A significant security flaw was discovered in Microsoft software this week, but this time Microsoft isn’t to blame. Well, not completely. The most recent security problem uncovered in a Microsoft product is a genuine threat, security experts say, but it isn’t a problem particular to the Windows XP operating system. The producers of Brian’s Buzz on Windows newsletter discovered that booting an XP system off a Windows 2000 CD allows the user to start the Windows 2000 Recovery Console, a troubleshooting program. Once Recovery is active, the computer’s uninvited guest has complete access to the contents of the computer without ever having to enter a password. The intruder can also gain access to any other user accounts present on the XP machine, again sans password, and can copy files from the hard drive onto removable media, an activity that is not allowed under Windows 2000, even when a presumably valid administrator is using the recovery console. Full Story
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