NEW YORK — Some Mac users were taken by surprise Thursday as their computers stopped running programs written using the Java programming language after Apple blocked Java due to security problems.

The block applies to Java versions 1.7 (or 7) 11.22. Apple's blacklisting comes after security researchers noted that the even with the latest update installed, the popular application framework ...

When Apple instituted the first Java block in January the move was considered unusual, in part because Apple has typically used its Xprotect to block malware such as the widespread Flashback ...