New Java Attack Rolled into Exploit Packs

According to Krebson Security if you have not updated your Java to the latest version you may be asking for trouble. Most of you Majorgeeks know better than to allow software like Java and Adobe Flash player to become out of date because most updates contain important security fixes that could compromise your computer.

“The exploit targets a bug in Java (CVE-20120-0507) that effectively allows the bypassing of Java’s sandbox, a mechanism built into the ubiquitous software that is designed partly to blunt attacks from malicious code. Microsoft’s Malware Protection Center warned last week that new malware samples were surfacing which proved highly effective at exploiting the flaw. Microsoft says the samples it saw loaded the ZeuS Trojan, but thieves can use such attacks to install malware of their choosing.”

According to Oracle, who owns Java, they say Java is installed on 3 billion devices overall. Many of us do not need Java so removing it is always an option, again something done by many geeks to avoid problems with it completely. Simply go to your add\remove programs or programs and features and look for J2SE Runtime Environment and\or Java and remove it. If a program comes up that requires Java you can always reinstall it and be sure you have the latest version. Odds are if you are using Java on your computer it might be for web based games.

We have a handful of options here to make sure all is well with your Java, let’s take a look:

JavaRA can remove old and redundant versions of Sun Java. Often times you might have Java installed more than once so this is a single download that can make sure all is well with Java on your computer.

IOBit Uninstaller is a better way to remove programs from your computer. If you want to remove Sun Java then download this, run it and be sure to do the “powerful scan” to get any files or registry entries left behind.

Sun Java Runtime Environment is the actually download for Java. If you don’t have it, or uninstalled it and changed your mind then here it is.

If you keep Sun Java installed, it will automatically update as needed for you. As always remember to slow down on the internet. A little common sense goes a long way to keeping yourself safe online.