Apple users once boasted they don't have to worry about viruses and malware like Windows users. Thanks to Java they are equally vulnerable.
On Tuesday Apple company officials announced Mac computers belonging to Apple employees were infected with Java related malware.
The website AllThingsD is reporting that the Apple hacking reported on Tuesday may be related to recent hackings of Facebook and Twitter and has identified the website iPhoneDevSDK as the common thread. You are urged not to visit the website iPhoneDevSDK until all the issues are sorted out as it could be source of the malware.
The recent attack on the Apple OS is nothing new. Last April Wired reported on a Mac malware attack and the increasing number of attacks against Apple’s OS X.
Disable Java in your browser
Back in January the Department of Homeland Security was advising computer users to disable Java on their Web browsers. If you were a defiant Apple user who thought that warning did not pertain to you, perhaps you have now changed your mind?
To make sure Java is not installed into your browser follow this link and check out: http://java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp and see what happens. If your browser window returns the message "Something is wrong. ava is not working." That's probably a good thing.
This article by Sophos, an IT security and data protection company, "Why and How to Disable Java on Your Computer" tells you how to turn off Java on your browser. Although the article was written for a Java problem from last year, the article contains links to simple instructions for users of the most popular browsers, explaining how Java can be disabled.
Just be careful not to confuse Java with JavaScript. Although JavaScript is similar sounding in name, it is not the same technology as Java, and turning off JavaScript may cause your favorite website to stop working properly.
Still wondering if you should take the time to disable Java in your browser?
For more on this topic, check out, "Is Java the root of most internet security problems?"
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