Apple news this week was dominated by a recent vulnerability in the Java plug-in for web browsers that affected all computers, not just Macs. The potential threat was pretty much a non-issue as Apple used the OS X “Xprotect” system to disable affected versions of Java on Macs. Disabling Java in browsers was also recommended by many, including MacMost (http://macmost.com/disable-java-in-your-browser.html). Oracle quickly issued an update to Java to fix this vulnerability.
FaceTime may soon realize its full potential. The largest iPhone carrier in the U.S., AT&T, is about to allow FaceTime video chat over its network to all customers except those still using the original unlimited data plan. Other major carriers already allow FaceTime.
On Wall Street AAPL had a busy week as the stock was hit with fears that iPhone parts orders have been cut. But other analysts disagreed saying the cuts were only a sign of changes in Apple’s supply lines and the stock rebounded.
Java Scare, FaceTime Almost Everywhere
Comments: 5 Responses to “Java Scare, FaceTime Almost Everywhere”
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For those with Safari 6.x who desire to disable (i.e. protect yourself) from Java it is not exactly clear what to do. Open Safari Preferences, click on Security and remove the check mark from "Enable Java" - do not remove the check mark from "Enable Plug-ins" even though Java is often classed as a plug-in. If you look under Safari's Help menu item, you will see a complete list of Plug-ins - many of which you will not want to disable. (Java plugs are disabled by the above.)
In the video (http://macmost.com/disable-java-in-your-browser.html) you can see the steps to do exactly this, and for other browsers too.
It is my understanding that the quick "fix" version 11 of Java that Oracle released this week is still quite vulnerable. See article on ARS Technica: http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/01/5000-will-buy-you-access-to-another-new-critical-java-vulnerability/
Do you know of any extensions for Safari that would allow one to turn Java on and off easily. I do use some sites that absolutely need Java (an online LMS for a university I teach at for example) and it would be great to be able to enable it while on that site but quickly turn it off without have to go back into preferences.
No. Perhaps changing that setting is outside of the powers of an extension -- I could see how that would be the case as it might pose a security risk doing that.
But it is very easy to do this with the Preferences. Much easier than with other browsers. Command+, and then click. You can even lead the Preferences window open and then it is just a click.