Chat

[Max1013]

I can't get into the chat the darn Java program will not install.

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

AJ, sorry you are having problems. If you get the question to upgrade, choose "later". At least that is what has worked for me.

Steve H.

 

[golfdad]

Same here...cant get in

 

[smallboat]

me too

 

[smallboat]

not getting a java msg
just an empty pop up window

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

You may want to check with Ethan (ehpoole) and see if he can help.

Steve H.

 

[ehpoole]

not getting a java msg
just an empty pop up window

An empty popup window means that your web browser has disabled the Java plugin/addon.

A little history first
Several weeks ago there was a security issue that affected many (though not all) versions of Oracle/Sun Java. For the brief period before there was a security patch there were some widespread exploits of this security weakness that primarily affected those without effective antivirus protection. Because the weakness was being actively exploited many web browsers surreptitiously disabled the Java plugin/addon within their Pluging/Addon Managers without any notice to their users. In the case of Firefox, they really overreacted and blocked *every* version of Java that ever existed for a period of time despite the fact that there were versions for which there was no evidence the exploit affected.

The actual security bulletins were issued on a Friday and by the following Monday Oracle had released a patched version of Java 7 (the most recent version of Java 6 was unaffected) and most web browsers, including Firefox, issued more reasonable blocks that disabled only the affected versions of Java. However, if you have a known weak installation of Java (either earlier version of Java 6 prior to update 38 or Java 7 prior to update 11) then you will need to first upgrade your installation of Java to a current "safe" version. After the upgrade Java should automatically be re-enabled, if it is not then you will need to go into your web browser's Plugin/Addon Manager to manually re-enable the Java plugin/addon.

The current "safe" versions of Java are: 1) Java 6 update 38 or 2) Java 7 update 11.

What to do
First upgrade to the latest "safe" version of Java (either of the above). For Windows users, go to the Control Panel, then click on the Java item. Switch to the "Update" tab and then click the "Update Now" button. When the option to update is presented (a new window) you will need to close the Java Control Panel app along with any opened web browser instances to continue with the update install.

When the update is completed, start your web browser(s) and switch to their Plugin/Addon Managers to verify that the Java plugins/addons are all enabled now -- or just try to initiate a Chat with our Chat Room, if it works then Java is enabled.

Closing
So much of the confusion stems from the web browser's all quietly disabling Java (a rather important plugin) without providing any notice to the user that they were doing so. If they had at least warned everyone that they were disabling the plugin and that you needed to update then a lot of this confusion could have been avoided, but that is not how most chose to handle the event.

This is also a good time to verify that your web browser has also been updated to the latest version, so take a moment to do the same if you wish. You can find out what your current web browser version is (in most browsers) from the "About" screen (typically accessed via Help/About). In many cases, updates for third-party web browsers can be initiated either from the "Help/About" screen or via an "Update" option under the "Help" menu.

 

[ehpoole]

I can't get into the chat the darn Java program will not install.

I can only speak for Windows users (I don't know what OS you are currently using).

On Windows PCs I have seen instances where one receives "Certificate Error" messages when trying to manually or automatically updating Oracle Java. Typically you will see this "Certificate Error" notice as a popup that magically pops up on your Windows Desktop whenever Java attempts to update -- either manually or automatically. You are then asked whether you wish to continue or cancel, but continuing always fails to progress any further if you are not logged into an account with full Administrator permissions on your PC.

If you get this error, then there are three possible known workarounds to update Java on your Windows PC.

Option 1 - Login as an Administrator
If you are not logged in with a user account that has full "Administrator" permissions, login to your Administrator-enabled user account. Then proceed to initiate a manual update from the Java Control Panel interface -- go to Control Panel, click on the Java item, wait a moment for it to start, then switch to the "Update" tab and click the "Update Now" button to begin the update check. If an update is necessary (you'll see another window for the Updater) then you will need to close the Java Control Panel app and any open web browsers to proceed with the update.

Option 2 - Uninstall then Reinstall Oracle Java
Another option for dealing with the error is to go ahead and manually uninstall the old version of Java, then visit http://www.java.com and instal the latest version of Java.

To uninstall, go to the Windows Control Panel, then click on "Programs and Features" (Vista or later), then scroll down the list of installed applications and uninstall any instances named "Java xxxx". Next, open your favored web browser and navigate to http://www.java.com to begin the re-installation of the latest version of Java direct from Oracle.

Option 3 - Run "javacpl.exe" As Administrator
The third and final option is to manually run the Java Control Panel app as Administrator. However, doing so direct from the Control Panel does not tend to yield the desired behavior. To successfully run the Java app with Administrator privileges will require that we launch its executable directly by first navigating to it with the Windows Explorer file manager.

First, launch the Windows Explorer file manager (Start/All Programs/Accessories/Windows Explorer) then navigate to either of the following possible locations: (32-bit OS) C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin\javacpl.exe *or* (64-bit OS) C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7\bin\javacpl.exe (Note: for Java 6, it will be the "jre6" folder) for the 32-bit versions of Oracle Java.

When you find the "javacpl.exe" file in either of the above folders, *right-click* on this file, then choose the "Run as Administrator" option from the popup window. If asked to provide your Administrator password, go ahead and do so. This will effectively launch the Java Control Panel app with full Administrator privileges, which will allow the update to proceed.

From the Java Control Panel app, switch to the "Update" tab, then click the "Update Now" button to begin the update. If an update is necessary (you'll see another window for the Updater) then you will need to close the Java Control Panel app and any open web browsers to proceed with the update.

Closing
I have not had a chance to figure out why the "Certificate Error" issue crops up on some computers, but it does at times and once it does so it tends to be rather stubborn as uninstalling and reinstalling does not typically make it go away. I do know that any of the 3 solutions above will allow you to work around the error if it happens to you.

 

[gator]

When the first Java alerts came out on the internet, I, being overly cautious, went in and deleted Java from my computer. When I went to log into the chat last night I got the screen message that Java was needed. Having heard that the scare was over, I went ahead and clicked on the 'download' icon. Everything downloaded correctly in about ten minutes. You might try to completely delete the program and start from scratch to download.

George