A new vulnerability has been discovered in Apple's Quicktime multimedia player, dpa reported.
The company has yet to provide exact information on the flaw, but it is known that Windows XP and Windows Vista are affected - and potentially other versions and systems as well, warns the Federal Office for Security in Information Technology (BSI).
Hackers can deploy specially manipulated multimedia files to install Trojans via the security hole.
There are a variety of ways for the infected files to be called up, including rigged web sites, the opening of an e-mail attachment, or by clicking on a local file. No patch is available to plug the hole as yet.
That's why the BSI is recommending against opening files from unknown sources with the Quicktime player. Quicktime plug-ins should also be deactivated in the web browser to prevent malicious software on web sites from exploiting the hole.