In an interesting turn of events, Apple appears to have pulled the fresh QuickTime 7.0.4 Update from it’s website and replaced it with a new downgrade update which returns users to a previous QuickTime version. Apple has yet to make a public announcement on this quiet change, more to come as it happens.

I have been testing the original update and nothing appears abnormal. More interesting is that the OS X.4.4 Combo update has not been removed.

Update: It seems that Apple had encountered a security flaw with their first release of QuickTime 7.0.4 for the day. This came down via Software Update before the airing of the MacWorld 2006 Keynote but was soon removed due to a security hole. Apple were on the ball and the effected download was only availible for a couple of hours before removal. It was replaced by the below linked un-installer.

The vulnerabilities in the media player put computers running Windows and Mac OS X at risk of being commandeered by an outsider, Apple said on its Web site. An attacker could exploit the flaws by tricking the user into opening a malicious file.

Since then, Apple have re-released both the fixed Software Download version of this update as well as the manual download version which is Download ID sd9363. Both should work fine now.

For those unsure about which version you are running, I would suggest checking the information below as well as using the uninstaller and then re-installing the verified “fixed” update.

Further Information: It seems the original flaw in this first update also had something to do with the iSight Camera. It was unusable with the original download although when reverted back to version 7.0.1 it quickly became usable again. Furthermore it works as expected in the new, updated 7.0.4. Just some trivia for you.

[Link: QuickTime 7.0.1 Reinstaller and the new, fixed, QuickTime 7.0.4 Update.]