Big Mac Attack announced by Apple- is Quicktime on your machine?

[ahhaa]

Quicktime is on a lot of PCs, its one of the most common crossover softwares. And it may be rarely used or updated. But think beyond the specifics here; we are all using poorly understood software to download gigs of who-knows-whats-in-it content these days- not just QT, but Skype, BitTorrent, etc. Something to ponder...

Serious flaws in Mac OS X and QuickTime software could put Macintosh and Windows systems at risk of cyberattack, Apple Computer has warned.

In a pair of security alerts released Thursday, Apple outlined 31 flaws that affect various versions of the operating system and a dozen vulnerabilities in its QuickTime media player software. Security experts have deemed the issues "critical," but Apple does not provide a severity rating. Fixes are available.
...
The QuickTime flaws put both Mac OS X and Windows computers at risk of compromise. All of the vulnerabilities exist because of errors in the way the media player software handles certain files. Specially crafted files in certain media formats--including JPEG, QuickTime, Flash, MPEG4 and AVI--could allow an intruder to hijack a vulnerable system, Apple said in an advisory.


more at: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6071833.html

Quicktime update (49 megs) at: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/

[yoda313]

Ah this makes my day Another blow to Apple's perceived invulnerability :P

[rumplestiltskin]

Yoda,

You missed the point; the flaws were noted and fixed. No Mac users I know believe their machines are "invulnerable".

Interesting to see what makes you happy.

[ahhaa]

I'm not a mac-basher, and my point is that old versions of Quicktime are on many windows machines- included in Roxio & other burning suites for example. And... you could hide just about anything in multi-gigabyte sessions.

also, the mac users I know never upgrade, they aren't even running OSX, or have any AV at all; buncha Typhoid Marys becuase the viruses don't affect their machines...

[lordsmurf]

You missed the point; the flaws were noted and fixed. .

But if this were a Windows virus or vulnerability, a Mac user would sneer and say "SEE! SEE!" and continue with how their system is a Fort Knox of computers. What you said would not appease them.

Funny how that works.

All computers have flaws and can be harmed maliciously. How sad so few people believe it.

[TBoneit]

Yoda,

You missed the point; the flaws were noted and fixed. No Mac users I know believe their machines are "invulnerable".

Interesting to see what makes you happy.

Didn't I just see a commercial where the PC gets a Virus and the Mac says Let me help I can't catch a virus I'm safe.

I may have paraphrased it as I'm working from memory. Of course they do not say a MAC can not get a virus they just imply it by more or less saying a MAC can not catch a PC's virus. Which is not the same thing of course but in advertising they can be sneaky with misleading implications.

I have a beautiful lawn, Based on the fact that it is green and where a lawn should be and that it needs to be mowed. OTOH the reality is it is full of crabgrass and broadleaf weeds. Since they are where the lawn belongs and they are green and growing they must be a variant of grass. Advertising speak, reality and interpretation.

Why I do not believe any advertising thesse days. They have mastered the art of lying by ommision.

[whitejremiah]

that is, of course (at least in the united states) where they flash some sort of disclaimer at the bottom of the screen that takes about five minutes to read, but they only flash it on the screen for 2 seconds, which probably admits something like macs are vulnerable to virii as well...i know it is particularly common for stuff like car commercials they will have something that says it's a professional driver on a closed course, do not attempt.....or for the "free" ringtones, something that says that if you do it, you are automatically subscribing to a 10 dollar a month plan, ect....

[ahhaa]

as an old Amiga enthusiast, I understand the loyalty, it must be crushing to be facing wintel chips & bits coming aboard, but that's what they get for having Billy on the Board.

[ahhaa]

interesting, found a QT 3.0 on my machine so went for download, the 7.1 dl is QT, but called iTunes...

[BobK]

interesting, found a QT 3.0 on my machine so went for download, the 7.1 dl is QT, but called iTunes...

That's because it has both QT and iTunes. If I remember correctly, it automatically installs both but then you can uninstall iTunes if you don't want it (but it's been a while, so I may be wrong and there may be an option to not install iTunes.

[BJ_M]

i have a big complaint about updating QT , ----- basically you update and something thing doesnt work elsewhere (a lot of NLE apps are tied into QT as a format)


QT and apple are not the only ones with this issue of course

[olyteddy]

IMHO Quicktime is a virus. You can't just simply install it, it takes over your machine with some POS called 'Quicktime Agent' and 'iTunes' (which if you are foolish enough to run, will totally annihilate any filing system you had your music in), if it doesn't install properly and you need to delete it to attempt a re-install you'd better have a good registry cleaner, etc. etc. etc...

PS, I know the pro Apple forces out there want to say "Yes, but you can turn that off" and I answer "But it shouldn't be on by default"...

[Ai Haibara]

There IS a standalone QT 7 installer, though. (Don't remember exactly where it is, but I believe I found the link somewhere else on another VH forum post.)

[InXess]

'Quicktime Agent' ... they couldn't have picked a better name... and on whose payroll?

[dnix71]

I deleted iTunes from my eMac G4, but left QT so I could use QTAmatuer. I don't use QT for anything directly. VLC, MPlayer, Windows Media Player (yeah I hate it, but VLC won't play all WM yet), CD PlayerAlpha and Real Player pretty much do it.

Deleting iTunes sounds harsh, but it got it the way of downloading music and kept track of everything I listened to, so out it went.

It helps to buy Lil'Snitch firewall. I've locked out WMP and QT from all external network connections. If they can't call home, that makes them safer to use IMHO. Even my browser, Firefox, is only allowed port 80 unless I specifically allow another port for that session, like 443 for email login.

