You are correct. As far as I know, there is no way to not install Java browser plugin files as part of the Java installation process. You can only disable, ren

You are correct. As far as I know, there is no way to not install Java browser plugin files as part of the Java installation process. You can only disable, rename, delete or block (in the browser configuration) after installation. As of Java 7 Update 10 (12 Nov 2012), there is also a Java Windows Control Panel option to control the security configuration of browser plugin, including preventing it running. I do not know if changes to these settings still apply if further updates or other Java versions are installed. However, all of these actions are non-trivial for typical users and besides Java is unlikely to be used on the desktop for most users.