Is your Mac safe? New Java security vulnerability discovered

A new Java 7 security vulnerability could potentially infect Mac users.

Malware developers are currently using this vulnerability to exploit systems using runtime installed. This vulnerability is similar to the most recent Flashback malware that affected thousands of Mac systems earlier this year.

This latest threat uses what is being called a “drive-by” attach, which means visiting  a malicious webpage could result in the Java applet running and compromising your system.

According to CNET, “When the exploit loads, systems may see a blank Web page with no activity, but may also see a brief Java icon with “Loading” text before this icon and text vanishes.”

While this security vulnerability could infect your Mac, the chances are quite unlikely.

Because the exploit isn’t an Apple-supplied product and is running on the latest Java 7 runtime means very few people would actually experience some kind of threat.

Users would actually have to update to Java 7 manually to receive this update because Apple hasn’t forced users to update from 6 to 7 yet.

But of course, when a Mac becomes susceptible to viruses, the media pounces on Apple, which has advertised in the past that Mac computers don’t take on viruses like P.C. systems.

Back in April, More than a half of a million Macs — desktops and desktops — were affected by  the Flashback malware. The outbreak affected users who ignored their software update that Apple released a week before the virus starting infecting Macs.

Macs rarely caught viruses a decade ago because it wasn’t worth the trouble. There weren’t enough Mac users out there to actually do some damage.

Today there are more than 63 million Macs in use worldwide.

According to a report from MacRumors, “Java remains one of the highest-profile targets for attackers seeking to compromise systems on a broad basis.”

If you’re a Mac user, does new of viruses scare you? Let us know below.

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