Absolute Beginner's Guide to Programming, Third Edition

The Security Issue

Security should always be your concern when writing online applications. In practice, Java-enabled applets could be prone to security problems without the proper precautions being in place. After all, when you visit a Java-enabled Web page, you are not always sure whether an applet is running or what that applet is trying to do to your computer's disk or memory.

Fortunately, Sun Microsystems developed Java to be a network-based programming language. Therefore, security is inherent in the language, both for the developer and for the Internet user. What follows are some of the security-related protections built into the Java language:

• A Java applet is not allowed to venture into the user's memory areas where it does not belong. ...