US gov't says Java still poses risk, even after security update

Jan 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reiterated advice for computer users to disable Oracle Corp's widely used Java software for surfing the Web, saying it still poses risks to users after the company released an emergency update over the weekend.

"Unless it is absolutely necessary to run Java in web browsers, disable it," the Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team said on Monday in a posting on its website.

The software maker released an update to Java on Sunday, just days after DHS issued its initial warning on the software, saying that bugs in the program were being exploited to commit identity theft and other crimes.

Security experts say that PCs running Java in their browsers could be attacked by criminals seeking to steal credit-card numbers, banking credentials, passwords and commit other types of computer crimes.

Oracle officials could not be reached for immediate comment.