Want to secure your computer from hackers? Slate writer Will Oremus has some straightforward advice: Disable Java. The issue? Hackers have had an easy time of late uncovering holes in Java\u2019s browser plug-in. Last year, you\u2019ll recall, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning about Java\u2019s security issues. Then this February, another Java weakness left what Oremus says is hundreds of millions of Internet users at risk from massive malware attacks. So Oremus\u2019 advice is sound: If you want to keep personal information and files safe, you\u2019ll want to disable Java.<\/p>\n
Skip the patch<\/strong><\/p>\n Oremus feels so passionately about this, he advises computer users to not bother with patches to cover up Java\u2019s vulnerabilities. Preferably instead, he proposes that users disable the program. Why? Because most of us rarely use it. Relatively few Web sites today are powered by Java applets. When you disable Java, you aren\u2019t erasing it from your computer. You\u2019re just keeping it quiet. Oremus recommends that if you require Java to view certain key Web sites to keep Java enabled in a secondary Web browser which you only use when you need to access a Java-controlled site.<\/p>\n