WindowsXP Plug and Play Security Flaw

:O Gasped when i read this during my visit to Slashdot.

Excerpt from a /. reader: "Don't know if this is common knowledge at this point or not, but apparently some security researchers discovered that Windows XP's universal plug and play features contain a huge security flaw: 'A Microsoft official acknowledged that the risk to consumers was unprecedented because the glitches allow hackers to seize control of all Windows XP operating system software without requiring a computer user to do anything except connect to the Internet. ... Microsoft made available on its Web site a free fix for both home and professional editions of Windows XP and forcefully urged consumers to install it immediately.' Read more at the Washington Post's story."

No OS is perfectly secure, but I bet a lot of new XP owners won't be too happy about this.

Slashdot's readers later pointed out that a patch for the flaw is available.

Download: The Patch