Oracle’s Java 8 Update 66

Following closely on the heels of Oracle’s release of Java 8 Update 65, Oracle has released Java 8 Update 66. This update is also using Oracle’s install application.

What’s the difference between Update 65 and Update 66? Update 65 is a Critical Patch Update (CPU), which contains both fixes to security vulnerabilities and critical bug fixes. Update 66 is a Patch Set Update (PSU), which means it contains all the fixes in the corresponding CPU, plus additional fixes to non-critical problems. For more details on the differences between CPU and PSU updates, please see the link below:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/cpu-psu-explained-2331472.html

So the short version is that Update 65 has “critical bug fixes” and Update 66 has “Update 65’s bug fixes, plus more bug fixes.”

You can get Oracle’s Java 8 Update 66 from the link below:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jre8-downloads-2133155.html

For more details on Java 8 Update 66, see below the jump.

While the Oracle install application is not a standard installer package, it appears that Oracle had stored an installer package for Java 8 within the install application at the following location:

/path/to/install.app/Contents/Resources/JavaAppletPlugin.pkg

Once the JavaAppletPlugin installer package is copied out of the install application, it can be deployed like previous Java updates’ installer packages.

 

Oracle’s Java 8 Update 66 install application has the following behavior:

This application will prompt for admin privileges before fully launching.

 

Once you provide admin authentication, the application launches.

It will then tell you how many devices run Java while it installs.

Once complete, it’ll tell you what it’s installed.

Unlike previous incarnations of the install application, Java 8 Update 65‘s and Java 8 Update 66‘s install applications do not appear to try to install any browser toolbars. To verify this behavior, I ran the MacJREInstaller binary which the Oracle Java application is using to actually install the Java browser plug-in.

While I observed that Java 8 Update 66’s MacJREInstaller continued to check with Oracle and report which country it was being installed in, I did not see anything being downloaded from Oracle. This behavior matches what I observed with Java 8 Update 65. For those interested, I’ve posted the output below.