How to add Java Exception Site List for all users

Question

I need to use an old Java applet for a certain website, but newer Java versions cannot run it, as it has a self-signed certificate. Reading on Oracle's Deployment Guide, I need to make my own deployment .JAR, with a proper certificate signing (not self signed), just to create the exception I need to run applets from a single domain.

I have found that there is a %userprofile%\appdata\LocalLow\Sun\Java\Deployment\security\exception.sites file, obviously one for each user. In there, one per line, is a list of domains I can set to exclude from NOT being executed. When I add the domain name, the user gets a single prompt, then it just allows that domain for that user. Great.

I know I could add this file to the Default user profile, for any new users being created. Unfortunately, I do not think that removing every user's profile from each of the systems is the right way to go. I can push commands to computers, but the commands run as my user - I can't use %USERPROFILE% for this. I do not want to put it in my login script, as I do not want the file getting large for users who constantly log in and off of systems. I also only want the single domain added to whatever is there, without wiping out the user's preferences that may already exist.

Because I do not want to wipe out their preferences, I thought of doing something along the lines of echo http://www.example.com >> %userprofile%\appdata\LocalLow\Sun\Java\Deployment\security\exception.sites, but that won't work, as it will keep adding to the file.

What can I do to add the list to the Exceptions rule, but only if the rule does not exist already?

Solution

Just add the following files to C:\Windows\Sun\Java\Deployment folder.

deployment.properties:

deployment.user.security.exception.sites=C:/Windows/Sun/Java/Deployment/exception.sites
deployment.system.config.mandatory=True

deployment.config:

deployment.system.config=file:///C:/Windows/Sun/Java/Deployment/deployment.properties
deployment.system.config.mandatory=True

exception.sites:

http://some.trusted.site/
https://another.trusted.site/

This would affect all users of this machine.

Via:

• Java 7u51 – System Wide Exception Site List an article posted on Systemsynergy
• Oracle Java SE Documentation - Deployment Configuration File and Properties
• Oracle Java SE Documentation - Exception Site List

Comments

[Dmitry Grigoryev]

Overwriting user preferences and denying users the ability to modify them is something the OP wants to avoid in the first place.

[Ravindra Bawane]

Java no longer placed the config files in these locations in newer versions of Windows, or newer versions of Java.

[Vadzim]

But Java applets are no more relevant for newer versions of Java, Windows and browsers, I guess. )

[Ravindra Bawane]

Yes, they are. Sadly. I wish they weren't, but my org has a bunch of legacy apps still requiring the JRE on each client. And yes, we're paying Oracle for the privilege.