Apple has ‘abandoned ‘ producing updates for its QuickTime media player software on Windows, according to security experts.
However, there has been no official announcement by Apple on the end of QuickTime.
Apple developed the QuickTime as a multimedia to handle video, audio and interactive content on its computers. Released in 1991, QuickTime’s version was later made available to download for Windows computers.
The Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) website said that Apple had been reported two vulnerabilities found in the Windows version of QuickTime.
ZDI said it was “advised that the product would be deprecated on Windows”.
The website added that Apple would publish software removal instructions. It said that the company had indicated it was no longer being updated on Windows systems.
Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative published technical details about the vulnerabilities because its disclosure policy requires it to publish threat information when a,
“vendor indicates that the product is deprecated,” and won’t be corrected.
A survey published by Secunia Research in late 2015 found that Apple software is among the programs that are updated the least often by Windows users.
Reasons for Abandoning QuickTime
The two main reasons for getting rid of QuickTime for Windows Apple is that Apple is deprecating the software and will no longer deliver security updates for it and the two known vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to take control of a system running QuickTime.
However, QuickTime can still be downloaded from Apple’s website. Also, QuickTime on a Mac will continue to receive updates.
In a security bulletin, security firm Trend Micro announced that the vulnerabilities made the software insecure. The two known critical vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to take control of a system running QuickTime.
“The only way to protect your Windows systems from potential attacks against these or other vulnerabilities in Apple QuickTime now is to uninstall it,” it said.
Apple’s guide to uninstalling QuickTime on Windows says, “Uninstalling QuickTime 7 also removes the legacy QuickTime 7 web plug-in, if present. Removing legacy browser plug-ins enhances the security of your PC.”
Apple declined to comment.
How to Uninstall QuickTime
Open the Control Panel on your PC and then from the “category” view go to Programs > Uninstall a program. Once the list of installed programs appears, scroll down until you find QuickTime. Select it with your mouse, and then click Uninstall towards the top of the window. A pop-up window will then appear asking to confirm that you want to uninstall the program. Click Yes and you’ll be uninstall QuickTime.
