Over the weekend, security firm FireEye spotted a new attack that exploits a vulnerability in Java to install a piece of malware called “Poison Ivy Trojan,” which communicates with command and control servers in China and Singapore.
Couple this with other serious, cross-platform Java exploits that have occurred over the past year and you’ve got a recipe for computing headaches and compromised data security.
Your best line of defense is to disable Java in your web browser of choice.
To do so, please take a look at the following..
How to Disable Java in Chrome / Chromium:
- Type “about:plugins” (no quotes) into the Chrome address bar
- Find your Java plugin in the list and click “disable”
How to Disable Java in Firefox:
- Type “about:addons” (no quotes) into the Firefox address bar
- Find your Java plugin in the list and click “disable”
How to Disable Java in Internet Explorer:
Don’t even bother. If you care about browser security, you would be better off installing Chrome or Firefox and ditching Internet Explorer completely. If you must use Internet Explorer, you can disable Java applets by going to [Tools Menu] > Internet Options > Security (tab) and clicking the “Custom Level” button at the bottom of the window. Scroll down in the “Security Settings” box until you see “Scripting of Java Applets,” and click the “Disable” or “Prompt” radio button. This will disable the loading of Applets on webpages.
