Java update 2012-006 did not remove Java plugin from any browser

You are correct in that I have not found anybody else with your problem, but many who didn't realize it would be removed.

Check /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ for any alias with "Java" in the name.

If it's not there, perhaps there's a cache somewhere that needs to be cleaned out. Try resetting Safari. If that works, try a similar approach with Firefox.

MadMacs0 wrote:

You are correct in that I have not found anybody else with your problem, but many who didn't realize it would be removed...

You can add me to the list. In Mountain Lion I ran the update; the Java Preferences app in Utilities was deleted but the plugins in Firefox and Safari were not. Installing Oracle Java was indeterminate in that their Preference control panel wouldn't run. Copying that app from another partition into ML's Utilities folder got access to Apple's Java back, at which point I discovered that not only hadn't Apple's Java (1.6.0_37) not been deleted, but it had been turned back on (I've been routinely turning it off manually for security). Without the Java Preference app, there's no easy way I know of to tell if it's turned on or off so it looks like the latest update may have made things worse, at least for those of us who's plugins are still untouched.

FatMac\>MacPro wrote:

In Mountain Lion I ran the update; the Java Preferences app in Utilities was deleted but the plugins in Firefox and Safari were not.

So you were able to find the the alias in /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/?

Initially that plug-in only worked with Safari. Then something called JavaEmbededPlugin came out which allowed several other browsers to use the Java plugin, as well. Then Mozilla started included within their applications, including Firefox (/Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/plugins/JavaEmbeddingPlugin.bundle). I'm not using a current version of Firefox, so I'm not certain whether that is still true or not.

Oracle Java was indeterminate in that their Preference control panel wouldn't run.

Have not heard that problem before.

Copying that app from another partition into ML's Utilities folder got access to Apple's Java back, at which point I discovered that not only hadn't Apple's Java (1.6.0_37) not been deleted, but it had been turned back on

Good to know.

Without the Java Preference app, there's no easy way I know of to tell if it's turned on or off so it looks like the latest update may have made things worse, at least for those of us who's plugins are still untouched.

You can type "Java -version", without the quotes, into Terminal and it should tell you what is active. If none it will say "Unable to locate a Java Runtime to invoke." but I know of no way to use it to disable it if active.

Others who's plugins were deleted have confirmed that 1.6.0_37 was still installed and active after obtaining the Java 7 plugin.

TheGoodLife99 wrote:

Yes, the alias "JavaAppletPlugin.plugin" is still in "/Library/Internet Plugins/

So if you want to disable the plugin, drag the alias to the trash.

And yes, this file still exists in the Deploy bundle, too.

It is supposed to stay there. The update does not actually remove Java 6, it only removes the alias (actually a symlink, but it acts in the same manner). You should not remove the Deploy bundle.

TheGoodLife99 wrote:

Thanks - I will keep the symlink in place and I won't touch the Deploy bundle, because I need the plugin in Safari and I don't need Oracle's Java 7 for now...

If the plugin is supposed to stay in the Deploy bundle, this could help others who miss the plugin - they could just recreate the symlink, right?

Exactly. That is what Oracle tells us in this FAQ.

Does anybody know what "com.apple.mrt.uiagent" and "com.apple.mrt" stands for?

Obviously the "postinstall" script provides an invalid argument (at least on my system).

Yes, it stands for Malware Removal Tool (as far as we have been able to determine). It was used first during the MacDefender and later during the Flashback malware eras to get rid of any trace of those infections. When it was finished it was supposed to completely delete itself, so this problem goes back a few months or years to when you ran the Security or Java update involved and it too must have failed. I'd have to go back a ways to figure out exactly where those components were located, almost certainly one of your LaunchAgent or LaunchDaemon folders with the three Library folders.

TheGoodLife99 wrote:

Thanks - I will keep the symlink in place and I won't touch the Deploy bundle, because I need the plugin in Safari and I don't need Oracle's Java 7 for now...

If the plugin is supposed to stay in the Deploy bundle, this could help others who miss the plugin - they could just recreate the symlink, right?

