Windows users warned to delete QuickTime over security concerns

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WFLA) – Delete QuickTime or else!

That’s the message from the Department of Homeland Security to all Windows users after security loopholes were discovered in the software.

The warning, published last Thursday on the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team’s website, states Microsoft Windows systems with Apple QuickTime installed are at risk. Many people use QuickTime to view movie and video clips.

LINK: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/T...

According to the release, Apple will no longer be providing security updates for QuickTime for Windows, leaving this software vulnerable to exploitation, like “malicious attacks or electronic data loss” and if users continue to use the unsupported software, “vulnerabilities could allow remote attackers to take control of affected systems”.

If you are a Windows user, you can find instructions on how to uninstall QuickTime here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205771

News Channel 8 talked with IT expert Nick Paras about the QuickTime trouble.

“If you don’t un-install it, you run the risk of someone being able to control your computer remotely,” Paras said. “They could get ahold of any information that is on your computer. Once they can get in there and run commands without you knowing it, they can get all kinds of information. They could be logging your keystrokes, downloading your files.”

“This is a prevalent piece of software. It’s on a lot of systems and it’s left them wide open to exploits that could cause a lot of problems,” he added.