XP Service Pack 2
The latest Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, Volume VII – March 2005 indicates that XP SP2 may have resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of bot scanning incidents. Symantec reports that these incidents have dropped from 30,000 per day to only 5,000 per day. They attribute much of the decrease to improved security features in XP Service Pack 2.
So what’s in XP Service Pack 2 anyway? Here is a list of the fixes, patches, enhancements and updates provided by SP2.
SP2 List of Fixes
Hey! That’s a pretty long list!
We encourage all users to upgrade to SP2 if they have not done so already.
Actually, you don’t have much of a choice… if you want to continue using Microsoft’s Windows Update service. The option for delaying the update expires on Tuesday, April 12, 2005. So, starting on that date, SP2 may be automatically installed, unless you disable automatic updates. In that case, you probably will miss other important updates, and your security will be further degraded. Not really very wise.
But we do understand the reluctance to install this major service pack, because it may possibly cause problems. Approx. 10% of SP2 installs are problematic. We believe that the great majority of these failed installs are caused by neglecting to do the following steps before installing SP2. Another way put this in perspective: users who regularly update all software on their computers are far less likely to have problems with SP2.
Also Check these articles by Microsoft HERE and HERE
Update any programs on this list. We suggest you update all your software to the latest versions. By now most of them will have updates to cure any incompatibilities.
Be aware that your original XP disk won’t be worth a darn after SP2 is installed. We suggest that you create a new copy of XP, with SP2 integrated into it. Detailed instructions may be found HERE
By taking a few basic precautions, we believe SP2 can be relatively painless upgrade. And the significantly improved security may well save your butt!
April 22nd, 2005 at 11:09 AM
Here is an Update:
If you are on a sloooow dial-up connection and find the the download process tedious and way too time consuming, and maybe expensive, we suggest that you get these updates mailed to you.
For instance, XP Service Pack 2 can be ordered HERE
Another option is to get a friend with a fast connecting to download the full versions of service packs and patches for you, burn them to a CD and mail them to you. The full version of XP Service Pack 2 can be downloaded from Microsoft HERE
Office XP Office Pack 3 can be ordered HERE
Other downloads can be found in various parts of the Microsoft.com. The first place to check is the MS downloads site:
DOWNLOADS CENTER
MS updates and downloads that are security related can be found HERE (This is an important place to visit)
In addition to updates and patches, there are lots of useful free products available from the Downloads Center. Check it out!
May 10th, 2005 at 3:37 AM
Here is some more info about SP2.
Microsoft announced at a recent security conference that it accomplished 428 significant security improvements with SP2, including 51 in Internet Explorer and 107 in the networking functions of Windows XP, and it completely eliminated two whole classes of security vulnerabilities.
The announcement at the CanSecWest conference in Vancouver, BC was intended to underscore the importance of upgrading to SP2 with some hard facts.