How to uninstall Java on Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8) [Guide]
August 31, 2012 23
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If you are fed up with Java’s security vulnerabilities and want to finally get rid of it, this guide shows you how to uninstall/disable/remove Java on Windows. The following instructions should work for all versions of Windows but is specifically confirmed to work with Windows XP and higher machines.
Note: If you are looking to disable Java just from your browser, and not completely uninstall it from your computer, read dotTech’s guide on how to disable Java for Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Opera.
How To Uninstall Java on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
Removing Java from your Windows PC is as easy as uninstalling it from Add or Remove Programs. If you aren’t sure what needs to be done, do the following:
- Press the Win [Windows key] + R keys on your keyboard to bring up the Run dialog (it is preferable that you be at your desktop when you press Win + R but it is not required):
- In the Open text field, enter “control appwiz.cpl,,0” (yes those are two commas; be sure to not enter the quotes) and hit OK:
- Once you hit OK, the Add or Remove Programs window will open:
Scroll down uninstall you find Java, click on it, and click Uninstall:
- Next you will be asked to confirm you want to remove Java — click “Yes”:
- Now wait. If you are on Windows XP, Windows will find Java and uninstall it without need for any further actions by you. If you are on Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, you will need to tell UAC that you are sure you want to uninstall Java (simply click “Yes” when prompted) after which Windows will uninstall Java without need for any further actions by you.
Once Java is uninstalled, the uninstaller will automatically close itself; there will be no prompts telling you of successful removal nor will you have to restart your computer. You can confirm Java is gone by scanning the list in Add or Remove Programs and making sure Java isn’t listed.
Conclusion
While removing Java from your machine doesn’t guarantee you are safe from malware attacks, it does guarantee you are safe from malware attacks due to Java exploits. Enjoy!
About the author: Ashraf View all posts by Ashraf
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23 Comments »
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You make that more difficult than need be.
Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features > Uninstall
Why the unnecessary Run command (run a round)?
Pun intended Tee Hee
@chuck (detailer): There is a reason why I said it the way I did. The directions I gave works on all Windows in the way I have said it. What you are saying works and is easier, yes, but the Start Menu/Control Panel has changed in different versions of Windows over the year. It is simpler to write one set of instructions for Windows XP-Windows 8 than write two or three.
@Ashraf: Now I see why you did it that way.But still,in XP, Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove-No?
@chuck (detailer): If I remember correctly, yes. It may be a minor difference but for the sake of uniformity I went about it this way. Plus, how about Windows 8? xD
Curiosity question: Why do I need Java at all? Can you give an example or two of programs that won’t run without it? I’m confused.
@Frank D: Honestly I’m not too sure myself. I think the last time I actually used Java was something like five years ago.
From what I hear, Photoshop on Mac needs it. OpenOffice is also built in Java but I’m hearing rumblings that it works fine without Java.
@Ashraf: Thank you, Ashraf. I was concerned it might be something I needed, but so far everything works without it.
And thank you for your reporting!
@Ashraf: Oh,yeah-Win8,that new OS that’s trying to turn my PC into an Android tablet? I haven’t a clue,and have no intention of finding out in the near future.
So what is a safe alternative to Java, that can still alow the ability to watch videos?
I’m not computer literae so any suggestions and descriptons of such software would be appreciated.
@Bull:
I think you are referring to flash and not java, right? Youtube is working fine without java. Flash is the other bloated security hole in your PC. Thankfully flash is dying and being replaced by html5.
One thing that always confused me about what did or did not work without Java was the Firefox extension NoScript. NoScript will stop lots and lots of things from working unless you disable it on sites you trust. Disabling Java will have a much smaller impact on your everyday web browsing.
@Ashraf: Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Android’s adb from your pc require java to work?
@Frank D: You are welcome!
@chuck (detailer): Um, sure, yeah… haha
@Bull: As far as I know, Java has nothing to do with online videos. As Eric says, that is Flash.
@Jyo: As far as I know, no adb does not require Java. Android emulator/SDK requires Java.
@Eric: As someone who doesnt use NoScript, I can only remember a few instances of needing Java for a website in the past few years.
Different question: How do I print out this article? This is the worst example I’ve yet run into as it “may” print one page on one attempt, zero on another, or doubleimage (but only after first page) on a third try. HELP! Ever since you put in your new look I’ve been having to use workarounds of various sorts to print and now none of them seems to do the job. Even the other ones that worked had to be reduced in size from 100% in order to not cut off the ends of all the lines. Very annoying. Isn’t there a word wrap or equivalent available to you in this new format? Are you seriously trying to keep people from printing out any of your articles or what? If so, that is not a good idea, as it will drive them away in droves. Maybe this new format wasn’t such a good idea after all.
You can use JavaRa.
http://singularlabs.com/software/javara/
@internet explorer:
When I want to print or save an article from the web, I copy and Special Paste into Word. Then you get just the article without all the other stuff on the page, and you can remove things like ads, or make the pics smaller, or whatever.
I had 2 versions of Java (6 & 7) that I uninstalled. There is also JavaFX 2.1.1; should I uninstall this also?
Thanks,
@internet explorer: I’ve added a print button to all articles. Please see the top of each article. Sorry about that. Next time I forget something, feel free to give me a shout.
@Barbwyr:It is something slightly different but you are best off uninstall it, too.
Hi,
Until now I’ve never had any issues with Java exept that it sometimes takes a lot of time to download larger interactive graphics files. It’s only recently that I read warnings about Java vulnarabilities. Until some 6 months ago everything seemed OK with it, as far as I remember.
On the other hand – and again, this is merely an impression (I really have no time to do extensive fact checking on this) – things started to get exponentially vulnarable all over the place as tablet, smartphone and android market penetration grew. The rate of introduction of new apps of all kinds is simply mindboggling and interconnectivity has “exploded” beyond what we would have held realistic 2 years ago. It might be interesting to do some reseach on wether or not there is a correlation here… Logically speaking one might expect there is. And I’m not even taking social networking (Facebook, Twitter,…) and cloudcomputing into account…
Should Java be thrown out all together? I don’t think so. To give just one example in which it has proven very handy indeed was teaching euclidean geometry (The Elements) using Java applets from http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html. This is only one instance, there are hundreds more..
.
Have a nice day,
Patrick.
@Frank D:
Well, one game that is fun is called MineCraft, it is written in Java….and needs the JRE SE 7. Also, I’m a web developer and could not go a day without using NetBeans for PHP/HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Java.
Windows Vista, IE9
Vista seems to have hidden the ability to uninstall Java – it does not appear on the uninstall page. It’s not the only program that vista won’t let you uninstall, either.
I had to just disable Java using browser’s tools, options, security.
Just a heads up – Revo Uninstaller finds lots of leftovers after Java is uninstalled!!