Yes, it is another scare, but it has fact behind it. Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in Java, just as they can exploit vulnerabilities in browsers.

Internet security is a battlefield, and software developers are on a constant state of alert. Oracle will fix the problem - they must, because millions of people will find that if they disable java in their browsers hundreds of thousands of websites will not function properly.

passing through

"If I do get a site I wish to view that will not function without java and they are very few.I use IE9 to open it."

Perhaps you don't visit many interactive websites?

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of interactive web sites use javascript. Java is the global standard for developing and delivering mobile applications, games, and Web-based content. It's the most popular application platform in the world.

Before a sense of panic takes over I think it's worth pointing out that the most likely way for you to be vulnerable to an attack is when you visit a website that has been specifically set up by a hackers with malicious code that takes advantage of a java security hole.

The way that you might be tempted to visit such a site is via a hyperlink in a malicious email or newsletter. Hackers recently used an email that purported to come from Microsoft, but was in fact a butchered version of a real Microsoft email.

A healthy suspicion of all unexpected emails or newsletters from software companies is not a bad idea. If it doesn't smell right it possibly isn't right, and it does no harm to err on the side of caution. We use javascript on this site, and it's perfectly safe - you will suffer no ill-effects by visiting us with a java-enabled browser.