Microsoft is asking Windows users to shut down and disable Gadgets and Sidebar in Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems. These features, it announced, may leave your personal system vulnerable to hijacks.

On Microsoft's Knowledge Base site:

Disabling the Windows Sidebar and Gadgets can help protect customers from vulnerabilities that involve the execution of arbitrary code by the Windows Sidebar when running insecure Gadgets. In addition, Gadgets installed from untrusted sources can harm your computer and can access your computer's files, show you objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time.

To prevent attacks, Microsoft has released a Fix It solution to disable these features.