Windows Users Advised To Uninstall QuickTime

Apple revealed it was ending support and updates for QuickTime 7 for Windows, and provided instructions in uninstalling the software. Windows users who keep the software on their computer may put the device at risk.

Two new security holes were discovered by researchers from Trend Micro. The security holes may allow hackers to create and launch malicious files in the media player of Apple. Even as the vulnerability was discovered by the security research company, it did not find any evidence that it was already used. However, risks are increasing after the findings were made public and no fix will be released by Apple.

A statement from the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team of the Department of Homeland Security indicated that vulnerabilities on the software may provide attackers the opportunity to control affected systems. The agency is recommending uninstalling QuickTime, which comes with the findings of Trend Micro.

Trend Micro spokesman Christopher Budd said Apple describe the situation of the software as “deprecating.” The term is typically used by developers on software that continue to be used even after it should already be uninstalled. Budd added that Apple will not provide a fix for the newly-discovered vulnerabilities.

Windows Users Advised To Uninstall QuickTime - image credit: snopes.com

There are a number of alternatives for the software running on a Windows PC, including one found on iTunes, which is capable of playing the same audio and video files normally played on QuickTime. A number of media players from Microsoft are also installed on Windows as well as third-party software, such as VLC.

Support for QuickTime 7 on Windows was gradually reduced by Apple in 2013. At this time, the company stopped providing tools for third-party developers. The last update for the software was released in August. By January, the browser plugins of the software for Windows PCs was stopped by Apple, which means the software cannot be used anymore in playing Web audio and video.

The software for Apple computers and Windows PCs was initially launched in 2005. QuickTime 7 for Mac was replaced with QuickTime X in 2009. The vulnerabilities discovered by Trend Micro did not affect the new version of the multimedia player.

Tech companies typically end support for software that are still widely used with the release of new software. Support for Windows Vista will end in 2017 while support for Windows 7 will end in 2020. Support for Windows XP ended in 2014 even though around 10 percent of computers around the world are still using it.

Posted by George Daniels on Tuesday April 19 2016, 2:01 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0