Critical Quicktime bug hits Windows

In the age of iTunes and Safari on Windows, Quicktime is just about as common a piece of software as any you'll find on the average Windows PC. That's why it's troublesome that a previously unknown Quicktime flaw has become public, leaving countless Windows XP and Vista users open to attack. According to security research firm Secunia, the latest "extremely critical" vulnerability "can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system." An exploit is apparently making the rounds as we speak and has been confirmed to affect Quicktime version 7.3. No word yet from Apple, so keep your fingers crossed for a patch sooner rather than later.

For more on the bug:
- see this ZDnet blog entry