SlashNOT

Kevin writes: Hot on the heels of the latest Linux security flaw, which allows users with shell access to crash the computer, another flaw in Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system has been found. Apparently it is possible for anyone to shut down or restart a computer running Windows XP, without even having to log into the computer. With enough patience, even hackers with very little computer skills have been able to render systems unusable for hours simply by repeatedly taking advantage of this exploit. Microsoft is playing down the impact of the flaw, calling it instead a “feature”. A related flaw allows users in physical proximity to any computer running either Windows or Linux to cause a power-input standby exception using an out-of-band attack against the binary power arbitration unit exposed on the computer. Hackers as young as fourteen months of age have been documented exploiting this hack.