In case you missed it over the weekend, an exploit was found in Oracle’s JDK7 version of Java that was so bad that it led the United States government to issue a statement suggesting users turn Java off ASAP. That’s a pretty big deal. Oracle rushed a patch out the door, but security experts are saying that this is going to take more than a quick fix.
Java is everywhere these days, running on Windows, MacOS, Linux, and some phones. Odds are you’re using Java right now. For every person who updates, there are scores more who will miss this news, leaving their machines open to naughtiness. On the plus side, those same people are probably not running the latest Java, so they may be immune due to the same lack of tech skills.
However, play it safe by uninstalling Java or adding a blocker. You can get all the information here.
Java is a major web technology and not the easiest thing to avoid. However, please be smart and be safe.
The links you have for killing scripts in the article above are for JavaScript, not for disabling Java. Java is not the same thing as JavaScript. Here is a link from CERT on the issue: http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA13-010A.html
Appreciated, Paul.