Use Synaptic to remove and it will mark dependent libraries or programs, to my
knowledge.

As I understand it Java can be used as a back
door. If this is not true I would like to hear more about it.

Yes there are Java exploits and a fair number of 'zero day' ones over
the years, same as Flash, Adobe Reader and Windows itself. The issue
with any security is keeping your systems up to date and being wary
what you click on ( plus read what you are clicking to allow !! ).

Sad fact is there are enough users around who aren't careful and will
happily click on anything to 'get rid of that annoying pop-up' :-(

It is possible to use the internet without Java and Flash etc but it's
going to be a frustrating experience in the main as many web sites
need these add-ons to function properly. As HTML5 gains ground we'll
be seeing less need for Java / Flash / Silverlight etc so eventually
they won't be needed but it's going to be a while before we can say
bye-bye to them for good

However - don't for one minute think this will mean we can relax out
guard. No doubt the malware writers will be hard at work cooking up
exploits for HTML5 too

In my effort to understand why anyone would be set on removing Java. The
security issue came to mind. Because I have built websites, I understand
the inconvenience that goes with removing such things. I also understand
how bad the Internet experience would be by removing it.

I also understand that Sun Java is not on the 12.04 install disk because
of Oracle's acquiring of Sun, just one more reason not to deal with them
on any level. The same reason that I am concerned with all the Mono
stuff added to the repositories.

When I looked into Ubuntu in 2008 it was because of a virus reported on
the news. A quick search found the virus only infected Windows machines.
At that time I ordered my first Ubuntu disk. My online habits have kept
most viruses off my machines. I ran outdated virus software on my
windows machines and still was without need to sweep the system. I
didn't post for my need to know. Mostly to help those trying to
understand why anyone might want to remove Java.

What does Mono mean?........................

Mono is an open source effort led by Novell. Who owns Novell?
blogs.computerworld.com/.../who_owns_what_in_the_novell_deal

Mono is no longer developed by Novell, but is developed by Xamarin which
was started by Miguel de Icaza after Attachmate which took over Novell axed
the Mono project and let its developers go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xamarin

http://xamarin.com/

This should be clear as mud. Microsoft has never got behind Mono and the
project lost lots of impetus before the Novell takeover. The biggest
problem is the lack of good apps and the size of including Mono on the ISO
image for the few applications that require it has just made it not a good
environment to work in. The idea was simple at first, but it soon became
apparent that there was little interest in porting .NET apps to Linux and
since portability was its greatest virtue, its goose was cooked from the
start.

Aside from this the whole licensing issue and lack of clarity never won
over Linux purists who avoided it like the plague. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_(software) Read the Richard Stallman
passage in the
Mono and Microsoft's patents section.

Was able to remove Sun/Oracle Java without any problems using Synaptic. Having a
problem with a Cisco WebEx site with both Chrome and Firefox. Keeps reporting
that IcedTea and the web plugin are out of date although the latest upgrade has
been installed, and then asks to download the Meeting Manager installer (Windows
and Mac only). Ideas??

Welcome to the web without Java - problems you are going to find is
web sites like this that expect Java to be there and available. Every
time you visit that site you'll have to cancel out the warnings and
requests to install Java related content.

I recently had a corporate website dump about 20 instances of a java trojan onto
my office computer. Our IT manager caught it in the morning report from the AV.
He said that nearly all of the intrusions he deals with each day are java
exploits.

The IT manager also said the newer versions of Firefox seem to have more
security problems than IE. That seems weird, but apparently Mozilla is letting
their guard down to attract a wider following, possibly from corporate sponsors.

What I find even more puzzling is that my home XP box that hasn't been updated
in years (SP2 and Firefox 3.6) has virtually no problems whatsoever.

I turned off all updates (except AV) 6-8 years ago because I got tired of
so-called security fixes that crashed the machines.

My Ubuntu machines are not online much and I'm still learning Linux. However, I
get the impression that Linux updates lead to the same headaches as with
Windows.

And I can't help feeling that newer java, like newer Firefox and newer Windows,
is less secure than the old stuff. Those back doors aren't bugs, they're
features.

Yes you can remove Java and to totally delete it's as well using the
Synaptic Package Manager and search for 'Java' then right click and
select for complete removal.

You'll find some web sites will complain that Java isn't there and
offer to install it for you. If you don't allow it then the site may
or may not work as the writer intended. Depending where you go on-line
this may be a minor or major irritation