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Java stir puts Sun in a spot
Tech News on ZDNet ^ | December 7, 2004 | Dawn Kawamoto

Posted on 12/09/2004 1:34:07 PM PST by UseYourHead

A flaw in Sun Microsystems' Java software has highlighted the difficulty the company faces as flocks of tech novices start to turn to it for support.

Sun disclosed a serious security flaw in its Java virtual machine (JVM) software last month. The rare problem, which affects Sun's plug-in for running Java on a variety of Web browsers and operating systems, could allow a virus to spread through PCs running both Microsoft Windows and Linux.

A flaw-free version of the JVM software is available on Sun's Web site, and the company is encouraging people to swap it out. But some users of the Firefox Web browser who attempted to download the new software received a version that contained the vulnerability, Sun representatives told CNET News.com.

On Tuesday, Sun was in the process of updating the download pages on Java.com and its download site to fix that problem, having previously said it would make the change on Dec. 13.

Sun said the mix-up in support arose because it had not had a chance to update the download features for Firefox. It also said that it first concentrated on developing a patch for the more pervasive browsers--Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape and Mozilla.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: computersecurity; firefox; ie; java; security
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This security flaw in the Sun JVM can affect FireFox users, of which there are suddenly many out there. Take note and patch up.
1 posted on 12/09/2004 1:34:08 PM PST by UseYourHead
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To: UseYourHead

Wow. Write once, infect anywhere. (c8


2 posted on 12/09/2004 1:34:53 PM PST by Poohbah (Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!)
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To: UseYourHead

Dos 2.0


3 posted on 12/09/2004 1:36:18 PM PST by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: UseYourHead

Geez, and I just updated to that version last week because the previous version was giving me problems.


4 posted on 12/09/2004 1:36:20 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Congratulations President-Re-Elect George W. Bush!)
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To: UseYourHead; ShadowAce; rdb3

Thanks for the info.


5 posted on 12/09/2004 1:39:48 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (A Proud member of Free Republic ~~The New Face of the Fourth Estate since 1996.)
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To: A CA Guy

Wasn't the unwritten rule, "Never trust and even numbered version of DOS"?


6 posted on 12/09/2004 1:40:43 PM PST by UseYourHead (Smith & Wesson: The original point-and-click interface)
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To: UseYourHead
Wasn't the unwritten rule, "Never trust and even numbered version of DOS"?

The only DOS in my estimation that was worth it's weight in gold was DOS 6.2

7 posted on 12/09/2004 1:43:45 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Congratulations President-Re-Elect George W. Bush!)
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To: UseYourHead

Sun Micro/Java update is still confusing.

They are showing the current version as 1.4.2_05 on one web page and 1.4.2_06 on another web page. On another of their websites, they are showing Java 5.0 which they admit is also Java 1.5.

If you download and upgrade, you probably should be looking for Java 5.0, which is also called Java 2 Platform, just in case they haven't been confusing enough already.

Link to download 5.0: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.jsp


8 posted on 12/09/2004 1:46:05 PM PST by TomGuy (America: Best friend or worst enemy. Choose wisely.)
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To: UseYourHead

BTTT


9 posted on 12/09/2004 1:47:35 PM PST by Fiddlstix (This Tagline for sale. (Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: TomGuy

The one I have installed is 1.4.2_06


10 posted on 12/09/2004 1:47:50 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Congratulations President-Re-Elect George W. Bush!)
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To: BigSkyFreeper

I liked PC DOS 7.0 with the 4DOS command interpretor.


11 posted on 12/09/2004 1:47:59 PM PST by BullDog108 (Know Your Enemy! http://bvml.org/webmaster/enemy.html)
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To: BigSkyFreeper
The only DOS in my estimation that was worth it's weight in gold was DOS 6.2

Any PC tech back in the day needed to have those 3 floppies with them at all times.

12 posted on 12/09/2004 1:48:56 PM PST by frog_jerk_2004
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To: TomGuy

When you do the auto-install from their main page, it will take you to the auto-install webpage, and will install version 1.4.2_06


13 posted on 12/09/2004 1:49:01 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Congratulations President-Re-Elect George W. Bush!)
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To: TomGuy

Here is the link that will auto-detect your browser and set you up for the latest JVM:

http://jdl.sun.com/webapps/getjava/BrowserRedirect?locale=en&host=www.java.com:80


14 posted on 12/09/2004 1:50:57 PM PST by UseYourHead (Smith & Wesson: The original point-and-click interface)
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To: frog_jerk_2004

Only time I ever needed the three disks was when I was installing from scratch, aside from that, worked like a charm.


15 posted on 12/09/2004 1:51:33 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Congratulations President-Re-Elect George W. Bush!)
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To: BigSkyFreeper
The only DOS in my estimation that was worth it's weight in gold was DOS 6.2

That's what I always thought though to keep the rule straight they should have numbered it DOS 7.0 - little did I know that was the DOS version for Windows 9X.

16 posted on 12/09/2004 1:53:39 PM PST by UseYourHead (Smith & Wesson: The original point-and-click interface)
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To: TomGuy
Plus, if you need 1.3.1_x for compatibility -- we do -- one page says the current version is 1.3.1_13 and the download page says 1.3.1_14.

Sure looks like the feces may have come into contact with the air-handling system at Sun.

17 posted on 12/09/2004 1:56:31 PM PST by newgeezer (Just my opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.)
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To: UseYourHead

DOS 7 is just like DOS 6 except that you have support for long file names. That's the only difference and why Win 9x used DOS 7 because Win 9x was the first MS operating system to support long filenames instead of the DOS 6 8x3 filename routine.


18 posted on 12/09/2004 1:59:13 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Congratulations President-Re-Elect George W. Bush!)
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To: Poohbah
Write once, debug everywhere. Debug on every known browser and operating system. Waste massive amounts of disk space keeping multiple JVMs around to cover multiple generations of Java applications/applets. The old "DLL Hell" of Microsoft gives way to multiple JVM hell from Sun. Good thing disk space is cheap.
19 posted on 12/09/2004 2:03:45 PM PST by Myrddin
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To: newgeezer
Sure looks like the feces may have come into contact with the air-handling system at Sun.

When I was still in the military I learned that there was a word for the sound that makes - Marine! Of course a Marine Corps Captain heard me tell that little bit of humor and he was NOT happy. So, I burned his shot record.

20 posted on 12/09/2004 2:06:03 PM PST by UseYourHead (Smith & Wesson: The original point-and-click interface)
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