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Windows users should dump Apple's QuickTime, US agency urges

US-CERT suggests uninstalling the video player because Apple is reportedly ending support for the software.

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If you're a Windows PC user who uses Apple's QuickTime video player, you might want to think about uninstalling it. That is the advice of the Department of Homeland Security's United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, after two new bugs were discovered in the software.

Security software maker TrendMicro, which discovered the bugs, rated them as critical because they could be used to launch attacks on computers if users open a tainted file or visit a malicious Web site. Because TrendMicro reports that the Apple is ending support for the product, US-CERT said in an alert Thursday that unpatched bugs put users at an increased vulnerability to viruses and malware.

"The only mitigation available is to uninstall QuickTime for Windows," the alert said, which noted that Mac computers are unaffected by the bugs.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the alert.

Users of Adobe's professional video, audio and digital imaging applications are also affected because the some of its codecs are dependent on QuickTime being installed on Windows. The company said it is working to wean its products of QuickTime.

Updated 7/17, at 2 p.m. PT with Adobe information.