JRE and WPKG

Java is a programming language and computing platform released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. It is the underlying technology that powers programs including utilities, games, and business applications. Java runs on more than 850 million personal computers worldwide, and on billions of devices worldwide, including mobile and TV devices. Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software can be downloaded from Java Downloads for All Operating Systems. For Microsoft Windows systems, you can choose from a 32-bit or a 64-bit versions. For a silent install, you can use jre-6u18-windows-i586-s.exe /quiet /norestart.

After installation, you will see an "Java(TM) 6 Update 18" entry under "Uninstall or change a program", corresponding to the registry entry for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{26A24AE4-039D-4CA4-87B4-2F83216018FF}\DisplayName. The uninstall string is MsiExec.exe /X{26A24AE4-039D-4CA4-87B4-2F83216018FF}, corresponding to the registry entry for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{26A24AE4-039D-4CA4-87B4-2F83216018FF}\UninstallString. For a quiet uninstall, you can use MsiExec.exe /X{26A24AE4-039D-4CA4-87B4-2F83216018FF} /q.

The WPKG package I used is shown below:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<packages>

<!-- Version 6 Update 18 - offline (32-bit) version -->	

<package
   id="JRE"
   name="Java Runtime Environment (JRE)"
   revision="618"
   priority="3"
   reboot="false">
 
<check type="uninstall" condition="exists" path="Java(TM) 6 Update 18" />
 
<install cmd='%SOFTWARE%\java\jre-6u18-windows-i586-s.exe /quiet /norestart' />

<remove cmd='MsiExec.exe /X{26A24AE4-039D-4CA4-87B4-2F83216018FF} /q'/>

</package>

</packages>

If you use 32-bit and 64-bit browsers interchangeably, you will need to install both 32-bit and 64-bit Java in order to have the Java plug-in for both browsers.

The software will be installed to C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\ by default. After installing Java, restart your browser and verify Java has been installed correctly (note: it may work even without restarting your browser). You can also go to How do I test whether Java is working on my computer? to test the Java installation.

[/os/windows/software/wpkg] permanent link

Embedding Userid and Password in a URL

With versions of Internet Explorer from 3.0 to 6.0, the following syntax for HTTP or HTTPS URLs was supported:

http(s)://username:password@server/resource.ext

Using the syntax of http:// or https:// followed by username:Password@ and then the URL, you could supply a username and password in the address bar. This could be useful in cases where you had to script access to a webpage or file download from a password protected directory on a website. Using this technique you could use a command in a batch file to gain access to the protected resource.

However, after version 6.0 of Internet Explorer, Microsoft disabled this capability. The rationale for disabling the capability is explained at Internet Explorer does not support user names and passwords in Web site addresses (HTTP or HTTPS URLs). Microsoft states there that the capability was disabled, because it could be used by a malicious person to mislead someone into thinking he was going to a trusted side when in actuality he would be directed to another site.

E.g., other information, besides a username and password, could be placed before the "@", for example someone could use http://www.wingtiptoys.com@example.com. A user might only notice the http://www.wingtiptoys.com in the address bar, whereas the URL would actually be taking the user to http://example.com. In this case, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Internet Explorer 6 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 only display "http://example.com" in the address bar. However, earlier versions of Internet Explorer display "http://www.wingtiptoys.com@example.com" in the address bar, but users might think they were going to www.wingtiptoys.com, whereas they would actually be taken to example.com.

If you want later versions of Internet Explorer to retain the behavior of prior versions, you can disable the new default behavior in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer. To do so, create iexplore.exe and explorer.exe DWORD values in one of the following registry keys and set their value data to 0.

• For all users of the program, set the value in the following registry key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_HTTP_USERNAME_PASSWORD_DISABLE
• For the current user of the program only, set the value in the following registry key:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_HTTP_USERNAME_PASSWORD_DISABLE

On the support webpage, Microsoft states that, if users attempt to use the previously supported syntax with later versions of Internet Explorer, users will see a webpage that has the title "Invalid syntax error". When I used the technique to try to access a protected file on a site using Internet Explorer 8.0 on a Windows 7 system, I received a message stating "Windows cannot find" followed by the URL and then "Check the spelling and try again."

The syntax of http://username:password@example.com/directory/filename.ext still worked on the same system with Firefox 3.6

References:

1. Internet Explorer does not support user names and passwords in Web site addresses (HTTP or HTTPS URLs)
   Article ID: 834489
   Last Review: November 15, 2007
   Revision: 11.4
   Microsoft Support

[/network/web/browser/ie] permanent link