It could look like a game to a child. So parents need to be aware of this new “drag-and-drop” security flaw in Windows XP that even the giant new security patch, SP2, doesn’t take care of. What kids should be alert to is any effort (such as an email) to get them to go to a strange-looking Web page containing just two lines and an image. The page might tell the visitor to drag the picture across the two lines and drop it, CNET reports. What’s actually happening, security experts told CNET, is a malicious program being dragged into a folder on your PC. Next time you restart the computer, the program runs and takes control of it. Secunia, the PC security company that discovered the flaw, said the program could be simplified to require a single click, not even the drag-and-drop exercise. All your kids need to know is not to go to a Web site that someone they don’t know has told them to visit, and certainly not to play around on it. It’s best not to open spam or strange emails at all, much less click to the Web from them. And tell them to be careful about going to Web sites from instant messages too. Also, just keep your Windows security up-to-date at this page. Microsoft surely will issue a patch for this “vulnerability.” Secunia has given this flaw a “highly critical” rating.
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