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Apple's shoddy code leaves Windows users open to attack
BASTION OF SMUGMESS Apple has once again had its sloppy coding practices brought to light thanks to its Quicktime software leaving Windows users vulnerable.
Versions of Apple's Quicktime video software can bypass address space layout randomization and data execution prevention security measures to leave users running Microsoft's Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems open to having remotely exploitable code running on their machines. The problem affects those who run Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser and have Quicktime 6.x or 7.x installed.
Insecurity researcher Ruben Santamarta found the fault, labelling it as a 'backdoor' that was left in place by the stylish programmers at the cappuccino company. Developers often insert quick and dirty hacks in code while developing to help with testing and debugging, removing them prior to release.
At present the security vulnerability seems to be with users that run Internet Explorer. Given the relative ease with which Santamarta demonstrates the exploit, the chance for 'drive-by' attacks to succeed is high.
Though few will question Microsoft's inability to create a secure operating system, this time it seems that Apple, a company that likes to promote itself as the Fort Knox of software, has been found to have equally shoddy coding practices. The embarrassment is that Santamarta's research shows that the fault has been in place for years, spanning several major versions of the software.
For Apple fanbois this could be a sign that the church of Jobs is providing Windows users with a little more functionality than themselves. We're not sure if this is a ploy by Steve Jobs to encourage more donations to his cult, though with Apple having booked a hall for tomorrow, fanbois can expect another opportunity to donate soon. µ
Tags: Apple
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I suppose the article is simultaneously nonsense and accurate at the same time. I guess it's ambiguous nature would have been best represented with a headline such as "Apple's shoddy code leaves Windows users -even more- open to attack", easy, now everyone's happy.
Of course it's perfectly safe to run QT and iTunes on a PC simply (with or without IE) because QT and iTunes sits on top of that biggest pile of crap code called windows which has a million more easier exploits than QT and iTunes will ever have. So robot, stop obsessing with a QT exploit no one will ever exploit because its MUCH easier attacking Windows directly. Thus, the article IS nonsense.
Congratulations, you're part of a select group of people who "have not been on Inquirer before and were astonished with such bad journalism displayed on each and every article not saying good things about Apple".
You people are always that same half-dozen ones who happen to be journalistic experts and also diehard Apple fanboys. You dispise so much this site that you can't help but come back here everyday.
So typical.
I've not been to the Inquirer before... I honesty don't know whether to take the tone of the article as a parody, or something with no journalistic integrity. It's literally frothing.
Yar, I had to install Itunes at work a few days ago for a client. The download was approx 100mb! WHAT THE HELL kind of crap is in it that it needs to be THAT big???? And to make things worse, I installed Adobe CS4 on a different computer in LESS TIME than it took to install the itunes crap. Yeesh.
So, the article is "utter nonsense"? the exploit doesn't exist, Ruben Santamarta either is wrong or doesn't exist and it's perfectly safe to run Quicktime with Internet Explorer? Cool.
What utter nonsense. I have had no problem with QT on my work PC (Win XP and then 7). This article is not news, jounalism, inquiry or enquiry. It's Bull5h1t. How about changing the name of the site to www.bull5h1t.net and then slagging everyone with genuinely written funny bull5hit.
I suppose, if you actually have problems with QT or iTunes (on any OS), then, I guess a critical error has occurred somewhere between the seat and keyboard.
Apple gives away free software that makes windows run badly. now they can say windows runs badly and "get a mac"
I gave up on Quicktime about a decade ago. I tried to install it on three different Windows machines at work. It failed to install on any of the machines, and each failure was unique. 100% failure rate? Three separate causes? Never again. If there's a .mov file I really want to see, I run it through ffmpeg and make an .avi out of it.
Quicktime and iTunes are the worst pieces of software I have to run on a couple of really nice Windows PCs. It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes iTunes to load (and the only reason I use it is to sync my iPhone). I have always figured that Apple deliberately wrote terrible software for the Windows just to justify their rsilly assetion that Macs are faster than PCs. The software is so bad that it seems ideologically driven: make bad software for the PC to somehow justify the "superiority" of Macs. Stupid business practices and frankly immature.
On another note, IO hope there Andriod phones blow the iPhone off the market.
So if QT for windows is "shoddy code" becuase of a vulnerability then MS's Office code for Mac has to be chicken scratch written by untrained monkeys with the gaping holes they have produced over the years.
Another Quicktime bug? Not that surprising really. It's notorious for having holes big enough to drive a truck through.
Oh, and ignore the fanbois Lawrence, they show up anytime somebody writes an article criticizing the cult of Apple. It's some sort of weird affliction where they need to justify their purchase of overpriced products.
who's the author? Oh it's Lawrence. The new Nick.
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This article is the essence of smugness and arrogance. Clearly written by a frustrated Windows Fanboy suffering from Mac envy.
It's probably ok, MOST windows users hate Quicktime and won't use it anyway.
Shoddy player from a shoddy company
Apple does make top notch hardware(as far as style goes) and I like OS X but have never liked itunes. It seems to be a weekly update which gets bigger each time and is more to buy music than to play it.
I have never bought music on line and never will. Itunes is slow and bloated, and doesn't do what you want it to do. I used VLC in what ever OS I am using and consider the number one free software app ever.