Why So Many Java Updates?

Rezident · 23 Jan 2014 at 17:40

There were two automatic updates of Java the other day and then today yet another Java update. There had not been many previously. Is anyone else getting this? Why are there so many updates? Seems a bit odd.

theheyes · 23 Jan 2014 at 17:45

The only thing worse than Java updates is no Java updates.

Rezident · 23 Jan 2014 at 17:58

As long as it's normal, just seems a bit excessive, worried it might be something dodgy if nobody else is getting them?

KIA · 23 Jan 2014 at 18:05

You should be running Java 7 Update 51. It was released on the 14th of this month. https://blogs.oracle.com/java/entry/java_se_7_update_51

#Chri5# · 23 Jan 2014 at 18:51

Rezident said:
There were two automatic updates of Java the other day and then today yet another Java update. There had not been many previously. Is anyone else getting this? Why are there so many updates? Seems a bit odd.

'Cos Java is full of more holes than an MPs expenses claim.

Personally, if you don't explicitly need Java, uninstall it.

Java, Flash and Acrobat are full of exploits (source)

but also clearly shows that Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash and Java are together responsible for two thirds of the vulnerabilities in Windows systems exploited by malware.

marc2003 · 23 Jan 2014 at 18:59

if you're getting 2 updates at once, perhaps you have 32bit and 64bit installed? you really don't need 64bit unless using a 64bit browser.

infact i can't remember the last time any website prompted me to allow java but i do keep it installed for a few .jar files i need to run.

bledd · 23 Jan 2014 at 19:47

I wish ms would make it an optional Windows update (via a reg key maybe).

It's a pita to administer it

Randomface74 · 23 Jan 2014 at 19:49

I'm surprised by the Java love, I basically consider it malware... it tries very hard to get on your system and persuade you it's fine because it's on millions of PCs... well.. so is stuxnet.

Orcvader · 23 Jan 2014 at 19:54

marc2003 said:
if you're getting 2 updates at once, perhaps you have 32bit and 64bit installed? you really don't need 64bit unless using a 64bit browser.

infact i can't remember the last time any website prompted me to allow java but i do keep it installed for a few .jar files i need to run.

This. It sounds like you have both versions installed if you're getting that many updates.

I only have 64-bit installed just for Minecraft

.

bledd · 23 Jan 2014 at 21:51

billysielu said:
I'm surprised by the Java love, I basically consider it malware... it tries very hard to get on your system and persuade you it's fine because it's on millions of PCs... well.. so is stuxnet.

Personally I hate it. All programs written in java are slow and a pain to use.

Emphacy · 23 Jan 2014 at 21:59

Ever programmed in Java? It's an amazing language and if it's written correctly it's as good as any other.

Sure, there are a few security issues with it but a good developer knows how to avoid those.
A bad programmer makes a bad program.

Dano · 23 Jan 2014 at 23:22

It would be nice if it had an auto update feature like adobe reader does these days, rather than having to continally go through the process every few weeks.

lsg1r · 24 Jan 2014 at 00:54

I just wish java 'cleanly' updated... the amount of times I've had to remove an old version is more annoying than the updates...

I wouldn't bother with it except one program I use needs java

bledd · 24 Jan 2014 at 07:51

Emphacy said:
Ever programmed in Java? It's an amazing language and if it's written correctly it's as good as any other.

Sure, there are a few security issues with it but a good developer knows how to avoid those.
A bad programmer makes a bad program.

The only program I've used that needs java that isn't a total shambles is JDiskReport. Everything else is a total mess or takes an age to load.

doodah · 24 Jan 2014 at 09:03

It's annoying because people I know get confused by them and ask me for help or there are those who constantly ignore them and get irritated as to why they keep showing.

KIA · 24 Jan 2014 at 12:15

Dano said:
It would be nice if it had an auto update feature like adobe reader does these days, rather than having to continally go through the process every few weeks.

No kidding. This is why it is the most commonly exploited web-plugin.

demonix · 24 Jan 2014 at 16:02

marc2003 said:
if you're getting 2 updates at once, perhaps you have 32bit and 64bit installed? you really don't need 64bit unless using a 64bit browser.

infact i can't remember the last time any website prompted me to allow java but i do keep it installed for a few .jar files i need to run.

Orcvader said:
This. It sounds like you have both versions installed if you're getting that many updates.

I only have 64-bit installed just for Minecraft .

As far as I know, there is no automatic update procedure for the 64-bit version of java (the update tab disappears if you have both 32 and 64 bit versions installed, so you can't even do update checks for the 32 bit version) so 64 bit version has to be manually updated by downloading the latest version.