Apple Releases Emergency OS X Java Update Following Chinese Hack

Following the Chinese hack affecting a number of Apple’s corporate Macs, Apple has released an emergency update to Java for OS X, patching the bug which allowed the hack.

About Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 13

Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 13 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_41. 

On systems that have not already installed Java for Mac OS X 10.6 update 9 or later, this update will configure web browsers to not automatically run Java applets. Java applets may be re-enabled by clicking the region labeled “Inactive plug-in” on a web page. If no applets have been run for an extended period of time, the Java web plug-in will deactivate. 

Please quit any web browsers and Java applications before installing this update.

See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5651 for more details about this update. 

See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222 for information about the security content of this update.

The update is available now through Software Update, as well as direct download from Apple’s support site.

J. Glenn Künzler

Glenn is Managing Editor at MacTrast, and has been using a Mac since he bought his first MacBook Pro in 2006. He lives in a small town in Utah, enjoys bacon more than you can possibly imagine, and is severely addicted to pie.