A glitch in Windows XP security allows you to bypass passwords and gain access to a machine using a Windows 2000 CD, reports the newsletter Brian's Buzz. Of course in order to use the CD you need to have physical access to the machine already, so this is a pretty pointless glitch - it is, however, a glitch.

It works like this. If you boot an XP machine using the Win2k distribution CD and start the recovery console, you can then get into it, copy and change files without needing a password. This doesn't work using the XP recovery console with XP, nor using the Win2k console with Win2k,so it's clearly an oopsie.

So in this case, we figure the only effects are that it gets round a bit of window dressing style security which doesn't do much more than stop the unlettered breaking in, and it helps dispel any illusory feeling of security similarly unlettered users might have.

Which is good, in its own small way. But getting a high security PC where your password (or perhaps your smartcard or your - shudder - Microsoft watch) actually means much, and which is capable of repelling the technically astute office cleaner, is an entirely different matter. Not that we think many of you will like it when you get it, anyway. ®