Hey, remember that nasty bit of malware called Flashback that we wrote about a few days back? Yesterday, Apple pushed out a security update that will remove the most common variants of the trojan, and updates Java in an effort to prevent future infections from occurring. If anything could take a bite out of the over half-million reportedly infected Macs, it’s this.
The security update, benignly called “Java for OS X Lion 2012-003,” takes direct aim at Flashback. From the information released by Apple:
This Java security update removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware.
This update also configures the Java web plug-in to disable the automatic execution of Java applets. Users may re-enable automatic execution of Java applets using the Java Preferences application. If the Java web plug-in detects that no applets have been run for an extended period of time it will again disable Java applets.
Java for OS X Lion 2012-003 delivers Java SE 6 version 1.6.0_31 and supersedes all previous versions of Java for OS X Lion.
Needless to say, if you own a Mac and don’t religiously update it, now is a good time. It’s easy: Just click on the Apple menu in the upper left corner, and drag down to “Software Update.” Follow the steps on the screen, and you’ll be on your way to being protected against Flashback.
Previous Java updates closed loopholes used by Flashback variants to install themselves on to computers — usually by simply visiting a malicious website. However, this targeted update should keep Flashback at bay. At least, for now.
