QuickTime patch hits trouble

People have reported a variety of glitches on discussion boards on Apple's Web site. Mac OS X users appear to be having the most trouble, including deleted applications and files, unplayable movie files and the disappearance rights to use the professional version of QuickTime, according to postings on Apple's support forum.

Apple released the update, QuickTime 7.0.4, on Tuesday to fix a handful of serious security vulnerabilities. The flaws put computers running Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating systems at risk of being commandeered by an outsider. An attacker could exploit the flaws by tricking the user into opening a malicious file, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company said.

But Apple's patch apparently has bugs of its own. One user, "Erik Nanstiel," wrote on an Apple forum: "I'm having lots and lots of problems after upgrading to the latest QuickTime. Now I'm contemplating reinstalling my entire system just to get rid of the cursed upgrade."

A woman who said she is a film director wrote that she uses Final Cut Pro and lost all the QuickTime Pro features after installing the update. "Anyone with any clue on how to regain my pro features in QuickTime without buying Steve Jobs another turtleneck?" she asked in the support forum.

Some who installed the new version of QuickTime on Windows PCs say the media player is having trouble connecting to the Internet after installing the update. Other Windows users report not being able to download the software at all when they use the update feature in QuickTime itself.

Apple has published a tool for Mac OS X users that removes the suspected culprit, QuickTime 7.0.4, and restores QuickTime 7.0.1, according to the Mac maker's Web site. People in the forums also report that QuickTime 7.0.4 was pulled from Apple's Web site for some time and then reposted.

An Apple representative was unable to respond to a request for comment.