[ahhaa]

Just for fun, I checked the QT 3.0 folder for file size- the whole thing would fit on a floppy- 1.2 megs. Version 7 is 49 megs. But then winders used to fit on 7 floppies... there's a saying about how CPU speed doubling every so often, what is it 3 years? I wonder about the parallel bloat factor & octopus factors- version 3 is only 6 years old.

[CrayonEater]

There are idiot Mac users out there who think their machines are invulnerable to viruses, but there are a few of us who aren't so stupid. I used to work on a newspaper that used them in the mid- to late-90s, and we were all-too-aware of viruses and malware that attacked Macs. Of course, I don't know of any off-hand that were trojans - most ranged from annoyances to disk-killers - but none I knew of stole data. Nonetheless, they were quite vulnerable to virii.

As much of a problem as anything else is the fact that, at the time, there were hardly any Mac users that were tech-savvy enough to identify malware or code vulnerabilities, let alone code any kind of security tool or patch. The smart geeks did (and still do) largely regard Macs as toys. That situation is only starting to change, and - surprise! - now even ancient security flaws are coming to light.

[MOVIEGEEK]

After installing QT search for qttask.exe and delete it,it will no longer run at startup.I no longer use the bloated QT,I use Quicktime Alternative. WMP is also bloated but at least it's functional(ie. graphic equalizer,full screen,media library,etc) and FREE.

[whitejremiah]

quicktime alternative is good, although it is quite literally a hack...i'd rather run that though, than the (as i call it) tenticleware that is quicktime...same thing with real...i run real alternative for that too....besides being less bloated, they allow mov and rm files to be opened either directly, or indirectly by a LOT more programs, which eases up conversions if you ever wanted to convert them to a differant format.

[ahhaa]

well, the last couple posts turn out real handy for me!

there's several radio shows I can only get via streaming real, and real is fighting ms for control of my icons. ra might be just the thing; wish everyone would finalize on podcasting instead of streaming, it really doesn't work for us tincans&string rural dialuppers.
I've heard there is a way to replug the sound card so the incoming stream can be recorded, but as my sound is embedded on the Epia mobo (which only has one PCI slot- needed for the modem) I'd wanna be real sure before trying it...

audio is the stepchild these days, but if you're cleaning the bathroom or doing the dishes, a nice radio adventure (like Dr. Who from BBC2) makes the chore more pleasant.

MovGeek, re your avatar- are you one of those Burning Man guys? I'd love to go to that...

[MOVIEGEEK]

MovGeek, re your avatar- are you one of those Burning Man guys? I'd love to go to that...

No that's Jeff Bridges in "The Big Lebowski"...I've never been to Burning Man but I hear it's "HOT".

[Beavis]

If you're running on a PC, get the program WinPatrol. Then watch how often Quicktime tries to add itself to your startup routine. Of course, RealPlayer and a bunch of others pretty much do the same thing.

[ROF]

After removing the qttask.exe (see above) I do not have any issues with quicktime being installed on my systems. It doesn't try and add itself to my startup routines, it doesn't try and take over my system, and it doesn't nag me. It just resides there ready to be used when needed. Which isn't all that often.

[Faustus]

As was mentioned before most mac users know they are not unbreakable, and as someone who supports end users and Macs its a myth I clear up with them.

Its about having a lower profile.

As far as quicktimes bloat, perhaps a bit, but the download does include both QT and iTunes.

Also of note, I sympathise with people who don't want it all on their system but a lot of the users are iPod users and much of the software is to make iTunes work well.

[lordsmurf]

If you're running on a PC, get the program WinPatrol. .

Thanks for the suggestion. So far I like it.

[JohnnyMalaria]

I used to edit with EditDV - a Windows program centered around Quicktime. I even developed plug-ins for it, so had QT Pro + SDK etc etc.

More recently, I downloaded the "latest and greatest" QT and was disgusted at the size, the blatant bundling with iTunes (I do not want that stuff!) and the annoying disabled buttons that only the Pro version will reveal. The whole package spread itself throughout the OS and interfered with other programs.

After uninstalling it, iTunes was still there. It leaves its mark.

Kind of hypocritical of Apple to force additional software on your system, keep "phoning home" and then leave all kinds of crap on your system after uninstalling.

Even the older version takes forever to open because it insists on downloading crap about movies I have no interest in. In fact, I just opened it. It's frozen - downloading....where's the pre-emptive multitasking???

Dreadful.

[JSB1]

I used to edit with EditDV - a Windows program centered around Quicktime. I even developed plug-ins for it, so had QT Pro + SDK etc etc.

More recently, I downloaded the "latest and greatest" QT and was disgusted at the size, the blatant bundling with iTunes (I do not want that stuff!) and the annoying disabled buttons that only the Pro version will reveal. The whole package spread itself throughout the OS and interfered with other programs.

After uninstalling it, iTunes was still there. It leaves its mark.

Kind of hypocritical of Apple to force additional software on your system, keep "phoning home" and then leave all kinds of crap on your system after uninstalling.

Even the older version takes forever to open because it insists on downloading crap about movies I have no interest in. In fact, I just opened it. It's frozen - downloading....where's the pre-emptive multitasking???

Dreadful.

The olny time I had to use XP's system restore in almost 3 years was to un-install QT/i-tunes... never again will I load QT into my machine.

JSB

[vitualis]

I don't know about the new version of QT, but the older ones definitely had too high an opinion of itself - making itself the default player and hijacking associations, loading itself for no reason on reboot, etc.

Chalk me in as one who will never install QT on a PC again.

Regards.