Following the hack on a small number of Apple corporate Macs, Apple has released a Java security patch to end users.
Java for OS X 2013-001 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_41.
On systems that have not already installed Java for OS X 2012-006, this update disables the Java SE 6 applet plug-in. To use applets on a web page, click on the region labeled “Missing plug-in” to download the latest version of the Java applet plug-in from Oracle.
Please quit any web browsers and Java applications before installing this update.
The update is available in the Software Update pane under the Mac App Store application. It is also available for direct download from Apple’s website. Apple also provides a document on the security information related to the update.
