If your PC is still running QuickTime, it’s time to act quickly.
Unfortunately, Apple discontinued its support for the PC version of QuickTime 7 back in August 2015, and many have yet to get the memo. The 11-year-old multimedia application is still installed on many Windows PCs, and as with any outdated software, security flaws have come to light.
These aren’t just any minor security issues, either. The vulnerabilities have now become public knowledge, prompting the Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team to release a statement regarding the issue.
Here’s a description from Zero Day Initiative:
“This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Apple QuickTime. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.
The specific flaw exists within atom processing. By providing an invalid index, an attacker can write data outside of an allocated heap buffer. An attacker could leverage this to execute arbitrary code under the context of the QuickTime player.”
For the less technically inclined, this means that a hacker can execute code on your system via QuickTime and lure you into an unrecognizable cyber attack.
Obviously, that’s pretty bad news. The good?
OSG can help. Contact us, and we’ll take care of the program removal across all of your business’ PCs before they’re infected. We’ll also provide you with viable alternatives to QuickTime. There are programs available with all of the same functionalities and more.
More good news: Mac users need not worry, as QuickTime is still supported on Apple products. This issue only affects the Microsoft Windows operating system. Apple will continue rolling out QuickTime for Mac updates for the foreseeable future, and the security breach has already been patched.
Strangely enough, Apple has done little on its own to notify PC users that they should ditch the program. The company has yet to give an official announcement on the matter, and at this point, they might not do so at all.
Let us know if you’d like to learn more about QuickTime or other technology updates. We’ve got you covered.
