Important Computer Updates : JAVA

Getting Java Updated?

Apart from Microsoft updates there several others and one of those is Java. It's important to stay up-to-date with it so here is a little help. If you are a Google Chrome user then you may experience small issues but nothing to worry about - Google Chrome has changed the way it works with Java so you may get additional notices on the java website however, it wont stop you installing Java onto your computer. If you are using Firefox or Internet Explorer then you should be fine. The image below shows the update notification from Java, clicking the update notification as suggested should get you started - read on.

JAVA UPDATE NOTIFICATION

Java is a programming platform and lots of applications and websites use it. It is updated regularly to keep it secure and ensure you have the best experience form any java-run applications you may be using and any website you visit that requires java will also work at its best. Also it is possible that malicious adware etc can use the secirity holes in out of date versions of Java to infect your computer with rubbish - another reason to update it. More information about java can be found on their website : https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/whatis_java.xml

Java can take some time to install and there are times when you click the notification as shown in the image above and are informed after a short check that you have already got the latest version! In this case you should visit the java website directly and download the latest version yourself.

To do this go to  : http://java.com/en/

You will see a button like this - Click this, and then:

Choose to run or save, in most cases choosing 'Run' is just fine. It will be downloaded to your computer and started. Should you choose to 'Save' the file to your computer it will likely end up in the 'Downloads' folder or the last place you downloaded something to. From experience this can take a while depending on how much work actually needs doing on your computer, resources can be easily overwhelmed. Eventually you will get the installer window as shown below.

After this :

Then : 

If there are older versions on your computer you will get an option to remove them, you should do this.

You can use the on line tool from Java for removing older versions if this one did not show up or you simply want to check. It may also be better to use Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer for this task as Google Chrome has changed the way it works with Java. You will find it all under 'Help Resources' on the java website at http://www.java.com/en/download/help/