In a last-week-released update for Lion and Mountain Lion, Apple further distanced itself from Orcale's popular Java program by removing the Java browser plug-in in all the browsers compatible with the company's Mac computers.

As a result of the update, which came one day after a Java patch was announced by Oracle on Tuesday, all Mac browsers have been stripped off the Java plug-in advantage.

The move implies that, upon the installation of the update, a placeholder - reading "Missing Plug-in" - will be displayed when the Mac users are presented with Java content. Thereafter, users who wish to use the Java plug-in will have to download Oracle's Java version directly.

Going by the information shared on the Apple Support page, the recently-released update by Apple is for OS X versions 10.7 and later. The update not only removes the Java plug-in for all Mac browsers, it also eliminates the Java Preferences application, which, as per the update advisory, is not needed for applet setting configuration.

Noting that the latest Apple update will apparently not be noticed by the majority of Internet users to do not use Java regularly, several tech experts are of the opinion that such users should either uninstall Java or at least disable it in their browsers, so as to reduce the chances of the infiltration risk for their computers.