Windows XP SP2 Overview

Windows XP is both a revolutionary operating system, as well as a step back in some ways. Service Pack Two from Microsoft tries to correct some of the drawbacks that Windows XP has. Including beefed up security, and some user enhancements, can it become the great operating system that Microsoft says it is?

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The most important feature of Service Pack Two (SP2) is the new Security Center in the Control Panel. The Windows Security Center has three major sections. They are the Windows Firewall, Automatic Updates, and Virus Protection. The Windows Firewall in SP2 is a major step up from the firewall found standard in Windows XP.

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Three main settings are located in the main Windows Firewall screen. They include On, On Without Exceptions, and Off. On is exactly what it says it is, the Windows Firewall will be a software based solution to prevent unauthorized users from using and accessing your computer. When you try to use most programs, the Windows Firewall Manager will ask if you want to allow the connection, allow the connection every time, or block the connection.

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Oddly, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), as well as Windows Messenger, and of course Internet Explorer did not pop up the manager screen. I’m sure there are several other programs with the same effect. Using mIRC or FireFox, to name a couple programs, cause the Windows Firewall to activate. I’m told incoming requests are handled the same way, but my routers settings prevent any incoming requests. In addition to software having the manager pop up, you can manually set program access for several integrated Windows programs. File And Print Sharing, Remote Assistance, Remote Desktop, as well as UPnP Framework are included by default, but turned off. It is also very easy to add a program, port or IP address to the Exception list of the Windows Firewall.

Additionally, there is an advanced tab that goes very in-depth for the casual user, but is a welcome additive to the Windows Firewall for more advanced tweakers. You can set which network connections the firewall is enabled for, should you have more then one connection. A log can be kept, and viewed, for dropped packets and successful connections. You can set a limit on the file size of the log, the log file name, or choose to not have a log at all. Another very welcome addition in this writer’s opinion is the ICMP Settings, or Internet Control Message Protocol. This includes things like Echo requests, like pings, and packet overflow to be allowed or not.

The Windows Firewall in SP2 is a major step up from Microsoft to give every Windows user the proper tools to defend their computers. Hopefully this high quality trend continues throughout the rest of the Service Pack. And a final note, to make sure that all tweakers can use the Firewall, there is a nifty little button to Restore Defaults should you change one too many options and have no Internet connection. An Internet connection is really the basis of the security features of SP2. The next section to cover is Windows Update.

Windows Update is possibly the key to keeping a high-security computer and home network for many of the end-users of the world. The new Windows Update that is rolled out with SP2 is absolutely great. From your end computer, to the Windows Update site itself; almost everything is changed in some way. On the contrary to many people’s beliefs, the new Windows Update is honestly better. Starting on your end computer, in the Control Panel there is a revamped Automatic Updates applet. You can choose between four modes: Automatic, which downloads and installs updates for you, Download For Me, which allows Windows to download the updates and asks you when you want them installed, Notify Me, which notifies you that updates are ready but does not download them, and Off, which turns off Automatic Updates. Personally, I turn Automatic updates off because I don’t like it sending information out or having an open connection. It does not collect any personal data, as per the EULA (End User License Agreement), but I still like being in control of my network fully. If you choose to have Windows XP update it self automatically, you can set a time for which it do so, as always.

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The best change, in my opinion, to Automatic Updates in SP2 comes in the Add/Remove Programs applet of the Control Panel. No longer do all the fixes appear in the list. There is less clutter on the list, and other changes have been made. Not related to the Automatic Updates, but now the list works correctly, reporting sizes of programs and usage better. This one of the many smaller bugs that SP2 also fixes in Windows XP.

Thirdly, the major part of the new Security Center is virus protection. Service Pack Two does not include any standalone virus protection, besides the NX bit and a software version of it. NX is hardware level virus protection. It takes known viruses and won’t let them run on your computer as long as hardware supports. Currently, only Athlon64’s, Athlon FX’s, and Opterons support the NX bit. Windows does include what they call DEP, standing for Data Execution Prevention. This helps against some viruses, but mostly against attacks like Buffer Overflow. You can set two options; you can either have it on for only essential Windows files and programs or for all programs. There is an exception list very similar to the Windows Firewall. There already is a known-issue involving DiVX playback in SP2, but if you include the program in the DEP exception, you can workaround it.

DEP can be found in a strange location. It’s located in System Properties, under the Advanced Tab and in Performance. This is a location that bothers the author. Why would DEP be under the Performance section unless it changes the performance of the computer in some way? I’m keeping the DEP off all programs, as it is only good for buffer overflow since I do not have the NX bit. The firewall maintains enough security to ensure I don’t get a buffer overflow attack, I hope. I haven’t seen any performance changes with it off, so that’s a good sign that it must be working properly and staying off.

In conclusion, this service pack is very welcomed from Microsoft and I believe it to make Windows XP the best version of Windows for home use. I have yet to have a problem using SP2 or any other programs already installed. Programs installed after SP2 also have no problems. Now that many things work correctly, and my computer is more secure, Microsoft might have made my operating system better.