Windows recovery loophole lets hackers in
Windows Vista may be Microsoft’s most secure operating system to date, but researchers are still finding some glaring loopholes for hackers to exploit. Here is the latest: all you need is a Vista Install DVD to get admin level access to a hard drive. The loophole arises because the Command Prompt tool in Vista’s System Recovery Options fails to request user name or passwords before handing over access to PCs running the operating system. The hack, discovered by security researcher Kimmo Rousku, only works locally. Physical access to a target PC is a must. Even so, the potential for mischief (such as deleting directories or copying files on targeted PCs) is enormous. Hackers don’t even necessarily need to run a DVD. “Itâs easy to create a bootable USB flash memory that works in a similar way,” Rousku notes.