Educate Me about Java Script, Please

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BobH
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Educate Me about Java Script, Please

Post by BobH »

In the dim, dark recesses of my antideluvian brain, there is a mist of a memory hinting to me that Java can be the gateway for malware. Is this true? It seems to be very widely deployed and used by lot of web sites. I run NoScript which (I think) blocks it.

Today, my system was running as slow as molasses in February in the Northern Hemisphere. 'Er Indoors was not having the same excruciatingly slow response time; so I concluded that I needed to do a clean up. I ran CCleaner and MalwareBytes. That seems to have helped a great deal; but it also meant that I have to login on frequently visited sites which I have not bothered to whitelist. Not a big deal because I don't have a lot of sites that I frequent often.

I have noticed 3 things since the housecleaning flurry. In places where I usually experience a popup menu when hovering the mouse cursor, those menus do not appear. Could be a web page anomaly but it comes after I've cleaned up a bit. The second is that a web page I frequent asks for a login but clicking its button does nothing; however, I do see a message that states "best viewed with JavaScript enabled." And, the third is that I get no result clicking on the Smilies here in the Lounge. I can type in the markup (eg, ::wine::) but double clicking on the graphics produces no result.


Have I shot myself in the foot again? What remedy would you prescribe (besides 2 shots of Lophraig WC for the user, Stuart) to address these anomalies?

TIA
:wine: all 'round (shhhh, we raided Claude's cellar last night)

PS: Clicking the formatting tool buttons above also do not work here at Eileen's place. I tried to make the announcement about nocturnal forays tiny font by clicking with no effect. I then explicitly entered the markup and got what is - I hope - unreadable text after my announcing wine all 'round.
Last edited by BobH on 22 Sep 2016, 04:01, edited 1 time in total.
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HansV
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Re: Educate Me about Java Script, Please

Post by HansV »

In the first place, Java and JavaScript are not the same. They are both programming languages, and they bear a superficial resemblance, but they are used for different purposes.

JavaScript is the (almost) universal programming language used in web pages. All but the simplest web pages won't work correctly if you don't enable JavaScript.
NoScript by default blocks JavaScript in Firefox for almost all websites. It lets you enable JavaScript on a site-by-site basis, either temporarily or permanently. You should allow JavaScript permanently on sites that you trust (such as eileenslounge.com), and temporarily on sites that you visit only once or that you're not sure about yet. You should never enable it on 'shady' websites, but we don't visit those of course. :grin:

Java is a more general programming language. It is frequently used for desktop, mobile and web applications, and Java 'applets' used to be popular on the web 10 years ago or so. However, the Java plugin that was required to run those 'applets' in the browser had so many security problems that its popularity faded over the years, and nowadays it's rare to encounter a website that requires Java (as distinct from JavaScript). [I haven't had the Java plugin on any of my computers for at least 5 years now, and I never miss it]
Best wishes,
Hans

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BobH
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Re: Educate Me about Java Script, Please

Post by BobH »

Thank you, sir!

That solved my issues!

:cheers: :chocciebar: :thankyou:
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John Gray
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Re: Educate Me about Java Script, Please

Post by John Gray »

Excellent summary, Hans!
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HansV
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Re: Educate Me about Java Script, Please

Post by HansV »

Thank you!
Best wishes,
Hans

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BobArch2
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Re: Educate Me about Java Script, Please

Post by BobArch2 »

Thank you Hans... I second John's comments! I always get (got) confused between Java and JavaScript. I will now print out your explanation and tape it to the edge of my monitor. (That process is necessary since memory is for the pits! :grin: )
Regards,
Bob

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BobH
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Re: Educate Me about Java Script, Please

Post by BobH »

Just in case someone else experiences similar problems as I did with scripts.

Some web pages continued to display differently or failed to perform normal functions like logging in after I changed the NoScript option to allow scripts on those pages. What I discovered is that, in each case, the pages used multiple sub-routines that also had to be allowed to run scripts for the pages to function properly. On examining NoScript popup menus for each web site, I finally saw those additional urls, different for each web page and changed them. This resolved the issues.

Cheers!
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