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Better Late than Never, Microsoft releases SP2 for Windows XP
It's about time, Service Pack 2 for Windows XP is sceduled to come out this Monday. This thing took so freakin' long to come out. It is supposed to contain a Security Center, IE pop-ups, a firewall, etc.
What is ironic is I have been searching download.com for a firewall program, since I had given up hope waiting for Microsoft's new firewall to come out. I am really glad that they greatly improved the power and flexibility of their firewall. Apparently, Microsoft's firewall is said to be too protective (Source), blocking out stuff like the Sony Clie's ActiveSync, but you can make allowances for your programs with MS's new friewall. IE will have a pop-up blocker, but I doubt anyone cares at this point, Google beat them to it and their pop-up blocker works flawlessly.
One thing that interested me is a "Security Center", which organizes all of SP2's myriad security features and provides a snapshot of your system's firewall (either Microsoft's or a third party's), Automatic Updates, and third-party antivirus app. The center keeps you abreast of the status of each security tool and alerts you to any needed updates. A centralized security center is cool. It's like a Department of Homeland Security for your computer.
SP2 is a bitch when it comes to size. It can take up anywhere from 100MB, if you have downloaded every MS Critical Update, to 270MB, if you do not download MS Updates. Luckily, since the service pack is going to be up before I get to UF, when I get there I can take advantage of a 10MB/second connection to get it.
I guess we can thank Microsoft for finally coming out with SP2, but still, why the hell did it take so long? It had better be good.
Belched up with tidings of comfort and joy by Joe
at
7:54:00 AM. |
