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Concerns about the susceptibility of the Java programming language to cyberattacks culminated Thursday night, with a warning posted on the Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-Cert) calling on the public to disable Java on their personal computers.

The call came in response to the discovery of a new vulernability that lets an attacker execute code on a PC running Java. The vulnerability is reportedly already being used in “exploit kits” which are pre-packaged, for-sale tool kits that can be used to commit online crimes such as stealing someone’s identity.

“We are currently unaware of a practical solution to this problem,” the posting said.

Security experts have been advising people to disable Java for some time, since it is so commonly targeted by cyber criminals. Last fall, Apple won praise for a Mac update that removed a Java plugin from all Mac-compatible web browsers. “I think that the way they’ve handled Java in the browser was their biggest win in 2012,” Charlie Miller, a former NSA employee turned noted Apple hacker, told Ars Technica.

Turning off Java can be done in a few simple steps, depending on which browsers you use.

Mac owners who use Google Chrome can go to Chrome://plugins and verify that the Java plugin is disabled. If you use Safari, you can choose Safari>Preferences, click security and uncheck the box that says “enable Java.” If you use Firefox, you can choose Tools>Add-ons, search “My add-ons” and disable any Java plugin.

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