QuickTime can be made safer

tomasc

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 25, 2011 12:33 Messages: 6464 Offline

Solved by

Apr 18, 2016 19:19

The QuickTime software 7.7.9 as of Jan 7, 2016 no longer includes the QuickTime web browser plug-in. It is no longer installed by default and is removed by default according to this link: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL837?locale=en_US . The exploits would require an end user to actively visit a malicious webpage or open a malicious file to exploit them according to this link: http://www.extremetech.com/internet/226696-windows-pc-users-should-uninstall-quicktime-immediately .

For those with the QT player 7.7.9 Edit/Preferences/Quicktime Preferences../Browser has the Playback settings that can be unchecked and the MIME Settings…/to allow disassociation with all files. That should mean that nothing from the web should open with the QT player. .MOV files open with wmp on my pc and not with any browser with the above settings.

Look at it this way. The vlc player receives security updates. In the past optodata suggested that users uncheck everything and do only the basic installation necessary with QT which will work with PowerDirector. I have no intention of opening mov files with any browser.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Apr 18. 2016 21:17

Neil.F.1955

Senior Contributor Joined: Mar 07, 2012 09:15 Messages: 1303 Offline

Apr 18, 2016 20:59

Hi, Tomasc!

Gotta say, this stuff is a bit scary! A recent post by Ynotfish, has convinced me that it may be safer to leave QuickTime "in situ" on my computer as it's required in order to handle some types of video file and make them compatible to PD users. As I see it, I have QuickTime Player on my desktop, but its behaviour(when used) is no different than using Windows Media Player or VLC, it just plays the video, nothing more than that. But nonetheless I'm watching this with some interest, and I can see, sometime in the future, Cyberlink, Corel, Pinnacle and others, might need to take a class action lawsuit against Apple if Apple's behaviour put these other comanies' software at risk of failure due to reliance on a component of Apple's creation being qequired in the other companies' product.

Cheers!

Neil

ynotfish

Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline

Apr 19, 2016 04:14

Thanks for your research tomasc -

I totally rely on the more technically minded members, like yourself, to fill the huge techno-void in my brain. Much as I don't really enjoy purely technical discussions, I certainly appreciate what I learn from them.

So - thank you all the tomascs, Jeffs, optodatas and others that I've failed to mention.

Cheers - Tony

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Apr 19. 2016 04:14

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garioch7

Senior Contributor Location: Port Hood, Nova Scotia, Canada Joined: Feb 07, 2011 06:45 Messages: 852 Offline

Apr 19, 2016 05:11

Thank you all for the information on the QT security debacle. Uninstalling QT permanently is not really an option for me because of my significant investment in SmartSound music. Maybe Frank and boys over there will find a solution to that issue.

I have turned every default, QT related, off, as advised by Tomasc. Thank you.

I am sure many of us will be watching to see how this unfolds.

Thank you all for sharing your information.

Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil Windows 10 Pro x64
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