04-23-2012, 07:36 AM

I want to disable java to make sure that my mac would not get flashback trojan in the future. I have been reading several posts and saw that some are suggesting to turn java off from Java Preferences while others are suggesting to disable it from the Safari preferences.

What difference would it make?


And, since new apple updates are supposed to turn it off automatically if inactive for an extended period of time, from where is it being turned off?


Thanks.

04-23-2012, 02:00 PM

anyone?

04-23-2012, 02:24 PM

If you want to disable it entirely, do it through Java Preferences. Disabling in Safari will only do so for Safari and not for any other applications that may use it.

04-23-2012, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

If you want to disable it entirely, do it through Java Preferences. Disabling in Safari will only do so for Safari and not for any other applications that may use it.

Thanks for the reply. Is the recent java update suppose to automatically disable it? if then is it disabling from Java Preferences? I have not been running any java applets for past few hours, but I checked several times the the plugin is enabled from java preferences application. I know that i can disable it manually, but isn't it supposed to be automatically disabled now?

04-23-2012, 03:40 PM

Yes it does automatically disable execution (see here). If for some reason it hasn't, you can do so yourself.

04-23-2012, 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

Yes it does automatically disable execution (see here). If for some reason it hasn't, you can do so yourself.

Its not being disabled automatically. Although I have installed that update. Any idea about how to get the automatic disabling working?

04-23-2012, 05:27 PM

I don't know how to have the update do it automatically other than to try again. My advice would be to simply disable it manually and not worry about it - both accomplish the same thing.

04-23-2012, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

I don't know how to have the update do it automatically other than to try again. My advice would be to simply disable it manually and not worry about it - both accomplish the same thing.

Thanks for helping. I disabled it from Java Preferences.

04-24-2012, 05:35 AM

Let's just review this for a second:

1. If you're running Snow Leopard or Lion, there is no need to disable Java whatsoever. Of course you can still do it if you want to but there is no possibility of your being caught by the Flashback malware (which has been effectively shut down anyway) presuming you've run Software Update. You are already covered.

2. If you are running something older than 10.6, then you may wish to disable Java entirely. Of course, some programs will cease to function if they depend even in part on Java, but anything that will push you to getting more up-to-date is in my view a good idea.

04-24-2012, 10:42 AM

Disabling applet execution only affects Java applets - client applications will continue to run just fine.

As for whether or not it's a good idea, I'd say that given Apple's poor track record (they are, on average, two months behind Oracle) with regards to releasing timely Java updates, we have enough reasons. In fact, Oracle had this patched months ago.

04-24-2012, 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

As for whether or not it's a good idea, I'd say that given Apple's poor track record (they are, on average, two months behind Oracle) with regards to releasing timely Java updates, we have enough reasons. In fact, Oracle had this patched months ago.

I agree; Java applets are rarely used for anything useful anymore, so they're more trouble than they're worth.

If you use browsers other than Safari, you should also disable Java embedding in those browsers. See the "Additional Information" section at the bottom of this Apple article
How to disable the Java web plug-in in Safari