In the Control Panel, click on Java icon to open the Java Control Panel. Now to enable the latest installed version of Java, open the Java tab.

A recent Java 7 update allows users to completely prevent Java applications from running inside browsers or to restrict how Web-based Java content is handled by the Java Runtime Environment client.

Go to the Java Control Panel that is installed along with the runtime, and in the Security section uncheck the option to "Enable Java content in the browser," which will disable the browser plug-in.

Java 7u10 seems to make things easier by providing users with a central and persistent option for controlling Web-based Java content regardless of how many browsers they use.