Tech Tips

April 29, 2016

Still Using QuickTime on a Windows PC? It Might Be Time to Uninstall

Apple has stopped updating its QuickTime video player. Trend Micro discovered 2 bugs in QuickTime, leaving anyone who still has it installed vulnerable to attack. Solution? Uninstall it!

Apple’s QuickTime is an app that lets you watch videos. It’s an older program, long since surpassed by newer video players like VLC and MPC-HC.

The fact is, Apple has even stopped updating QuickTime, which has led to an unfortunate situation.

QuickTime Has Bugs – And They Won’t Get Patched

Trend Micro, a security software provider, has discovered 2 bugs in QuickTime. If exploited by hackers or malware, the bugs could crash your computer*. Or open up your data to theft.
*Note: Only Windows PCs are affected (for now).

Ordinarily bugs would get patched by the software maker, but Apple is no longer updating QuickTime. As a result, Trend Micro believes there is only one option – uninstall QuickTime completely to protect your computers.

The bugs pose enough of a threat that even Homeland Security agrees – uninstall it!

How to Uninstall QuickTime

Uninstalling QuickTime is simple. Here are the steps.

  1. Open the Control Panel. Click Programs and Features.
  2. Locate QuickTime in the software list (you’ll see it as either “QuickTime” or “Apple QuickTime”).
  3. Click it, and click the Uninstall button.
  4. Follow the prompts to finish uninstalling.

If you use QuickTime for video, we recommend switching to another player. Here are some of the free video players available (without the bugs!):

Got a question about QuickTime? Please email us at woof@planetmagpie.com with your Tech Tip questions!