Windows XP Service Pack 2 has been out for quite some time now. It was only released after numerous delays by Microsoft.
That hesitation was good news. Major updates to operating systems are not always occasions of unalloyed joy. The fixes, welcome as they are, are often accompanied by the introduction of new…shall we say…quirks.
Service Pack 2, more than any of its predecessors, was a risky patch job. Microsoft's almost exclusive focus in SP2 was security. Security ahead of backwards compatibility. That means applying the service pack will break some existing applications and cause some hardware to malfunction.
Installing SP2
SP2 is no mere patch. It's a major upgrade and installing it is not dissimilar to upgrading from say, Windows Me to Windows XP. The service pack weighs in at about 275 megabytes and you'll need around 800M of free disk space to install it – more if you want to create an uninstallation folder, which really is a must.
The installation process takes from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the complexity of your existing installation and the state of your system. You shouldn't have to be present for much of that time, although it's always a good idea to keep an eye on your system any time you do a major upgrade. That way, if things go wrong you can pinpoint exactly where in the process the problem occurred.
After you accept the licence agreement, the SP2 setup program takes a good look at your computer. It inspects your third-party drivers, performs a system inventory, checks you have enough disk space for the upgrade, and backs up the system including the registry. It then sets a restore point, so you can use System Restore to revert your system if things go wrong. After all that, it starts installing the new files. When SP2 is fully installed, you'll be prompted to reboot your system.
The first time your system reboots, you'll be present with a screen asking whether you wish to switch Automatic Updates on. If you agree, Windows will set itself to automatically download and install new Windows Updates, checking for them each day.
The Security Center
Once Windows loads, the first indication that things have changed is a new Security Center icon in the notification area of the taskbar. Right-click it and choose Open Security Center to check out the new operational headquarters for Windows' security features.
The Security Center looks like it was modelled on the Norton Internet Security control panel or similar panels in other security products. At a glance, it tells you whether your firewall is on or off, whether Automatic Updates are enabled, and the status of your virus protection. From the Center you can also access security settings for your system and for Internet Explorer.
SP2 is cluey about almost two dozen anti-virus programs and a number of firewall programs, so the status displayed in the Security Center reflects how up-to-date your existing anti-virus software is and whether your firewall is up and running.
SP2 adds a Security Center applet to the Control Panel. (Click to see a full-size screenshot.)
Windows Firewall
Security on high is the watch phrase for SP2. The default settings for many of the new security features is on, not off, something you need to be aware of if you already have alternative security measures in place. You may find you need to make adjustments to ensure everything works smoothly.
The new Windows Firewall is switched on when you install SP2. This feature used to be known as the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), but a new name is definitely in order because the Windows Firewall is an entirely different creature.
ICF was a lackluster, although not ineffective, firewall. It had almost no options and little oomph. Windows Firewall is considerably more configurable and it even functions during Windows boot up, protecting your system right from the start.
The firewall monitors incoming traffic and stops any which is either unsolicited or is not on an exception list. 'Unsolicited' traffic is anything which is not in response to a request from a program on your computer, such as your browser requesting a remote Web page to load. The exceptions list is entirely configurable, or you can ramp up security by allowing no exceptions whatsoever.
If you have multiple connections on your PC – both a local area network and a modem, for example – you can make global settings that will affect all connections, or adjust settings on a connection-by-connection basis.
Windows Firewall, in its default configuration, scored perfectly on Steve Gibson's Shields Up! and Probe My Ports security tests.
Automatic Updates
Although SP2 beefs up XP's intrinsic security and adds additional security features, since its release Microsoft (and others) have discovered a number of security holes and leaks which slipped by Microsoft's guard. That's why you're encouraged to switch Automatic Updates on when you install SP2. With Automatic Updates, you receive the latest patches and fixes for new issues as soon as Microsoft responds to them. You'll also find that when you go to switch off your computer, XP will offer to install any updates it has already downloaded before it closes down.
There's a danger in using Automatic Updates, because sometimes an update, while fixing one problem, causes a new one. On the whole, though, you're probably better off enabling Automatic Updates. The entire Windows Update process has had a lot of attention lavished on it. It's more reliable and smarter about which updates you really need.
If you want to change the settings, open the System Properties dialog box (right-click My Computer or hit Winkey+Pause to do so) and click the Automatic Updates tab.
Automatic Updates keep your computer patched, although with some risk.
Browser improvements
At last, Internet Explorer gets a pop-up blocker, something many of its rivals have had for some time. It handles the job nicely, too. IE automatically blocks pop-up windows, but alerts you by sound and by a subtle but easily accessible Information Bar at the top of the displayed page. Click the Information Bar to see options which include: Show Blocked Pop-up, Allow Pop-ups From This Site, Turn Off The Pop-up Blocker, Turn Off Information Bar For Blocked Pop-ups and Pop-up Blocker Settings.
IE not only blocks pop-ups, it also blocks "software", which means things like ActiveX components and other scripts. This should put a major hurdle in the way of unscrupulous sites which try to take over your browser or download spyware onto your computer. Script blocking will also prevent Web authors from positioning IE windows off-screen or creating windows without address or status bars.
A pop-up blocker is a welcome addition to Internet Explorer. (Click to see a full-size screenshot.)
Other subtler improvements include the reinforcement of browser zones, to ensure only truly safe sites operate at the lowest security settings, and a new Add-On Manager to give you control over programs which change or expand IE's behaviour.
Despite the improvements, using Internet Explorer is still a significant security risk. You're better off using Firefox, Mozilla or Opera (see Five Reasons to Ditch Internet Explorer). If you decide to stick with IE, make sure you install Microsoft's new Windows AntiSpyware program.
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Other enhancements
Other areas to see significant improvement in SP2 are:
- An overhaul of wireless networking. It's now much easier to use and includes its own Wireless Network Setup Wizard, which makes setting up a wireless network infinitely easier. An icon in the taskbar indicates wireless network status and the Wireless Connection window shows the security status of all available wireless networks.
- Outlook Express and Windows Messenger have been updated to block unsafe attachments.
- Windows hot fixes and Office updates no longer appear in the Add/Remove programs list by default. This not only prevents you from removing these updates by accident, it also keeps the Add/Remove list from becoming a kilometre long. A simple tick of an option box lets you view the updates which, very cleverly, are now grouped beneath the relevant program.
- Built-in Bluetooth wireless detection.
- A more secure code base, with much of the code recompiled to help deflect the infamous buffers overruns which have been responsible for many security vulnerabilities in the past.
Should you upgrade?
With all these improvements, upgrading to SP2 is a must for most users (but see my article on How to Avoid Service Pack 2 for some caveats). Yes, the new features will break some existing applications, despite Microsoft's extensive testing. But unless you know one of your critical apps is at risk, you shouldn't let that deter you. With threats of all kinds – viruses, phishing scams, browser hijacking, operating system exploits, data theft, and so on – increasingly common, you will most assuredly want this service pack.
© 2005 Rose Vines
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