"The Flashback virus is real," emphasizes John Carter. He elaborates on the issue, "There is a Java update available from Apple to fix the problem.
"As a result of doing the latest Java update from Apple, I no longer have Java working on my iMac.
However, the update works on the Mac Mini and the MacBook Air.
" I discovered this on my iMac by invoking the following command in Terminal: java
"The result was: Unable to locate a Java Runtime to invoke
"I went online and discovered that many people complained of the same thing. It seems that installing the older version of Java fixes the problem, but then you leave yourself open to the Flashback virus."
John continues, "I attempted to install the older version from a download from Apple, but the package detected the newer version and would not install. I guess you can only install the older version from the installation DVD.
"At this point, since I am not doing any Java development I am not overly concerned about this 'bug' and I haven’t seen any problems with websites I’ve visited. Google Chrome has its own Java built into the browser and is the preferred browser now for surfing the web because it is immune to the Flashback virus.
"Within the next week, Apple should be doing something about the problem caused by the update and put out a new update."