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Apple Updates Java To Include Flashback Removal
Fluffeh writes "In the third update to Java that Apple has released this week, the update now identifies and removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware that has infected over half a million Apple machines. 'This Java security update removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware,' Apple wrote in the support document for the update. 'This update also configures the Java web plug-in to disable the automatic execution of Java applets. Users may re-enable automatic execution of Java applets using the Java Preferences application. If the Java web plug-in detects that no applets have been run for an extended period of time it will again disable Java applets.'"
Macs don't get viruses!
Almost no computer gets viruses anymore. Trojans & malware on the other hand...
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
...I was wondering why the art department at work and the guy who makes my coffee was pissed.
So to fix the problem, they say lets disable java by default. They are new to the security game.
Lets say using adobe photoshop had a vulnerability, apple's defense is disable the running of photoshop when launching a ps file withotut prompting?
It's like preventing your child walking without your permission every time and then when their grown up and able to make their own decisions and decide to walk, you say, oh you have not walked in a while, you can't walk again.
apple's "security through scarcity" is starting to fade away as they gain marketshare. any popular OS will get viruses, malware, trojans, etc.
will mac os get a stonger walled garden as a result? i hope not as i was about to buy my first mac.
Most of the problems have been related to people installing software from the internet manually and things like Java. I'm not saying anything pro or con about Apple I own both Mac and Windows machines so I have no horse in this race. Like Linux the core OS is pretty sound I just wish Microsoft had bitten the bullet and made the leap when they did the Vista overhaul. It was a pretty brave move for Apple at the time to switch the OS and it paid off in the long run. Add ons like Java are always going to be a source of headaches. All I know is I rarely have trouble with my Macs but the PCs are another story. One of mine I had to surrender for internet use because it got nailed by a redirect and I tried everything and short of redoing the OS there was no way to scrub it out. I find it safer to use Mac for web surfing and downloading things like software and I use a lot of licensed photos in my work. It's just my personal experience that I run into far fewer issues with the Macs.
They're trying to prevent malware by installing their own malware.
It is absolutely right to disable Java by default. Even the behaviour of disabling it if not used for a while COULD have been a useful feature IF they turned that behaviour on by default then provided an option to disable it. By taking it out of the user's hands they're just playing nanny. But like any nanny stuck in an office many years and many miles away they can't anticipate the needs of their entire userbase very well. They have just made it a pain for any user to use Java in a browser on their platform. No one needs a computer that decides not to obey settings the user had set (no matter how long ago). Think of what would happen if every setting on your computer set to defaults every week or two.
I can think of ways around this that don't require any technical savvy. Put a local Java applet in as your homepage for instance. But this is clunky. You should be able to say "no I really do know better" and turn on Java.
This is the problem when applying the principle of least privilege. It is also the principle of least innovation and the principle of most annoyance. The bottom line is no one needs access to a computer just to live and breath. Least privilege is oxygen, water, basic food. Wouldn't be much of a fun life.
If an Intel Mac is still running Leopard or earlier then I would have to wonder why. SL will run on any Intel Mac, is superior in nearly every way, and is a whopping $29. If it's a PowerPC Mac, then rest easy, because nobody is going to write malware designed to run on them. What's the point? They're a sliver of the Mac market and that number is going to get any bigger.