Java must be improving -- only 42 security holes patched this round
Allow me to begin with an emphatic statement: if you have Java on your computer then get it off now! Oracle released its latest round of security patches for the incredibly buggy, and surprisingly still popular, platform, with numerous new holes waiting to either be patched or exploited.
When word came down of the latest fixes and I mentioned it in the BetaNews newsroom, our president Scott Alperin could utter only "seems like time to put PC-side Java out of its misery". Indeed.
According to the Oracle announcement "this Critical Patch Update contains 42 new security fixes across Java SE products of which 2 are applicable to server deployments of Java". The company continues to explain "39 of these vulnerabilities may be remotely exploitable without authentication". 42, that is all. Thankfully it is not 43, or 50. Perhaps next month.
For the record, this is Java 7 update 21. The update introduces some new security warnings and message prompts as well as patches. Apps that present a lower risk will display a simple informational message. This includes an option to prevent showing similar messages for apps that come from the same publisher in the future.
The latest round of updates covers Java versions 5, 6 and 7, though I recommend you run the latest...ahh...actually I recommend you run none at all. Java has even managed to get the bastion of Apple hacked, and if it can do that then imagine the horrors which can be unleashed. Check Flash. Your move.
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