If you heard today’s Deemable Tech segment during Morning Edition, you know that you need to disable Java on your web browser, now! If you didn’t hear today’s Deemable Tech segment, you should listen to it, and well, you read the last sentence, so now you know too. It’s not just our opinion, either. The Department of Homeland Security put out an urgent advisory in January for everyone to disable Java now, unless it is absolutely necessary for you to use it. What you need to know now is how to disable Java, now.

Keep in mind, if you regularly visit a website that uses Java, that website will not work once you disable Java. To reenable Java, simply follow the directions again, and enable Java instead of disabling it. Also, you should probably call and complain to the company that owns the website, and ask them to stop using Java.

Sadly, most people are still using Internet Explorer, so we’ll start with that.

Internet Explorer 8 through 10

(If you are using anything older than Internet Explorer 8, you need to upgrade! Try one of the browsers listed below, except for Safari.)

Click on the Tools menu at the top, and choose Manage Add-ons. On the left of the window that pops up, select All Add-ons from the drop down under the heading Show. Then, scroll down and disable anything that says ?Oracle America, Inc.? next to it. Finally, restart your browser.

Chrome

Click the white address bar at the top of the screen. In that field, type “chrome://plugins” (do not type the quotation marks). Then, press Enter. In the new tab that opens, look for the the item(s) with Java in the name. Click the blue Disable link below it. Finally, restart your browser.

Firefox

If you don’t see the menu bar, (File, Edit, View, etc.) at the top of the page, first click the orange Firefox button at the top-left. Then go to Options and click Menu Bar.

Open the Tools menu, and click Add-ons.  On the tab that appears, click Plug-ins on the left. Scroll down the list on the right-hand side until you see something that begins Java (TM) Platform… Click the Disable button to the right of the listing. Finally, restart your browser.

Opera

Click the white address bar at the top of the screen. In that field, type “opera:plugins” (do not type the quotation marks). Then, press Enter. In the new tab that opens, look for the the item(s) with Java in the name. Click the blue Disable link to the right. Finally, restart your browser.

Safari

If you’re using Safari on Windows, you should get rid of it. Apple has stopped updating it. Follow this guide to migrate to a new browser.

If you decide not to heed our advice, and you want to keep Safari on Windows, click the Action menu in the top-right corner. It looks like a gear. Click Show Menu Bar. Now, click Edit, then Preferences. On the window that appears, click the Security tab. Uncheck the box next to Enable Java if it is checked. Finally, restart your browser.

In Safari on Mac, if the menu bar isn’t visible, press the Esc button on your keyboard to exit full-screen mode. Now, click Edit, then Preferences. On the window that appears, click the Security tab. Uncheck the box next to Enable Java if it is checked. Finally, restart your browser.

Follow these directions, and keep Java disabled until Oracle pulls their act together. Stay tuned to Deemable Tech, and we’ll let you know when and if that happens.

This week Ray Hollister, Tom Braun and Aaron Edelson ignore their friends on Facebook, but then change their mind, shoot at an iPhone, loan out a book or two and watch movies on their phones. All that and more on this episode of Deemable Tech.

Deemable Tech – Episode 8 – I want to shoot my iPhone because my Android is so slow

Today’s Questions:

1. 01:00 – How can I block and unblock people annoying people on Facebook?
2. 08:33 – I can haz Bulletproof iPhone case? Don’t taze me (with your iPhone,) bro!
3. 13:30 – The front facing camera on my Nexus 7 doesn’t work on Skype!
4. 19:04 – How can I watch my DVDs and Movies on Android and iOS?
5. 26:26 – Can I share my books on Kindle?
6. 37:31 – Why is my Android Phone so slow?
7. 47:07 – Opera won’t open an iTunes link, and the Podcast takes forever to download

Links we mentioned on the show:

• How do I control what I see in my Facebook news feed?
• Bulletproof iPhone
• iPhone Tazer
• Vudu
• Flixster
• UltraViolet
• Watchdog Manager Lite from Zomut