Polish security researchers have found another bug in Apple’s media player. Attacks against Windows XP SP2 and Vista are expected very shortly, due to the popularity of QuickTime. In fact, exploits against Vista may be a lot easier than against XP.

It is not known yet whether Mac versions of the player are vulnerable as well. The affected versions are 7.2 and 7.3, at least, and involve the way it handles streaming video.

If a user is tricked into visiting a bad Web site, the attacker could install malware on the visitor’s PC, or scan it for credit card numbers and passwords. A specially crafted file attached to an email would also launch the attack.

was last patched just three weeks ago, when version 7.3 was released. This was meant to fix image rendering and Java bugs. That makes six QuickTime updates this year, fixing some 30 flaws.

If you use QuickTime, be careful where you go on the Web, and where you click. Consider switching to another media player, at least until Apple issues another patch.

Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here:
=> http://MyPCSecuritySite.com

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