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Aging Security Vulnerability Still Allows PC Takeover

Posted by Zonk on from the there-are-issues-here-and-perhaps-they-should-be-investigated dept.

Jackson writes "Adam Boileau, a security consultant based in New Zealand has released a tool that can unlock Windows computers in seconds without the need for a password. By connecting a Linux machine to a Firewire port on the target machine, the tool can then modify Windows' password protection code and render it ineffective. Boileau said he did not release the tool publicly in 2006 because 'Microsoft was a little cagey about exactly whether Firewire memory access was a real security issue or not and we didn't want to cause any real trouble'. But now that a couple of years have passed and the issue has not resolved, Boileau decided to release the tool on his website."

13 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The hard part is... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 2, Funny

    That sounds like a challenge...

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    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

  2. Re:Breathtaking Arrogance or Stupidity? by deblau · · Score: 4, Funny
    You are either for false dichotomies or against them.

    Which is it?

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    This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.
  3. Re:The hard part is... by clickclickdrone · · Score: 5, Funny

    >have the time to jack into one of my boxes
    You must have one sexy PC!

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    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
  4. Hosted on his personal webpage... by ProdigySim · · Score: 1, Funny

    Not anymore! Microsoft probably submitted this article.

  5. In related news... by muffen · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... it turns out, his site is vulnerable to the slashdot effect :)

  6. Re:The hard part is... by bleh-of-the-huns · · Score: 1, Funny

    My security system is even better... its a vicious dalmation that attacks anyone who comes into the house..

    And while yes its a great security feature.. it gets annoying when he attacks the same neighbour over and over and over again.. who comes and goes in my house 2 or 3 times a week....

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    I came, I conquered, I coredumped
  7. Re:Yes, yes, another anti-windows story by Oktober+Sunset · · Score: 3, Funny

    maybe they aren't smart, maybe they are dumb, that means even a dumb ass can crack windows security.

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    What if Tetris was invented by Nazis?
  8. Dalmatians 101 by Stanistani · · Score: 2, Funny

    You can't really blame Pongo. Cruella keeps trying to make beautiful coats from those cute puppies.

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    You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
  9. *listens closely* by Stanistani · · Score: 4, Funny

    "So I tied an onion to my belt. Which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em."

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    You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
    1. Re:*listens closely* by glavenoid · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Give me five bees for a quarter," you'd say. Now where was I? Oh yeah... the important thing was that I had an onion tied to my belt... which was the style at the time. You could not get any white onions, because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...

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      I, for one, am looking forward to the inevitable /. beta rollout fallout.
  10. Re:Yes, yes, another anti-windows story by sumdumass · · Score: 3, Funny

    hey now. Not all of us need this crack to bypass windows security.

  11. Re:Not on joe's computer. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Please mod any "fixed it for you" messages down into oblivion.

    It's annoying to me.
    There. Fixed it for you.
  12. Re:Yes, yes, another anti-windows story by beav007 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wait... Windows has security?