Most of us, although some don't know it, have a component called Java on our PC. Java is the interpreter of the programming language of the same name used to develop programs, especially corporate, but, above all for simple users, to open applets, giving the possibility to play online, chat, view 3D images and much more.
I don't want to go into the technical explanation of what Java is because I am not an expert and it is not interesting here; for more information, refer to the Wikipedia page.
The thing to note, however, is that Java on Windows is a non-optimized program, large and with frequent updates that add up on one another.
The puzzling fact is that when you perform a Java Runtime Environment ( JRE) update, previous versions are not removed .
It so happens that, after a certain period of time, if you go to Windows applications installation to see the list of programs on your computer, you can have various Java versions simultaneously .
Each of them weighs about 100 MB and, not only is it wasted space on the disk but it is also dangerous to have obsolete files on the computer that can create errors and, theoretically, open security holes and allow access to viruses.
In short, the old versions of Java are better to delete and remove them also because they are completely useless.
Here then there is another frequent problem: trying to uninstall Java with the standard procedure, that is from Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs, it often happens that the removal is not successful with a fatal error warning.
Without going crazy behind these incomprehensible Windows messages, we can adopt a much faster and simpler solution.
The program that removes old versions of Java from your computer is called JavaRA (version 2.0 updated in September 2012)
JavaRa is a free portable tool that allows you to update the JRE and remove old Java versions automatically and easily.
The use is very simple, you just have to download the file, extract the archive, and run the javara.exe file without any installation.
After choosing the language, a window with 4 buttons appears with which you can: update the Java JRE from the Sun Microsystems site, remove previous versions and check the advanced settings.
Additional operations include some separate components, including unnecessary JRE files, Java auto-start entries and the Sun Download Manager.
There is also a useful button for checking the version currently installed.
During removal, the only requirement is that the web browser, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or others, be closed.
