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Skillsoft Response Regarding Java Security Vulnerabilities
Alert
On 01/13/13 Oracle released an update, Java 1.7.0_11, to deal with recently identified security vulnerabilities. This vulnerability is
not specific to Skillsoft’s use of Java, but with Java in general. Skillsoft does use Java within a number of our products and
recommends that our customers upgrade to the latest Java update to help address this latest concern.
The Behavior
Customers accessing Skillsoft courseware and/or Skillport may experience unanticipated interruptions in service in one or more of
the following ways:
 Pop up messages requesting permission to run Java
One of the actions taken by Oracle elevated the default Java security setting to High. This means users may be
prompted to allow any Java applet to run (as opposed to only prompting for signed applets, in previous
versions). When this happens users will get a pop up similar to the following:
Recommended Action: Skillsoft recommends that users select the “Do not show this again
for this app” box and select Run.
In some instances a different pop up message may appear similar to the following:
Skillsoft Corporation
January 2013
Skillsoft Response Regarding Java Security Vulnerabilities
Recommended Action: If the Publisher is identified as “Skillsoft Corporation” then Skillsoft
recommends users select the “Always trust content from this Publisher” and select Run.

Inability to Access Skillsoft Courseware or Skillport
In some situations users may find that when attempting to launch Skillsoft courseware or
Skillport, the system appears to do nothing and just hangs which may be caused by the
browser blocking access to Java. Both Firefox and Safari have recently added older versions
of Java to their blocklist. So for example, users running up against these older versions of
Java in Firefox may experience messages similar to the following instructing them to check
for updates to Java.
Recommended Action: In these situations users should verify the version of Java they are
running on their computer, and if necessary coordinate upgrades with their IT Departments.
Skillsoft continually researches new technology that can be leveraged to provide the most compelling and
engaging interactions for our users with our products. And while Skillsoft has not formally established a
timetable to engineer Java completely out of our products, over time we have reduced our overall
exposure to Java and continue to assess how we may more fully eliminate this dependency over time.
Should you have any further questions please contact Skillsoft Customer Support
(http://support.skillsoft.com).
Skillsoft Corporation
January 2013