Apple → Java 7 Update 11 blocked again?

»appleinsider.com/article ··· e-system

Came across this item saying Apple has blocked JRE again but I just checked and it is still working for me. I'd ditch JRE all together but a few of my customers like Alcoa use Oracle and their vendor accounts payable reporting site (eg Alcoadirect daut kaum) requires Java runtime.

I have Java disabled in Safari, the only browser I have. But despite what that article says, I too have Java active on my system.

Bob$ java -version
java version "1.6.0_37"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_37-b06-434-11M3909)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.12-b01-434, mixed mode)
 

Is this a security issue?

On my Linux laptop, I run the latest Chromium(Open source part of Chrome without Google's cruft and Spyware), which uses the latest version of Apple's Webkit rendering engine. I set it to disable and ask for Javascript and same for plugins, then I have the option to whitelist trusted sites. Then I have NotScript to control scripts within the page from other domains. Its limitation is it can't stop scripts until it loads the main page(because of how webkit's rendering works), but that's where my defaults for Plugins and Javascript come into play. So, I get to use Java for what I need, without exposing my plugin to the world. Even simpler in Firefox with noscript, but I love Webkit. You'd be surprised how many sites you can just keep everything blocked, long as you aren't navigating through them. I almost never have to do anything to view links from here or Google.

I don't think Java Script is the problem. Java is. I have Java totally disabled and the only thing I ever have to enable it for are the tests here on BBR.

Javascript often is used to load such applets within a page and can also be used maliciously. Blocking both it and plugins unless you say yes is a good way to harden your browser against having vulnerabilities in the engine or plugins exploited, as is sandboxing.

I always keep my Java updated to the most recent version.

11 is the latest version isn't it...it's the one they just pushed out during the last debacle.

Actually the outrage is that Apple did this with no warning. Just the press of a key and hundreds of thousands of web sites that rely on Java were disabled. Nice work, Apple!

If they had at least given people a notice that it was going to happen on day XX/XX/XX, at XX:XX pm, it would have allowed people to prepare for it.

They're looking out for own users.

Java 7 update 13 is out now.