How to circumvent XProtect and re-enable Java Applets

javamalwaresnow leopard

So, Apple has again updated their XProtect malware definitions to block Java Applets. Unfortunately, my wife's employer's VPN requires an Applet to be run in order to fully establish connectivity. She woke up this morning to discover she couldn't connect to work.

I have little hope that her employer's IT organization will do anything to resolve this anytime soon, so I'm trying to figure out a way to override XProtect and re-enable Applets. Yes, I understand the dangers associated with such.

I haven't yet tried updating the XProtect.meta.plist file to change the version information, but I suspect that wouldn't be a durable fix even if it did work temporarily, as the XProtect daemon would presumably re-download updated definitions.

Anybody knowledgeable on the inner workings of XProtect?

The computer is still on Snow Leopard, running Java 6.

Best Answer

You can disable the XProtect updates in System Preferences => Security => General, and there uncheck the box "Automatically update safe downloads list."

Now you can change the version info in /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.meta.plist