A new Update 17 version for JRE and JDK closes some major risks, including "arbitrary code execution," according to US-CERT.

Sun's new software versions, released yesterday, also address privilege escalation, denial of service, and information disclosure vulnerabilities, according to US-CERT's post. Unless you've turned it off, Java will check for updates automatically, but will only do so once a month (on a day that varies per installation).

To grab the new version right away, double-click the Java icon in the Windows Control Panel to bring up the Java control panel. Head to the Update tab, and then click the Update Now button.

More: http://pcworld.com/article/181443/