MadMac,

I have uninstalled Java 7 since it doesn't run the apps I want it to. However, when I try to run the command line:

% sudo ln -s /System/Library/Java/Support/CoreDeploy.bundle/Contents/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

in terminal, I just get the message "no such job". Any ideas? I'm trying to get Java 6 running again.

Caledonia80 wrote:

I have uninstalled Java 7 since it doesn't run the apps I want it to. However, when I try to run the command line:

% sudo ln -s /System/Library/Java/Support/CoreDeploy.bundle/Contents/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

in terminal, I just get the message "no such job". Any ideas? I'm trying to get Java 6 running again.

Yes, leave out the "% " before sudo and try again. Not sure why Oracle doesn't know most of us use bash in Terminal (the "$ " prompt) or maybe they want us to switch?

Thanks for your reply Mad.

I tried as you suggested, and was hopeful at first since this time I was asked for my system password. However, having entered that, I just got the message:

ln: Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin: No such file or directory

Basically I don't know what I'm doing, but this makes sense since to uninstall java 7 I moved the javaappletplugin.plugin to trash, as per the instructions on Oracle's website.

I'm lost, lol. First I did the mac 2012-006 update, then I installed Java 7 JRE from Oracle, then Java 7 JDK after someone suggested I needed that. Currently I think both are uninstalled, yet when I enter java -version in terminal I still get the message:

java version "1.7.0_09"

Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_09-b05)

Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.5-b02, mixed mode)

As I understand it Java 6 is still on my mac (the update didn't erase it, just the ability to use it in browsers). I suppose I'm asking what I should try next to reactivate Java 6 in my browsers. Any help from anyone is appreciated.

Caledonia80 wrote:

I tried as you suggested, and was hopeful at first since this time I was asked for my system password. However, having entered that, I just got the message:

ln: Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin: No such file or directory

Sorry, I really thought that Oracle knew what they were doing so didn't check and don't believe I can test it with my setup. They forgot to escape the space between Internet and Plug-Ins.

OK, I tested it as best I could since I'm still on Java 5, but this seems to work:

sudo ln -s /System/Library/Java/Support/CoreDeploy.bundle/Contents/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

Thanks again for your efforts, Mac.

I managed to get rid of Java 7 completely now I think (terminal was previously giving me the message:

java version "1.7.0_09"

Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_09-b05)

Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.5-b02, mixed mode)

Now when I enter java -version in terminal I get:

java version "1.6.0_37"

Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_37-b06-434-11M3909)

Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.12-b01-434, mixed mode)

I then tried the command you suggested (sudo ln -s /System/Library/Java/Support/CoreDeploy.bundle/Contents/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin) and it seemed to work, in that I notice JavaAppletPlugin.plugin has re-appeared in the internet plug-ins file. Yet when I use any browser to try to run a java app, I just get the "missing plug-in" message all over again, with a link to download Java 7 from Oracle.

Any ideas? Thanks again.

Caledonia80 wrote:

I then tried the command you suggested (sudo ln -s /System/Library/Java/Support/CoreDeploy.bundle/Contents/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin) and it seemed to work, in that I notice JavaAppletPlugin.plugin has re-appeared in the internet plug-ins file. Yet when I use any browser to try to run a java app, I just get the "missing plug-in" message all over again, with a link to download Java 7 from Oracle.

I probably should have mentioned that I may have gotten the same results when I ran the test because my plug-in resides in the "Deploy.bundle" rather than the "CoreDeploy.bundle" with Java 5. When I click on the JavaAppletPlugin.plugin file and type Command-R to show the original linked file, it gives me an error telling me the alias is broken. So it produces the symlink file whether it finds the original or not, which I consider to be a bug in the shell code. Same thing happens with both bash and tcsh, if anybody is interested.

But I know others who have verified that their plugin was still in the bundle, so if you get the same error we need to figure out where your actual plug-in is if not in CoreDeploy. First take a look in /System/Library/Java/Support/ at what bundles you find (I have CoreDeploy.bundle, Deploy.bundle & VisualVM.bundle). For at least the first two, right-click/control-click on the file and choose "Show Package Content" from the popup CM. Now search through the various folders until you find "JavaAppletPlugin.plugin" and note the full path as well as the version number.

Message was edited by: MadMacs0