Flaw in Winamp Media Player Fixed

Nullsoft (à la AOL) has released an update for its Winamp media player to fix a dangerous security hole that could give attackers a way into your PC.

According to Danish security firm Secunia and the Croatian company that uncovered the flaw, the vulnerability could be exploited by an audio or video file or stream that has an overly long file name or description. The problem exists in all versions of Winamp 5 prior to v. 5.094. To see what version you are running, open Winamp, select "Help" from the drop-down menu and click on "About Winamp."

I'm especially keen on keeping up-to-date on Winamp patches because I'm always checking out new and unusual Internet radio and video stations through Shoutcast, a community of hundreds of small (mostly commercial-free) Webcasters. Among my favorite Shoutcast stations are Digitally Imported Chillout, Groove Salad and KCEA-FM Big Band Swing.