Homeland Security urges you to uninstall QuickTime on Windows

[frogboy]

Content source

http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/14/homeland-security-trend-micro-uninstall-quicktime-windows/

The time has come to deinstall QuickTime from your Windows machine.

Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative has just released advisories (ZDI-16-241 and ZDI-16-242) detailing two new, critical, remote code execution vulnerabilities affecting QuickTime for Windows, but Apple is not going to fix them.

Apple has decided to deprecate the popular multimedia framework for Microsoft Windows, and will no longer be issuing security updates for it. Their advice to users: uninstall it.

“Most recent media-related programs for Windows – including iTunes 10.5 or later – no longer use QuickTime to play modern media formats,” Apple explained.

“Uninstalling QuickTime 7 also removes the legacy QuickTime 7 web plug-in, if present. Websites increasingly use the HTML5 web standard for a better video-playback experience across a wide range of browsers and devices, without additional software or plug-ins. Removing legacy browser plug-ins enhances the security of your PC.”

Full Article. Uninstall QuickTime for Windows today! - Help Net Security

 

[Der.Reisende]

Never really used it, as we have the mighty VLC Media Player for years Thanks for sharing @frogboy

 

[Atlas147]

I feel like if those vulnerabilities were already found out and in the open Apple should at least patch them before saying that they stop any further support for the QuickTime as many other users who have QuickTime on their PC might not know about this news and keep it there, whether they use it or not.

 

[Ink]

Trend Micro Report: Urgent Call to Action: Uninstall QuickTime for Windows Today -

 

[Jrs30]

QuickTime is further used for those working with video editing, editors such as Adobe Premiere, After Effects need QuickTime, has other options but QuickTime is always preferred for publishers ... With him not ah incompatibility issues with video formats mainly within the After Effects, which does not recognize all formats, and export a composition in mov format is much better and loses less quality, there QuickTime is interesting in Premiere occurs errors when does not accept a format with QuickTime installed it does not.

 

[upnorth]

Quote : " The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team has advised Windows users running Apple’s QuickTime to uninstall the software to mitigate any future security risks. The advice falls under alert TA16-105A on the United States Computer Readiness Team website, and has been issued in response to Apple announcing that it will no longer be providing security updates for QuickTime on the Windows platform. This alert is intended to provide information to all Windows users running Apple’s QuickTime extensible multimedia framework.

The alert not only provides more information about the discontinuation of QuickTime for Windows, but also states under a description of the issue that while it’s understandable that all “software products have a lifecycle”, and that “Apple will no longer be providing security updates for QuickTime for Windows”, consumers using it do need to be aware that the Zero Day Initiative has issued advisories for two vulnerabilities found in the Windows variant of Apple’s QuickTime framework.

Thankfully, the Computer Emergency Readiness Team doesn’t just provide all of this worrying information and then leave Windows users high-and-dry without a proposed solution. With that said, the solution isn’t exactly an elegant option that will patch the vulnerabilities and still afford Windows users with ability to continue to benefit from QuickTime. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Computers running QuickTime for Windows will continue to work after support ends. However, using unsupported software may increase the risks from viruses and other security threats. Potential negative consequences include loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of data, as well as damage to system resources or business assets. The only mitigation available is to uninstall QuickTime for Windows. "

Source : Windows Users, Uninstall Apple's QuickTime Right Now, Here's Why | Redmond Pie

Now that was very serious but also good news but I also find it odd that Apple themself haven't made any comments on this news or atleast not what I seen so far.

Btw I guess alot of hackers will go bananas now.

 

[omidomi]

The Department of Homeland Security is echoing Trend Micro's advice to uninstall QuickTime if you have it on your Windows computer. While the multimedia program's working just fine, the security firm has discovered two new critical vulnerabilities lurking within it that could allow remote attackers to take over your system. Unfortunately, they might never be patched up: Trend Micro says Apple will no longer release security updates for the Windows version of the software, hence the call to jettison it completely.

The good news is that Trend Micro hasn't spotted any active attacks targeting those specific vulnerabilities yet. But both the firm and Homeland Security stress that because Apple has abandoned the program, the only way to protect yourself from potential threats is to dump it -- Windows has a lot of safer alternatives you can use anyway. These flaws don't affect QuickTime for Mac in any way, though, so OS X users can carry on.

 

[jamescv7]

QuickTime is indeed a good enhancement program not only as media viewer but technology itself from video editors and other stuffs. However many users tend not aware on those security vulnerabilities cause many users I saw were using older version.

 

[upnorth]

Quote : " Are you asking us to knife the baby? ' He said Microsoft official Christopher Phillips responded, " ' Yes, we want you to knife the baby.'.

Source : Business Week Online/Microsoft Watch

Statement from 1998.

 

[jasonX]

Never really used it too here. Have removed it last year. And even when I had to install PowerDirector 13 I opted out of it.

 

[soccer97]

Never really used it, as we have the mighty VLC Media Player for years Thanks for sharing @frogboy

That's a good software, but please keep it up to date as well. Sometimes, there is a lag (1-3) months between the discovery and public notice of a vulnerability (critical) and a new release patching it. (I like LC, not dogging them). Just be careful

 

[Der.Reisende]

That's a good software, but please keep it up to date as well. Sometimes, there is a lag (1-3) months between the discovery and public notice of a vulnerability (critical) and a new release patching it. (I like LC, not dogging them). Just be careful

Auto-update is on, I think HMP.A also Covers it
Thank you