Oracle will soon KILL the Java browser plugin

Here is a great news for the Internet users from the world of online security – Oracle, the technology company, will soon kill the Java browser plugin, frequently the target of Web-based exploits, about a year from now.

The Java plugin isn’t dead immediately. Oracle will begin scaling down the Java browser plugin technology in Java Developer Kit 9(JDK9) and remove it completely from Oracle JDK and Java Runtime Environment(JRE) in a future Java SE release.

The technology company, Oracle, admitted that modern Web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge, don’t need the Plugin anymore to function.

Chrome disabled support in September for plug-ins that, like Java and Silverlight, use the old Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) standard. Mozilla has announced plans to remove support for plugins like Silverlight and Java in Firefox by the end of the year. Microsoft’s Edge browser doesn’t support plugins either. The Internet Explorer and Safari as the only alternatives browsers for people who really need Java applications in their browser.

“By late 2015, many browser vendors have either removed or announced timelines for the removal of standards based plugin support, eliminating the ability to embed Flash, Silverlight, Java and other plugin based technologies.” Oracle said in a blog post to users on Wednesday.

“With modern browser vendors working to restrict and reduce plugin support in their products, developers of applications that rely on the Java browser plugin need to consider alternative options such as migrating from Java Applets (which rely on a browser plugin) to the plugin-free Java Web Start technology.”

“Oracle plans to deprecate the Java browser plug-in” in the next release of its Java Development Kit, JDK 9, it said. The technology would be removed from future software releases, it added.

Java Development Kit, JDK 9, is scheduled to ship on September 22 this year.