NPAPI Java plugin

[mo7ard]

Hi there,

First of all, I've been using Palo Moon browser as my second browser for quite some time. One feature I like about it is the fact that I could still run JAVA applets via NPAPI plugin. My government still uses JAVA applets that I'm obliged to fulfill, and I do not want to have a Windows computer running Internet Explorer in order to do it...

Well, I am now using Linux Mint Mate x64, and I can't seem to find a way to make it work... does Pale Moon still allows the execution of NPAPI plugins like JAVA?

My JAVA version output...

$ java -version
openjdk version "11.0.5" 2019-10-15
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.5+10-post-Ubuntu-0ubuntu1.118.04)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.5+10-post-Ubuntu-0ubuntu1.118.04, mixed mode, sharing)

Thank you very much for your time and help in advance, best regards to you all.

[moonbat]

Pale Moon does support NPAPI as before - but since Firefox dropped it, Oracle themselves dropped support for it after version 9 of the technology, and OpenJDK would've followed suit.

You could install the older version (make sure to get the same architecture as your Pale Moon - 32/64 bit as necessary), but might not be a good idea in terms of security vulnerabilities.

[Lunokhod]

This worked last year when I wanted to interface with a server (not online, via a local network) that used java tools, and some types of content would run with the plugin, but I had to download a jlnp file and run it manually with javaws at one point. I was running some stuff in wine though so that might have caused extra problems. I downloaded the java from java and didn't have any luck with the icedtea plugin at that time.

Code: Select all

/opt/java$ sudo tar -xvzf jre-8u211-linux-x64.tar.gz
/usr/lib/mozilla/plugins$ sudo ln -s /opt/java/jre1.8.0_211/lib/amd64/libnpjp2.so

/opt/java$ ./jre1.8.0_211/bin/ControlPanel
java control panel - security - exception site list, add these and ignore security warnings.
Otherwise java refuses to run file.jnlp for security reasons.
file:///path/to/file.jnlp

$ /opt/java/jre1.8.0_211/bin/javaws file.jnlp

[mo7ard]

Ok guys, thank you for the insight!

I think I'll keep an older distro running on a laptop in order to keep pale moon running with an insecure version of JAVA... I only use it once a month, and it's not worth keeping my main laptop unsecured. Thank you very much.

[Pentium4User]

Java 8 is still supported until Dec 2020: https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java ... admap.html
Use that with an up to date linux distro, maybe an older version but it should still receive updates,

[claribert]

I got it working with free software (no Oracle code).

install icedtea-web according to your distribution instructions. See https://icedtea.classpath.org/wiki/IcedTea-Web
I installed 1.6.2, which is old but is what is in my distro (gentoo).

Once installed, you can read the manual: man icedtea-web-plugin. The only thing to do is to go into palemoon profile folder and create a symbolic link to the plugin binary:

Code: Select all

cd ~/.moonchild\ productions/pale\ moon/XXXXXX.default/
mkdir plugins
cd plugins
ln -s /usr/lib64/nsbrowser/plugins/IcedTeaPlugin.so

Then in palemoon, about:plugins shows the plugin is activated.

[mo7ard]

https://ubuntu.pkgs.org/18.04/ubuntu-up ... 4.deb.html
Is this the same?

[Pentium4User]

Don't use packages from third party websites if they are in the repos of your distro.
OpenJDK8 with the icedtea plugin is still included in Ubuntu in version 18.04, but not in newer version (there is the plugin removed).
And no, it is not the same because Gentoo is a completely different distribution than Ubuntu.
Don't exchange the packages.

[mo7ard]

And how did you know witch was the best version for your distribution? I'm sorry but my knowledge of linux isn't that great...

I'm running Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia 64-bit (based on Ubuntu 18.04), so should I use the latest version available (1.8)? And do I have to compile it from scratch?

Once again, thank you very much.

[Pentium4User]

You download that from the repo of your distribution.

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre

To install the runtime
The run {{{ap search icedtea}}}
to search the correct name of the plugin.
Post the output here.

[mo7ard]

Hi Pentium4User, and all other users that tried to help me.

I just found (after many days on this quest), an amazing way to run my applets (like I said, i only need it once a month, really).

As my primary browser, I use Chromium, and there is an extension on the Chrome Web Store called CheerpJ Applet Runner, created by a company named Leaningtech. It's free to use, and what it does is convert a JAVA applet into JAVA script, so that your browser can execute it... and all the tests I made, using the pre installed OpenJDK worked like a charm!

It adds an icon on the top right of the browser window, and when an applet is present, you can activate it via that same icon. Brilliant, for my basic needs... and so I end my quest here!

Once again... thank you very much for your effort and patience.

My best regards to you all.