When we asked Microsoft about a rather nasty Windows media player bug earlier this month, we were told that "this is not a security hole -- it's using a feature of the DRM in a way to get users to download something, but it's not a hole that needs to be patched.". As readers might remember, the exploit used a weakness in the way WMP gets licenses for content to direct users to sites filled with adware and spyware.

eWeek today announced that Microsoft are reversing their position on the bug, and that the company would in fact be releasing an update to fix the problem. Although true that an update will be issued, Microsoft deny that they are reversing their position. Mike Coleman, Lead Product Manager of Windows Client team today said that the company had intended to look into the problem. He also stated that contrary to many reports, the problem was not a security flaw. "After that review, we determined that it made sense to offer an update to consumers that would allow them to have greater default control over license acquisition elements within the Player".

The update will be available within the next 30 days. The patch will allow the end user more control over when and how any pop ups get displayed in the licence acquisition process. Microsoft urges users to only view website and content from trusted sources, and ensure they are patched up to date on Windows Update.

More on the issue

thanks for the info.

interesting how they say  'an update will be available  within the next 30 days"  whats taking so long,

i think it is not just a hole it is a BIG thing concerning the security of WMP I THINK.

shame M$$ didnt see that at first when reported,

Neowin.net

give credit where due man

if u had of looked aton at the URL i put up, it leads to a Neowin.net site ,

Winamp rules!!

personally i use RealPlayer,in windows an Linux

I was told that anything that plays .wma files needs to support DRM so Winamp or any other player is vulnerable too :/

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Originally posted by Segosa
I was told that anything that plays .wma files needs to support DRM so Winamp or any other player is vulnerable too :/

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i think Winamp put out a fix for it, i not sure

Many "security bug fixes" appear in Winamp's version history pages, but wma isn't mentioned.

aww, i thought they released a 5.08C release in to fixing that, but as i dont use winamp i dont really follow the fix's etc

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Originally posted by Demandred

personally i use RealPlayer,in windows an Linux

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only think i really only use WMP for an thats for when i wanna download an or listen to a Movile ringtone before i buy it,  someplaces i can use realplayer to listen to a ringtone fine but others just wont play unles si use WMP,

i personally think MS should release an updated version of WMP10 it still has bugs and stuff and how many times has it got to install itself????

oh also volume control when in taskbar mode is STILL BLUE!!! [/rant]

i can't decide between iTunes and WMP

iTunes is nicer but WMP has better sound quality

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Originally posted by Demandred
interesting how they say  'an update will be available  within the next 30 days"  whats taking so long,

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Originally posted by Fukafly
oh also volume control when in taskbar mode is STILL BLUE!!! [/rant]

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Originally posted by Carltos Cool
Really it's green for me.

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i mean teh background of the volume control the bar is gree yeah but the background isn't

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Originally posted by Tochjo

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Originally posted by Demandred
interesting how they say  'an update will be available  within the next 30 days"  whats taking so long,

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Microsoft has a new policy to make it easier for mainly system administrators to apply updates by releasing multiple at the same time, once a month. This might be related to that

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