auto install java web start?

[tiewknvc9]

is there a way to automatically detect / install java web start on a
users computer when they visit a web page?

Basically Im deploying my application to the world, and would like to
use java web start, only I want to make it as easy as possible for my
users to install everything.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Andrew Thompson]

is there a way to automatically detect / install java web start on a
users computer when they visit a web page?

<http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/javaws/developersguide/launch.html>

Andrew T.

 

[tiewknvc9]

found the answer before I saw your post, thanks for the info, I will
read it now... but meanwhile...

Java Web Start is included in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) as
part of J2SE 5.0. !

 

[Andrew Thompson]

tiewknvc9 wrote:

Please refrain from top-posting.

found the answer before I saw your post, thanks for the info, I will
read it now... but meanwhile...

Java Web Start is included in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) as
part of J2SE 5.0. !

Sure it is. But that web page is accounts for systems
that do not have Java 1.3+ (they have no web-start).

Andrew T.

 

[Nick Vatamaniuc]

You can use the script shown above by somebody or you can just simply
ask the users to click on the JNLP link and tell them if it doesn't
work to upgrade to Java 1.5 (point a link to 1.5 download page).

I don't think the script will make it more user friendly, since if they
don't have WS installed a new page will be loaded anyway to tell them
to go download something from sun.com.

Also, I wouldn't recommend the last auto-install option using ActiveX
because peoples' firewalls and anti-viruses will go nuts or even
worse, silently deny the .cab install.


Hope this helps,

Nick V.

 

[Nick Vatamaniuc]

If they don't even have Java 1.2.2 then WS won't work at all, otherwise
for 1.2.2->1.4.x Java WS can be downloaded separately (about 1MB). I
think asking _all_ to upgrade their JRE to 1.5 might be easier than
telling some to install WS for 1.3 then telling others with Java <1.2.2
to install Java 1.2.2+ then JRE or Java 1.5 and so on.

Hope this helps,
Nick V.

 

[Andrew Thompson]

Nick Vatamaniuc wrote:

Please refrain from top-posting.
....

Also, I wouldn't recommend the last auto-install option using ActiveX
because peoples' firewalls and anti-viruses will go nuts or even
worse, silently deny the .cab install.

Have you ever seen an instance of that?
What firewall? What anti-virus software?

Andrew T.

 

[Nick Vatamaniuc]

Nick Vatamaniuc wrote:

Please refrain from top-posting.
...

Have you ever seen an instance of that?
What firewall? What anti-virus software?

Andrew T.

-- What firewall? What anti-virus software?

-- The kind that people install to protect themselves from spyware and
other junk that is installed off of webpages they visit.

Note, if your WS application needs full-access permissions to run on
user's machine, it is a good idea to warn the users about it and hope
that they trust you enough to click 'Yes' when the access dialog pops
up.

Sorry for top-posting.

 

[Andrew Thompson]

This question remains unanswered.

So I'll repeat it, louder...

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS HAPPEN?

...or are you just reporting something that
you 'heard', or 'suspect'?

....
-- The kind ...

If I had wanted to know what 'kind' of firewall or
anti-virus software does this - I'd have asked.

What I want is specific *product* *names* of firewalls
and anti-virus software that to do this.

Andrew T.

 

[Nick Vatamaniuc]

This question remains unanswered.

So I'll repeat it, louder...

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS HAPPEN?

..or are you just reporting something that
you 'heard', or 'suspect'?


If I had wanted to know what 'kind' of firewall or
anti-virus software does this - I'd have asked.

What I want is specific *product* *names* of firewalls
and anti-virus software that to do this.

Andrew T.

-- Yes: McAfee AntiSpyware and Spybot. Users can also set their
browser to a higher security setting. Why is it so hard to belive
that any modern anti-virus or firewall software would block automatic
execution of ActiveX components?

 

[Andrew Thompson]

.....
-- Yes: McAfee AntiSpyware and Spybot.

And in what way do they 'go nuts'?

Or are you suggesting they *silently* deny the install*?

....Users can also set their
browser to a higher security setting.

Sure they can - they can then also forget that they
set it that way. There is no accounting for end users.

* In fact, in all cases where something was 'silently'
denied, it turned out the end user had actually done
that (then developed a mental block to the icon on their
browser that *told* them the install was denied).

..Why is it so hard to belive
that any modern anti-virus or firewall software would block automatic
execution of ActiveX components?

I fully believe that, but I am discussing your statement,
"peoples' firewalls and anti-viruses will go nuts or even
worse, silently deny the .cab install."

At issue are the terms 'silent' (which they are not unless
specifically told to do so - and even then they usually
have some indication that the user ignores) and 'go nuts'.

Andrew T.

 

[Nick Vatamaniuc]

And in what way do they 'go nuts'?

Or are you suggesting they *silently* deny the install*?


Sure they can - they can then also forget that they
set it that way. There is no accounting for end users.

* In fact, in all cases where something was 'silently'
denied, it turned out the end user had actually done
that (then developed a mental block to the icon on their
browser that *told* them the install was denied).


I fully believe that, but I am discussing your statement,
"peoples' firewalls and anti-viruses will go nuts or even
worse, silently deny the .cab install."

At issue are the terms 'silent' (which they are not unless
specifically told to do so - and even then they usually
have some indication that the user ignores) and 'go nuts'.

Andrew T.

The reason I said that many products will silently 'deny' the execution
of ActiveX scripts is that the user:

1) Might have been infected by spyware (other malware) some time ago.
2) At some point they realize what had happened (could take years).
3) Somebody will suggest they install some a
firewall/anti-virus/spyware blocker
4) They do. The protection software though keeps flashing all these
warnings every time there is an ActiveX trying to execute (or anything
else deemed dangerous)
5) The user gets tired of warnings and just clicks the "Don't show the
warning anymore but keep blocking"
6) They get to the page that tries to automatically install a JDE using
an ActiveX and you (the Java WS application creator) rely on it to
work flawlessly while the user never even sees its prompt for
permission to run.

Anyway, the point was that there will always be some exceptional group
of users that has some strange configuration that will end up having to
do extra work to get an application running via Java WS...