With nearly no explanation, Microsoft sent out an alert notifying customers that it was removing download information for 10 security patches “because Microsoft Java Virtual Machine is no longer available for distribution from Microsoft.” The revised bulletins are rated as critical and affect patches from the years 1999 through 2003.
The affected patches are: MS03-011, MS02-069, MS02-052, MS02-013, MS00-081, MS00-075, MS00-059, MS00-011, MS99-045, MS99-031.
But the timing is odd. The Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (MSJVM) was a technology included in some versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows that let Java applets run in the browser or on a Windows machine. It was the subject of a giant legal battle between Microsoft and Sun, with Sun accusing Microsoft of altering its virtual machine so that Java applets couldn’t properly function on Microsoft’s platforms (and rightly so).
Read more at NetworkWorld