If using OS X Lion v10.7.5 or OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.3 or later
Over 600,000 Mac machines were infected with the recent Flashback Trojan malware. Apple, although a bit late to the scene, has finally fixed the vulnerability through a recent Java update. All the Mac users — iMac, MacBook Pro, Air — will be better off updating their systems to the newly available Java package. Jun 18, 2013 Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 17 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.065. This update enables per-website control of the Java plug-in within Safari 5.1.9 or later.
Get the latest version of Java from Oracle.
If Java 7 or later is already installed, you can use the Java Control Panel to download and install the update:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Java to open the Java Control Panel.
- Click the Update tab and follow the onscreen instructions.
If using Mac OS X v10.6.8
Use Software Update or the Mac App Store to install all available software updates.
Limit your exposure to potential Java web app vulnerabilities
You can disable the Java web plug-in, then enable it only when you need to run a Java web app. While the plug-in is enabled, browse only the websites that need the Java web app. When you're done with those websites, disable the Java web plug-in again.
Java is a computer programming language that is designed to let application developers “write once, run anywhere”, meaning that code that runs on one platform (OS X, Windows, Android) does not need to be recompiled to run on another. Java is an Oracle Corporation product. Free spybot for mac.
Java is used both by applications and web browsers. However, the nature of Java means that it is susceptible to security breaches, i.e., using Java could make it easier for bad people to get their hands on your data.
For this reason, Apple has chosen to stop including Java with OS X for security reasons and because most people don’t need it. Microsoft office 2008 for mac.
There are two very popular games, Minecraft and Runescape, that both require Java in order to run. The Mac version of the online backup service CrashPlan needs Java, but interestingly the Windows version of the client does not. Malware protection for mac. Adobe Creative Suite also requires Java to be installed for some of the features to work. For instance, you can’t install Illustrator without first installing Java, but you can install Photoshop. OpenOffice and NeoOffice, two alternatives to Microsoft’s Office suite, are two more Mac-based applications that require Java for some of their main features, most notably the OpenOffice database application Base, to function properly.
That’s about it for most of the mainstream desktop applications that are out there. There are more niche products that require it, but if you are using these applications, you probably already know if they require Java.
The Bottom Line
If you want to be the most secure about Java and don’t have any applications that require it…
Download Java Update for OS X 2012-006 using Software update. This update uninstalls the Apple-provided Java applet plug-in from all web browsers. To use applets on a web page, click on the region labeled “Missing plug-in” to go download the latest version of the Java applet plug-in from Oracle. This update also removes the Java Preferences application, which is no longer required to configure Java applet settings.
If you have applications that require Java and you don’t have it…
Download the latest version of Java from Oracle. If you have applications that require Java, and all you want to do is disable Java on the internet, you can turn off Java in Safari. Open Safari’s Security Preferences and uncheck the Enable Java checkbox to turn off Java in Safari. As an alternative, if you have multiple browsers installed, like Chrome or Firefox, you can elect to pick just one browser to use with Java. Choose which browser you want to use Java with and only enable Java in that browser’s preferences.
Java Update For Mac El Capitan
For the most part, the majority of users can get by without ever installing Java on their Macs and never know what they were missing.