Security researchers have published details of a denial-of-service vulnerability that could enable hackers to attack Microsoft Windows and spin computers into senseless processing loops.

Posting to the SecurityFocus industry forum site late Monday, an individual identified only as Dejan Levaja first described how the threat, known technically as a LAND attack for the type of code that triggers it, could affect Windows users by needlessly occupying their computers' processing power. Using such an approach, an individual typically sends a packet of data to a Windows machine using a command that features the same source host and destination host information, thereby sending the computer running in circles. Despite admitting that the potential for LAND attacks is real, Microsoft downplayed the impact of the vulnerability's exploitation, saying such an effort would only slow a Windows computer, not force it to crash. The company said the attacks can be largely avoided by merely employing the firewall tools it includes with its Windows operating system.