Apple patches QuickTime flaw

Apple has released an update for QuickTime that patches a critical security flaw discovered last week during the hack-a-Mac challenge, a contest that awarded MacBooks to hackers that broke into them.

The flaw that happens during Java applets and QuickTime interaction was initially discovered in Safari, but was later confirmed to affect Internet Explorer and Firefox in both Mac OS and Windows platforms.

Firefox users are strongly encouraged to update the QuickTime plugin. In Windows, to update QuickTime, in QuickTime Player’s Help menu select Update Existing Software…. or visit the QuickTime web site. Unfortunately QuickTime doesn’t support patching so you will have to download full 19MB to get the updated 7.1.6 version.