Apple’s Mac machines do support Java and Apple has been updating the software. However, these updates haven’t been timely. And just one of these delays have resulted in a mass infection of 500,000 Mac machines due to a tiny vulnerability in an older version of Flash. Now, Oracle says that it will be extending direct Java support for OS X.
Oracle had originally shipped an update for Java, covering the vulnerability in the earlier version. However, Apple was some two months late in having the update implemented. The result was rather disastrous, infecting more than 500,000 Mac machines with a Flash malware.
Apparently, in the wake of this incident, Oracle has decided that it needs to take in charge. As a result, the company has announced in a blog post that it will be extending direct Java support for OS X from now on. This means that Java for Mac would updated regularly and directly, at the same time when Windows users get a Java update.
To ensure this, the company has also made available Java Development Kit 7 and JavaFX Software Development Kit 2.1 for OS X. This would at least ensure that incident like the infection of Mac machines with a Flash malware would be contained and less probable in the coming days. Apple’s own security has also been put to question when Kaspersky Labs stated that Apple’s security is a full ten years behind that of Microsoft.
Also, Oracle’s newer versions of Java will work only with OS 10.7 and higher. Users tooling these versions will be able to get automatic updates for the software.
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