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According to the news there's java security hole that is still not fixed. How can Ubuntu users protect their PC? I've got gnome-shell installed and as far as I understand it depends on java. Which packages should I remove?

There's a guide for Mac users at Mozilla's site, but not for Linux. How to turn off Java applets

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3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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For Firefox,
Open Tools/Add-ons/Plugins (Keyboard shortcut is Shift+Ctrl+A) and find it on the list. Click the 'Disable' button to the right of it to disable the plugin. (Note that I've never bothered installing it so it's not present in my screenshot. If you have it installed you will see it here.)

FF plugins

For Chrome,
Go to chrome://plugins/. Find it in the list of plugins and click on 'Disable'. (Once again I am using Flash in my screenshot example because I never installed Java.)

Chrome plugins dialog

Note that the Java plugin and Javascript are two different things. See here [Java.com] or here [stackoverflow.com] for an explanation of the differences.

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According Ubuntu Help (installation guide) these packages are the ones related to java plugin for browsers:

icedtea6-plugin icedtea-7-plugin

Try remove them.

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Your browser should have the option to disable Java plugin.

For Chrome:

enter image description here

Under the Plug-ins section of the settings url: chrome://settings/content select "Block All".

With this option enabled, when you want to run plugins on a page you have 3 options:

1.Right click on the plugin and choose "Run this plug-in" from the context menu

2.Click the plugin icon in the URL bar and choose "Run all plug-ins this time

3.Add an exception for sites you trust so that they can run plugins without your explicit permission each time

Source - Dan Herbert

For Firefox

By default, Firefox allows Java applets to launch automatically. However, you may decide that you do not want Java applets to run. To disable Java applets in Firefox:

1.At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button (Tools menu in Windows XP), and then click Add-ons. The Add-ons Manager tab will open.

2.In the Add-ons Manager tab, select the Plugins panel.

3.Click on the Java (TM) Platform plugin to select it.

4.Click on the Disable button (if the button says Enable, Java is already disabled).

enter image description here

Java applets will no longer be permitted to launch in Firefox.

Source Source 2

If you want to remove Java from your system, simply remove the packages you have installed.

To search Java packages, in a console type

dpkg -l java
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  • what about the dependencies? IMO gnome-shell is java-based.
    – user73331
    Aug 29, 2012 at 9:41
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    though "The vulnerability has nothing to do with JavaScript."
    – user73331
    Aug 29, 2012 at 9:42
  • When you first open the question you didn't specify the kind of vulnerability. Besides the article says: "Please, for the love of your computer, disable Java on your browser." And you should really read the article with attention and less paranoia. "So far, all of the exploits reported to be in the wild attack Windows PCs, but according to Errata Security CTO David Maynor, it's not hard exploit Mac and Linux machines that have the latest version of Java from Oracle installed. Neither platform has it installed by default, however."
    – LnxSlck
    Aug 29, 2012 at 9:44
  • I just have to recommend you reading any IT related media news as of today or yesterday keep the track of what's going on. The link I provided is just one among thousands. One more "The vulnerability affects all operating systems. In theory, a virus author could program malware that exploits the hole to infect Windows, Mac OS X and Linux computers. Only a few operating system-specific adjustments would need to be made." h-online.com/security/features/…
    – user73331
    Aug 29, 2012 at 9:56
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    Java is NOT JavaScript. -1
    – Eloff
    Jan 14, 2013 at 17:44

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