With all the news about security holes, hacking, vulnerabilities and tons of other stuff all relating to simply having java installed on your computer, I figured now might be a good time to go over how to disable Java (not to be confused with JavaScript which is completely different, or java, aka coffee, which shouldn’t probably not be in your computer already).

For most people you don’t need Java to do 99% of the web.  There are a few sites, and you need to be carefully in what you allow to install java apps on your computer.  Only do so for sites you completely trust!  But for most of you out there it’s probably in your best interest to turn java off.  Heck even the US government is telling people to disable it!

And here’s how to do that.

Option 1:  Completely removing from your computer

Java isn’t just a website plugin.  Many applications on your computer may need it in order to work properly.  Minecraft (a popular game), Photoshop (productivity tool), and many custom business apps require java to work.  However if you aren’t among those people, removing it completely probably is your best bet.  In fact the Mac platform even removes it completely if you haven’t used it in few weeks.

Removing from a Mac:

To uninstall Java 7 (directly from Java’s website) – 

1. Search for JavaAppletPlugin.plugin (This will find the JavaAppletPlugin.plugin file)
2. Move it to the Trash
3. (Alternatively for the terminal savy): sudo rm -fr /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

To uninstall Java 6 –

This doesn’t technically remove it but does remove the runtime engine which for all purposes removes it from your machine.

1. First to to the /System/Library/Frameworks/ directory and remove the file “JavaVM.framework,” which contains the Java run times.
2. Empty the contents of the following directories on the system which link to the run times in the framework:
   1. /System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines
   2. /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines

Removing from a PC:

Windows 7 and Vista users can go to Control Panel -> Programs. Older versions of Windows will be under Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs.

Find Java in the Program list, highlight it and choose Uninstall. Windows will prompt you to confirm. Say yes.

Option 2:  Removing from browsers (Isolating it on your computer to just the computer)

Ok option 2.  You need it for some program that you run on your machine.  So what to do?  Disable java on your web browsers so you don’t accidentally run software you don’t mean to. If you have multiple web browsers you’ll need to do this for each piece of software.

Mac/PC – Safari

Open up Safari preference.  Choose the Security section.  Uncheck Enable Java. That’s it.  Pretty straight forward.

Mac/PC – Firefox

In Firefox  go to the “Tools” menu and choose  “Add-ons”.  From there choose the plugin section and scroll down to your version of java you have installed.  Click on the disable button.  This should cause the row to grey out. and button turned to Enable.

Mac/PC – Chrome

Chrome is a bit more hidden.  Open up the Chrome Preferences, and scroll down to “show advanced options”.  Scroll down to the Privacy section, and click on “Content settings…”.  Then Scroll to Plug-ins, and click “Disable individual plug-ins…” which will open a new page.

On the plug-in tab scroll to find “Java. Click on “disable”.

PC – Internet Explorer

Oh Internet Explorer… ok.  So I don’t have it on my machine (since I have a Mac) but this is the best instructions i found on how to disable it in IE.  I’m so sorry (why are you still using IE???)  This comes from Sophos’s website (a computer security company)

These steps were derived from advice given in CERT’s vulnerability note on CVE 2012-4681.

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Type ALT + T to activate the Tools menu and choose Manage Plugins. Choose “All items” from the Show drop-down menu. Disable “Java Plug-in –version number–.” It is safe to simply disable all of the items that begin with Java, but be sure to get this one. Close Internet Explorer.
   
3. Type WINDOWS + R and type regedit (approve UAC prompt if necessary). Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Plug-in\{version}\UseJava2IExplorer and change (Default) to 0. 64-bit Windows users will need to change HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\JavaSoft\Java Plug-in\{version}\UseJava2IExplorer to 0.
   
4. Open Notepad (WINDOWS + R and type notepad) and paste the following code into it:
   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{8AD9C840-044E-11D1-B3E9-00805F499D93}]"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{8AD9C840-044E-11D1-B3E9-00805F499D93}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0000-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0000-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0000-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0000-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0001-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0001-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0002-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0002-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0003-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0003-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0004-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0004-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0005-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0005-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0006-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-0017-0006-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{CAFEEFAC-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
5. Click File -> Save As… and call it DisableJava.reg and put it on your Desktop.
6. Double-click the file on your Desktop and approve any UAC prompts.

At this point Java should be disabled.

With all of these options you can see if you even have managed to block it.  You can see if Java is still active by visiting http://java.com. Click on the “Do I have Java?” and then click on verify java version button.  If it says it’s unable to verify, you’ve probably been successful.