UPDATED. The regularly scheduled quarterly security updates for Java on July 15 will not include updates for Windows XP, which is now formally unsupported by Oracle.

In response Sun released Java for Windows, got into a licensing deal with Microsoft, and advertised Java as the write once, run everywhere target of choice for developers.

Microsoft It’s no coincidence that Microsoft is rolling out an update for Windows 8.1, its latest operating system, on the same day that the company axes support for Windows XP.

To check which version of Java you have on your Windows computer, you'll need to open the Command Prompt.