do so.

It is always good to assume that any script that is being run on a website could, potentially, be malicious and thus it is advisable to keep scripts blocked (unless one is 110% sure that the site has not been compromised).

© 2013