For far too long, Apple has been forcing security risks and bloatware, down the throats of seemingly helpless iPod owners. Forcing users to install a system consuming monster like Quicktime along with iTunes, is tragic enough. Finding out that shadowy entities are publishing iTunes exploits on the net, only adds insult to injury. Here is a quote taken from the SecuriTeam.com website:

Apple iTunes is "a digital jukebox capable of playing a variety of sound file formats, sharing music and burning music CD's". Remote exploitation of a buffer overflow vulnerability in Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes music player allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. The following exploit code can be used to test your system for the mentioned vulnerability.

After the recent Sony rootkit fiasco, and the more frightening Windows *.WMF exploits, we should all know how dangerous buffer overruns can be. The black hats will almost always be one step ahead of the good guys, but at least you can load your new mp3 player up in safety until the next staggering weakness is discovered.

There is a great new plugin for Winamp called ml_ipod. Once installed, you can manage all of your iPod's music through the Media Library. It won't let you maintain images and video yet, but it works on everything from the first edition iPod all the way through the Nano. This won't be a solution that everyone chooses, especially Mac users, but it's a nice little bit of reassurance for those of us who stick to PCs.