As noted by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop, Apple today updated its malware definition file "Xprotect.plist" to block older versions of Adobe Flash Player in Safari. Versions of Flash that come before the latest 11.6.602.171 update will be automatically blacklisted.
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To help protect users from a recent vulnerability, Apple has updated the web plug-in-blocking mechanism to disable older versions of the web plug-in: Adobe Flash Player
The ban comes after a security bulletin issued by Adobe earlier this week, covering three different vulnerabilities and recommending an update to the newest version of Flash.
In recent weeks, Apple has aggressively used its anti-malware tools to enforce minimum plug-in versions in light of security issues affecting the software. Recent blocks have included a previous Flash Player update enforcement in early February, and several blocks of Oracle's Java 7 Web plug-in earlier this year.
Top Rated Comments
You can argue all day long that Java/Flash/plugins shouldn't be necessary, but it doesn't change the fact that remotely disabling stuff with no opt-out or even warning is NOT okay.
What are you doing to convey to the software vendor that it is urgent to upgrade their service to eliminate the need for Java in the browser?
Have you ever worked in an enterprise environment? Java is widespread, because it is cross-platform. You only have to right software once, and it will work on Mac, Windows, mobile phone, an ATM, whatever. That's part of the reason people try to compromise it so often.
Unless Oracle somehow self-destructs, Java isn't going away anytime soon. Heck, even CrashPlan Pro (the supposed gold standard in Mac backup that Apple uses on 27,000 of its campus computers) uses a Java client to run. That's right - read it: Apple uses Java on nearly every desktop computer on their campus.
As far as we can tell, it's simply a matter of complacency and laziness that is leaving your site with the risky implementation. You seem to not realize: apathy by businesses like yours is what is keeping this problem in place.
Are you perhaps hoping that Java will someday be secure?
Some of us prefer having complete integration with the OS. Plus, I haven't experienced any show stopping bugs while using Safari.