Re: Netscape for Linux and Java

B. Galliart (bgallia@luc.edu)
Thu, 23 May 1996 13:06:04 -0500 (CDT)


Netscape 2.01/2.02 release notes state that Java applets crash Mozilla
when running under Linux and displaying to a high color (16 bits per
pixel) X display. There are also several Java applets that will crash
the navigator version 2.01/2.02 regardless of what color depth your
Xserver.

It should also be said that the Netscape navigator 2.01/2.02 has it's own
Java binary interpreter that it uses *regardless* of if the Linux kernel
supports execution of Java or not. This also means that security/bug
fixes to the Linux kernel/Java Development Kit support will *NEVER* fix
the serious problems in the Netscape Navigator 2.x Java support!

If you follow the advice listed in the following CERT advisories:

ftp://ftp.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-96.05.java_applet_security_mgr
ftp://ftp.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-96.07.java_bytecode_verifier

which is to disable Java applet support then hopefully the web page should
load fine (but will not display the java banner). There are also security
holes which are documented on the Internet regarding Netscape Navigator's
JavaScript support.

Some of these security holes, as well as the robustness, of
Java/JavaScript support have been addressed with Atlas (Beta version of
Mozilla 3.x) but I personally consider using it's Java applet/JavaScript
(in addition to it's SSL "secure" transmittion) support as a leap of
faith.

- Ben Galliart (bgallia@luc.edu)

On Wed, 22 May 1996, Lonnie Norton wrote:

> I am running Netscape v2.1 on my system and have been trying to access a
> site (www.ipr.com) which has a java banner on it. each time i start
> downloading the page it (Netscape) locks up when downloading the java banner.
> I have been running kernel 1.3.89, and yesterday recompiled using 1.3.100
> with the java support compiled in. I was hoping the newer kernel with the
> java support would handle the problem, but it still locks up on the banner.
>
> Has anyone else had this problem, and is this a Linux related problem, or is
> Netscapes browser hosed.
>
> By the way I tried Netscape-2.2 and got the same behavior.
> LN
>