Basic HTML version of Foils prepared 7 Sept 1997

Foil 52 Java Features -- It's (Hopefully) Secure

From Introduction to Java to be used in (Scientific) Computing Basic Simulation Track for Computational Science CPS615 -- Fall Semester 97. by Geoffrey C. Fox, Nancy McCracken


1 Java bytecodes are shipped across the network and executed on client machines. Security is therefore a critical issue and strongly enforced in Java.
  • Java contains its own networking classes which are designed to be secure
2 Modifications of the C++ model such as eliminating pointer arithmetic and coercion were dictated mainly by the security requirements.
3 Most viruses are based on acquiring access to private/protected sectors of computer memory which is impossible in Java due to all the checks.
4 Java bytecodes are executed at the client side by Java interpreter which operates exclusively in a restricted memory space.
  • Hence, unless there are security bugs in the Java interpreter itself, the model is safe and users cannot create security holes by incorrectly or maliciously written applets.
5 The bytecodes sent across network are verified at the client which prevents evil/corrupted classes from causing problems

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