Apple Calls Time On Quicktime For Windows

Apple has confirmed it is pulling all support for its Quicktime video player on Windows, with PC users urged to uninstall the software immediately or be left at the risk of attack.

The company has officially ended support for Quicktime 7, the Wall Street Journal reports, and has set up a web page instructing users how to remove the software.

Quicktime 7 was first released eleven years ago and was a required install for users wishing to play certain music or video files on their PCs, especially through the first few editions of Apple’s iTunes software.

This follows warnings from security researchers and the US Department of Homeland Security last week for users to uninstall Quicktime immediately or face having their devices targeted by hackers looking to exploit the unprotected software.

Time’s up

Apple’s support page notes that most recent media-related programs for Windows, including the latest versions of iTunes, no longer need to use QuickTime to play modern media formats, instead playing the media directly or use the media support built into Windows.

Apple has yet to respond to TechWeekEurope’s request for comment.

Last week’s warning’s included the discovery of two new bugs in the software that could be used to launch attacks on PCs if users visit a malicious web page or open a malicious file.

The vulnerabilities, found by security firm Trend Micro, were not yet being utilised by criminals, but had the potential to cause wide-ranging harm to Windows PC users.

This was quickly echoed by the Department of Homeland Security’s United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, which advised a speedy uninstall.

“Exploitation of QuickTime for Windows vulnerabilities could allow remote attackers to take control of affected systems,” it warned. “The only mitigation available is to uninstall QuickTime for Windows.”

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