Tom’s Tech Tip: What’s the Latest Security Threat for Legal Nurse Consultants Running Windows?
Believe it or not, the latest security threat to affect anyone running a Windows® PC is an Apple® product! No, it’s not Apple’s Safari® web browser (which isn’t a smart thing to run on a Windows box), it’s something much more common, and that’s QuickTime®. The Department of Homeland Security, who in the past has warned us about the dangers of such common software as Java®, just released a recommendation to uninstall QuickTime from all Windows computers.
Apparently Apple will no longer issue security updates for this common software which will leave it vulnerable to exploits by miscreants. Here’s the funny thing, you probably aren’t using QuickTime in your legal nurse consulting business anyway, but it was likely installed at the same time that you installed iTunes®. So my advice to all Certified Legal Nurse Consultants is to listen to the government and immediately remove QuickTime from your Windows computers (apparently Apple iOS devices are safe).
You can remove this by clicking on your Start Pearl, then clicking on Control Panel followed by an equally swift click on Programs and Features. Then scroll down in the list of installed software to QuickTime, click on it and then again on Uninstall. You may need to reboot your computer after the uninstall, but it will be much safer as a consequence.
And, if you’re a legal nurse consultant who is worried about web browser security, you can also read this Homeland Security bulletin on how to secure your web browsers. Unlike Internet hoaxes, I tend to believe the geeks at Homes’ Department of US-Cert (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) when they issue warnings and think you should too. You can find their list of alerts and warnings here if you’re interested.
Keep on Techin’,
Tom
P.S.Comment and share how you learn about software warnings and vulnerabilities.
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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
Keep on Techin’,
