Enable Java,disable pop-up blockers

There is an 'enable Java' checkbox in most web browsers 'preferences' (settings,options,etc).Make sure the box is checked. The box is located in various locations for each browser, and may change with newer versions.
As noted on our Index page, you need to disable any popup blockers in your web browser.

Installing Java

Installing or updating Java in Microsoft Windows is simple. The download is a 10MB executable file (.exe).
Either 32bit or 64bit. The file will either install java, or update to the current version. One file is all you need.
One tip: There is an offer to install a (yahoo! search bar) browser toolbar. If you do not want this installed on your computer, uncheck the checkbox to install it, and continue with the installation.

If you get a pop-up warning indicating that Java may be a security threat, then you should :
Go to your computers' "Control Panel" , click Add Or Remove Programs", and uninstall the Java Deployment Toolkit .
For more information, see this official warning page Then go to the java.com website and download the latest version (currently 6.20).

We do not have any experience with installing Java on a Mac at this time.
Go to: Apple support for information on how to update software.

If you already have an older version of Java installed, utilize your package manager to remove all older versions.
Incredibly, an older version of Java, installed by your system, will negate all attempts to update.
Log in as root to uninstall the old programs.

If you are installing Java for the first time: You can find the downloads on the www.java.com/all downloads page.

Most likely you will want the plain 'Linux' version, and not the RPM. Make certain you get the correct 32bit or 64 bit required for your system. The plain 'Linux' is a .bin file. Save the file where you can find it. This is not the file you need for Ubuntu. I hope you know your system and which file to download/install. if you are not sure, search for "java in ubuntu" or similar .

0. Locate the file, and right click on it. Select Properties, and then the permissions tab in properties. Locate the checkbox for "Make file executable" and check the box. Click OK (or apply).
You will probably need to be an administrator or super user to install software. Or maybe you just need the admin password.

1. Open a terminal, and type in su and hit the enter key. Terminal will ask for a Super User password.

2. Now for the extraction: type chmod -x with a space after. Then type in the location of the .bin file you downloaded.
As an example, we downloaded our .bin file to our desktop. The directory path is
Example : chmod -x /home/cleaverb/jre-6u20-linux-i586.bin .
So we type in: chmod -x /home/cleaverb/jre-6u20-linux-i586.bin . And hit the enter key.

3. Next, type a period, and add the location of the .bin file again. Hit enter key.
Example: ./home/cleaverb/jre-6u20-linux-i586.bin .
You will be shown a 'terms of use' agreement, where you will have to hit the space key about 10 times. Then at the bottom, it asks you to agree, by typing either 'yes' or 'no' . Type yes . Three letters, no spaces, no extra. Or the install will abort.
If you do not change the destination, terminal will write the files to your user 'home' folder. It did mine that way.

4. Verify that your files installed. If there is a folder named JRE1.6.**, then it would seem to be okay. If there is 1 file only, then you had an error. If the .bin was opened before it was executable, it may be corrupted. Then, you would need to download the .bin file again. And start over.
Next, you will need to locate the folder where your Firefox (or other browser) is located.
Java is installed, yet the browser plugin is not going to work until you place a 'symbolic link' into the browsers plugins folder. This is similar to a 'shortcut' in Windows. The correct file will show the properties of the original, 100+ KB in size.

NOTE: this works for early Firefox versions BEFORE 3.6 . For Firefox version 3.6 , Opera , or Seamonkey see the notes at 8, 9, and 10 below.

5. This step requires Midnight Commander, a UNIx terminal that is pretty common. If you don't have it, go to 6.
In your terminal, type mc and hit enter. Use the right panel to navigate your directory to the browser plugins folder. Click once on the "libjavaplugin_oji.so" , and then the 'FILE' tab in MC. Select 'Update sYmLink'. In the top field, type in the file name after the directory. Notice it has 2 dots (..) after the directory name. Erase them, and replace with the file name and extension : "libjavaplugin_oji.so" or "libnpjp2.so" .
In the bottom field, type in the location of the file: Example: /cleaverb/jre1.6.0_20/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so
OR
/home/cleaverb/jre1.6.0_20/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so for newer Firefox 3.6 . Hit the Apply button.
SKIP TO STEP 11.

6. To install the browser plugin, do this: open a terminal and log in as administrator. If your terminal is still open, it will work,too. For Firefox 3.6 and newer, SKIP TO STEP 8.
Type in cd with a space after, then type (or copy n paste) the browser plugin folder.
Example: cd /usr/lib/Firefox/plugins/ . If you typed it in correctly,terminal should go to the folder, and reply something like, "plugins is a directory" and will display the location in the prompt..

7. Type in ln -s (with a space after) and the location of Java :
Example: ln -s /home/cleaverb/jre1.6.0_20/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so . And hit enter key.
*** NOTE: you type in LN in small characters. It is an L(n), not an I(n) ! ***
If the terminal states, "File Exists" or File Already Exists ,then it didn't alter the file.
If the terminal made no statement, then it probably created the file. Repeat the command, to get the "File Exists" confirmation.

If the terminal displays a warning or failure message, you may have the wrong directory or typed incorrectly. Verify that the "libjavaplugin_oji.so" in your plugins folder is current, by checking its properties.It should show a creation date of the hour/minute which you created the file. If it has an older date, rename the old file, and try again.

8. FOR FIREFOX version 3.6 and above* - The latest firefox uses a different plugin than older versions. You can create the link with either Midnight Commander as in 5., or with the ln -s command in a terminal. It's just that the location of the plugin is different.
Example: /home/cleaverb/jre1.6.0_20/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so . And hit the enter key.
The instructions page are at : http://java.sun.com/ . Note that, for older versions of Firefox ( 3.5 and below) you need the "libjavaplugin_oji.so" file.

9. Opera . The old version of Opera installed on my Linux has a simple fix -
Open Opera, and go to the plugins. Add new plugin. Then you "browse" to the /home/cleaverb/jre1.6.0_20/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so .

10. Seamonkey . For Seamonkey, you will need to install the "libjavaplugin_oji.so" symbolic link into your /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/ folder. You may use either the Midnight Commander or the terminal procedures listed in 5 or 6/7 .

11. Open your web browser, and go to Sun Java Tester page to verify that Java is installed and working correctly.

There is an 'enable Java' checkbox in most web browsers 'preferences' (settings,properties,etc).Make sure the box is checked. The box is located in various locations for each browser, and may change with newer versions. So you will have to explore on your own.

If you cannot get Java to work after attempting this process, or if it works fine but after you reboot your computer and Java no longer functions: