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Oracle patches Java 0-day, goes to Defcon 2

Have you tried turning it off and on again, suggests Oracle security wonk

Oracle has patched the latest Java nasty, suggesting users of the increasingly-flaw-prone product visit java.com pronto to download a new version of the software that addresses the flaw and stops malicious websites gaining control of compromised computers.

In a blog post describing the fix, Oracle's Eric P. Maurice may just have leaked some of Oracle's worries about Java besmirching its overall reputation, writing “These vulnerabilities do not affect Java on servers, Java desktop applications, or embedded Java.”

Oracle has also changed Java-in-a-browser's default security level to “High”. Maurice writes that means “... unsuspecting users visiting malicious web sites will be notified before an applet is run and will gain the ability to deny the execution of the potentially malicious applet.” Cue social engineering attacks, one imagines.

Maurice has another weapon he hopes Java users will deploy: the off button. “Note also that Java SE 7 Update 10 introduced the ability for users to easily disable Java in their browsers through the Java Control Panel,” he wrote. Another bug like this one and even that advice may be redundant: users must surely be considering just how much they need Sun's software spawn given its frequent pwnage. ®

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