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The service pack will be downloaded automatically into many PCs through Microsoft's Windows Update service and could create problems, including breaking current applications, disrupting networking set-ups, and prompting non-technical users to make PC configuration decisions that may be beyond their grasp.
Might be a good time to turn OFF that auto update feature.
Unfortunately, MS is missing the real issue: trojan back doors.
Infact my laptop runs much better - boots up quicker as well.
Your mileage may very, but the new blocking/alert features are nice.
In my opinion if your corporate network allows auto installs then the admins failed to set good policies.
For home users, it may well be justified to slap them in the face with the upgrade to help eliminate many of the headaches going around.
I am curious how you were able to install SP2 - it doesn't seem to have been released yet. The article says its slated for release next month.
I got it also at an MS seminar. It was the pre-release version and seems pretty solid to me. I do have auto update off though. I go to windows update every couple of weeks to keep my computers up to date. My office does updates through the system admins.
That said, I always set it to automatically update (download and install) on non-techie's PCs I help with (friends and family).
I suggest we all report problems in detail her. This way some of us might avoid some of the potential pitfalls
When installed on a machine that isn't part of a domain, it shows a config window showing if the firewall and popup blockers are enabled and also if your antivirus is up to date. I don't know how many antivirus products it detects, but it found mcafee without prompting.
The popup blocker is quite nice in that it seems to remember the popup that it blocked, so if you click for it to be allowed it will be shown. The Google toolbar just seems to reload the page so, if the popup is set to only show once, you can't get to see it.
The SP also adds options into outlook express to not download external html content (images) to help fight spam.
Full details of changes can be found here: -http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2chngs.mspx
They did have a page titled 'How to Make Your Web Site Work with Windows XP Service Pack 2' which detailed the new popup and activex rules, but they seem to have removed it!
It has to be the best upgrade yet and a sign of things good to come. The best thing is automatic activex download is finally stopped and with each release alot of the tricks that people come up with are stopped as well.
I've also seen some nice extensions to the policies and such that will make XP alot more feasable and easy to manage in a corporate environment.
Good riddance to popups! Atleast they don't go as far as other "popup" blockers that just block ALL ads
Wait and see applies here :)
I think overall the idea is a good start. I planned to test the sp2 first myself... most of my high maintenence users now are getting force fed windows updates already. I guess now I need to look into whether I want to hand hold for the desktop firewall with them or not. The popup blocker is a nice feature... of course you get instead a pop-down of your explorer frame with a message that it blocked a popup. It's always something it seems from Redmond... here as I am presently considering *really* becoming an ogre with the corp. internet firewall settings and for the first time ever *really* seriously contemplating a corpwide netscape browser switch.
oooooo... Don't go to the darkside of Netscape in haste. Give some other browsers a chance first! I use Avant. Between it's built in pop-up blocker and the Google Toolbar, I've been pop-up free for MONTHS! There are tons of other nice browsers out there!
Besides... Who's to say if SP2 will allow other browsers than IE to work anyway (hahaha... Go Billy Go!) I could see Microtrust making it hard for other browsers to work. Wouldn't be out of character at all!
This means now you will have to go in, disable the XP 'firewall', then install a real firewall, one added step to securing your PC.
seriously contemplating a corpwide netscape browser switch
Don't do that, do a corpwide Firefox switch, then your uses will actually be reasonably happy. Thunderbird isn't ready for prime time yet from what I've seen, still on version 0.7 so I'd wait to switch that until they get some of its bugs worked out. If you install the 'all-in-one-mousegestures' extension, not only will all your users become completely addicted to non IE browsers, your network will be safer, for this recent wave of exploits, and for the waves of exploits to come.
Just because MS claims this newest service pack will resolve security problems doesn't mean that it will resolve security problems, they said that last year too with their 'secure computing' thing. Just give people some time and they'll find the holes, I have faith in that if in nothing else... IIS was 'completely revamped' too, version 4 or 5, can't remember, that's teh version that was exploited in the recent 'footer' method... MS is counting on a lack of memory I think, seems to be working.
We are not a company large enough to employ an exchange server. We use a third party software to sync. up our appointments in Outlook.
Well... SP2 caused some kind of freak thing to happen to Norton's script blocker and got it stuck in an endless loop. After turning off script blocking in Norton, the window stopped... but not the problem. When a new appointment was entered, the third party program would freeze up outlook. SO, I removed the program. All's ok... EXCEPT for the fact that outlook would NOT sync to my PDA with Active Sync. It would cause an error in outlook, and then Outlook would bomb.
Aspects of the SP are interesting, but it's going to cost time and money for me to seek out a new third party sync. program that will work with the SP.
What a pain!
For sp2...I think it still needs work before it can be rolled out to Joe Surfer. It's an o.k. idea for home users who aren't protected behind a firewall, or for companies that don't manage their own...etc. I am hoping it will be a few months away and that it is finished before being rolled out for automatic update. As for being too small for an exchange server... personally, I wouldn't want to take that on. I use sendmail. It's enough maintenance for me to keep up with the ms desktop users without connecting one or their servers to the internet.
Might be a good time to turn OFF that auto update feature.
First time I saw autoupdate kick in ( doze 98II ) was around 4 days later ( to me it behaves as a trojan ..so I cut of the net access ..read all the help files ..bought some books ..talked to some programmers cos I was rusty )..then ..I went round and around the registry till I killed it ..not turned off ..nuked ....;)
Never had trouble with a drive by "feature" from Redmond since...
BTW ..never had a virus /trojan either and I don't run an AV ..and I do spend a lot of time in the darkside..
Learn more by cleaning up after "attempts" than I would if I left Redmond in the chair..
But I wouldn't recommend this way to everyone ...
My box ....My rules
regards,
Mark
