Java Development Toolkit

I recently started using Firefox because Chrome no longer supports Silverlight, which websites like Sky Go need to stream video content. Since installing Firefox, I can't use certain Java pop-up features on Chess.com such as the "Finish Game versus Computer" function. Instead of displaying the chessboard, I see a message saying "Activate Java". When I click this, a Firefox popup appears saying that the Java Development Toolkit (click-to-play) function is on Firefox's block list because it is known to be insecure. Anyone else have this problem? Can I just go ahead and enable it? Thanks

Well, Chrome is hinting to you that Silverlight isn't secure. From what I've heard, even Microsoft is giving up on Silverlight.

Firefox is directly telling you that Java in the browser isn't secure. I believe Firefox. However, if you choose to ignore the advice, I guess there's probably a way to enable Java in Firefox.

(By the way, Adobe Flash Player is becoming insecure, too.)

Personally, I unplugged Java from my browser (actually, I completely uninstalled Java from my PC, although that wasn't really necessary), I uninstalled Silverlight, and, although I keep Flash Player updated, I keep it disabled unless I really, really need to use it.

FWIW, my views are probably in the minority here, since most people just want to play the computer.  (A small consolation is that V3 will not require the use of Java to play the computer; However, who knows when V3 will actually be pushed out for the masses?)

Oh, and one more thing (as Columbo would say)...It's usually not a good idea to click on links that offer to update something. Better to search out the update so that you know you're getting a legit update.

EscherehcsE, thanks for the advice, it's much appreciated. Interestingly, I just watched a program on Amazon Prime, and halfway through, the browser froze and I got a message telling me the Silverlight plug-in had crashed - well what d'ya know! I never had these problems using the Google Chrome browser, so I guess I'll go back to that and just not use any sites that need Silverlight. I kind of had a feeling that if Google was discontinuing support for something, it would be with good reason.

Micro$oft seems to have a habit of coming out with junky programs like IE and silverlight not to mention most of their osses. The good programs they discontinue like xp. Still using xp but not with ie and with a good antivirus, it works fine.

 Good news! I believe this is fixed in v3 :)

v3 of what? The JDT?

Chess.com

That's what I was saying...Chess.com's V3 won't require Java at all. (Or so I've been told by staff.)

 Yup, you were right, and yes, no java is used in Chess.com Version 3.... Only Javascript (not related to Java :))

Aha, I wondered if that's what you meant, but I didn't know a major update was coming.

Read more about v3 here :)

http://www.chess.com/blog/webmaster/a-new-chesscom-is-coming-soon?ncc=2

Read all about V3 there, except for a believable estimate of when it's actually going to be rolled out...

thanks! Very interesting.

 we're anticipating to be done this summer :) that blog ppost is old, and it never had the updated date added :(

Don't run Java from your browser...

Other tidbits you might want to know:

Use online Email, never use Microsoft Outlook

Avoid ActiveX and Silverlight whenever possible

Avoid Adobe products like the plague

Never install iTunes or Quicktime, you will never gret rid of them

The overall lesson?  Stay away from proprietary add-ons/technology by default...you might think that having a company specifically support a platform they control without allowing input on standards, etc. would make it more secure...but it's the opposite.

btickler, you might as well say just don't use a computer, surely? How can I use a computer without using things like ActiveX, Outlook (ok, that's fairly simple to avoid, but I find the program very useful), Adobe products (every time someone sends me a pdf), I don't particularly use iTunes, but it's installed on my PC...

It's actually pretty easy to avoid all of those, with the exception of Adobe Reader for PDFs.  

Wait a minute. I thought Adobe Reader is the easiest one to avoid? I've used PDF-XChange Viewer for a while ( http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer ), although recently I also tried out Sumatra PDF ( http://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/free-pdf-reader.html ).

Well, I just learned some interesting details about Chrome's dropping support of Silverlight. In Chrome ver 42, which just came out, Chrome disabled the NPAPI plugin, which allows the use of Java and Silverlight in Chrome. When Chrome ver 45 comes out (around September?), the NPAPI plugin will be eliminated entirely.

However, if someone MUST use Silverlight (or even *shudder* Java) in Chrome (pre ver 45), it IS possible to re-enable the NPAPI plugin. In the Chrome URL window, you would have to type Chrome://flags then enable the NPAPI plugin. (Chrome warns you that these settings are experimental.)

I haven't actually tried to do this, and I would also recommend that you try hard to not use either Java or Silverlight. But if you must use one of them in Chrome, at least there seems to be a way to do it for a little while longer.