New Java versions address installation vulnerability

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Java 8 Update 73, Java 7 Update 97, and Java 6 Update 113 were announced yesterday by Oracle. The new versions fix a serious vulnerability in the Windows installer for all previous versions of Java.

Although technically you don’t need to install the latest versions of Java if you were already up to date, you should at least make sure that you have uninstalled any older versions of Java on your Windows computers. Also, if you have any previously-downloaded Java installers, you should remove those as well.

And finally, be very careful about where you obtain Java. Always make sure that you’re getting it from Oracle, via the main Java download page or using the Windows Java Control Panel.

A security alert for the new Java versions provides additional information.

About jrivett

Jeff Rivett has worked with and written about computers since the early 1980s. His first computer was an Apple II+, built by his father and heavily customized. Jeff's writing appeared in Computist Magazine in the 1980s, and he created and sold a game utility (Ultimaker 2, reviewed in the December 1983 Washington Apple Pi Journal) to international markets during the same period. Proceeds from writing, software sales, and contract programming gigs paid his way through university, earning him a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree at UWO. Jeff went on to work as a programmer, sysadmin, and manager in various industries. There's more on the About page, and on the Jeff Rivett Consulting site.

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