Java is always at the center of various problems related to malware and the vulnerability of users to hackers, and a recent vulnerability in Java 7 forced Apple to block Java in OS X. Homeland Security advised users to disable it Java 7 on computers due to the fact that hackers are already using the exploit to attack users, but Apple acted in his own style and blocked everything from his OS X.
Hackers have discovered a weakness in Java 7 security that could allow the installation of malicious software and malware on machines that could increase the chance of identity theft, or the unauthorized participation in a botnet that could bring down networks or be used to carry out denial- of-service attacks against Web sites. "We are currently unaware of a practical solution to this problem," said the DHS' Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) in a post on its Web site on Thursday evening. "This vulnerability is being attacked in the wild, and is reported to be incorporated into exploit kits. Exploit code for this vulnerability is also publicly available.”
Apple did this by simply changing a file in OS X, blocking the current version of Java 7 until an update is released. The Xprotect.plist file from OS X contains a list of programs that can run in the operating system, Apple has updated the supported Java 7 version, the one stipulated in the file being higher than the official one available, so the software is theoretically blocked on the OS X until Apple releases an update.
Although Apple acts in less conventional ways, the good part is that users are protected against problems that have nothing to do with Apple.
