Java – do you know if you need it?

Though most of the time you’re probably unaware of its existence, Java is installed on billions of gadgets and gizmos all over the world. Java is almost certainly installed on your PC, could well be on your smartphone and might even be lurking somewhere in your television.

Indeed, for most of us, the only evidence of Java’s existence is when a little dialogue box pops up in a web browser or the Windows Desktop, to say that a Java update is available and to ask if you’d like to download it.

So what is Java and what exactly is it doing on your PC’s hard disk? Here we explain what Java does for home PC users and whether you need it or not.

What is Java?
Oracle, the company behind Java, calls it ‘a programming language and computing platform’. And, as we said in the introduction, it runs on many different kinds of devices.

This is just as well because one of Java’s much-touted advantages for programmers is that, having written a game or program to run on a particular device, it’s relatively easy to move it to another one – so long as it too has Java.

Although there are a few proper desktop applications that use Java, most PC users will first encounter it on the internet where it’s usually implemented to make a site more interactive – many online gaming sites use Java, for example.

If you come across a website that needs Java and it’s not already installed on your computer, it will need to be downloaded before you can view the site’s content. Alternatively, if an out-of-date version of Java is installed, you will be urged to upgrade to the latest edition.

On the other hand, if you never happen to visit a website or otherwise try to run a program that requires Java, then your computer will trundle along without it quite happily. In other words, there’s no point installing Java just for the sake of it: stumble upon something that requires Java and the option to install it will be offered.

Installing Java
If you are keen and want to install and try Java before the need arises naturally, then launch a web browser and go to the Java website. Click the large red Free Java Download button followed by the Agree and Start Free Download button. If the File Download Security Warning dialogue box appears, click Save and then choose a location for the downloaded file.

Firefox users should select Save File to save the download to Firefox’s default download folder. Once downloaded, locate and double-click the file (its exact name will depend on the browser used to download it).

Now follow the installation wizard’s prompts, accepting the defaults, and after a moment, Java will be installed on your PC. Now visit a website that has some Java content. A good example of a Java-heavy website is the Pogo website: it plays host to hundreds of free-to-play games, all penned in Java.

 

Managing Java
Once installed, Java places a new item in the Control Panel. Click Start followed by Control Panel and then either switch to Classic View (Windows XP) or Small icons view (Windows Vista/7) and you will see the Java icon – double-click to open it.

There should rarely be cause to turn to this but it’s worth flitting through the options, just to see what’s available. If Java fails to update properly in your browser, for instance, click the Update tab followed by the Update Now button.

Java also updates itself automatically once a month. However, it has a habit of leaving old versions installed on your computer.

While this isn’t a huge concern it makes sense to remove outdated versions, as they represent a security risk (like Windows, newer versions of Java are often released because they fix various security ‘holes’ that unscrupulous types can exploit). The latest version of Java will fill the shoes of the older ones, so you don’t really need them.

To do this in Windows XP, click Start followed by Control Panel, switch to Classic View and then double-click Add/Remove Programs. Once the list of installed programs appears, scroll down to Java and make sure only one instance appears there; if there are several, remove them one at a time, starting with the oldest by selecting them and then clicking Remove. At the next dialogue click Yes and the uninstaller will do its stuff.

For Vista or Windows 7, click the Start button and choose Control Panel. Now click the Uninstall a program link (below the Programs heading). When the program list loads, find any old versions of Java and remove them in turn, by clicking on each one and then clicking the Uninstall button – and then follow the displayed instructions.

Stay up to date
Although Java is mostly invisible and can be readily forgotten on a day-to-day basis, it is still an important part of many a computer’s plumbing. So if you see a message asking you to install Java or update your version to the latest edition, you will know that you are visiting a website or running a program that requires it – and you should keep it up to date.

Enable or disable Java in your web browser

 

1. Visit Java's home page and when the page loads, click the Do I Have Java? link on the front page. Then click the large red Verify. Java version button.

 

2. If the website doesn’t detect Java on your PC, then follow the instructions above under the heading 'Installing Java' to install it. Otherwise, in Internet Explorer, open the Tools menu and choose Manage Add-ons from the menu. Select Java Plug-in and then click the Enable button.

 

3. Using Firefox? Open the Tools menu and choose Add-ons. When the dialogue box appears, click the Plugins button at the top. Find the Java Platform entry in the list and click Enable.