what baffles me is...

....why, after reading through this litany of woe and anxiety, is anyine
actually entrusting MS enough to go and download the thing!

I remember reading a couple of months ago how SP2 was likely to break so
many applications/systems and promptly switched all my systems over to
manual which is where they'll stay until the people who created all the
vulnerabilities in the first place find a way of fixing it without making
things worse.

Can anyone tell me, and this is a genuine request, what benefits I would get
from installing SP2 bearing in mind that all my systems have ICF enabled,
zone-alarm, file & printer sharing unbound from tcp/ip, Avast, a whole
collection of anti-spyware tools and a NAT router?

Apart from that all machines here use firefox and only this one uses Outlook
distress, the rest are happily mailing from thunderbird.

So, truly, do I have anything to gain and would it outweigh the possibility,
seemingly large, of having my otherwise perfectly running systems bought to
the floor?

I truly believe that SP2 will do as much for Linux as Internet Explorer has
done to boost useage of mozilla/firefox and other 'safe' browsers.

B

Help newsgroups are somewhat like a hospital.....folks tend
to only visit when an illness unfortunately occurs.

SP2 is a solid, secure release. It is a major "Critical Update"
for Windows XP and updates about 5 million lines of code,
enabling much stronger security, stability, and a tad better
performance benefit.

You may wish to view the following:

List of fixes included in Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://support.microsoft.com/default...t=windowsxpsp2

Learn About Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/preinstall.mspx

What to Know Before You Download and Install Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/s...hattoknow.mspx

I would suggest performing the following maintenance prior to
installing SP2:

Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp

How to Perform Disk Error Checking in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp

After installing SP2, run the above maintenance utilities again, then perform a Defrag:

HOW TO: Analyze and Defragment a Disk in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...t/default.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"brushes" wrote:

| ...why, after reading through this litany of woe and anxiety, is anyine
| actually entrusting MS enough to go and download the thing!
|
| I remember reading a couple of months ago how SP2 was likely to break so
| many applications/systems and promptly switched all my systems over to
| manual which is where they'll stay until the people who created all the
| vulnerabilities in the first place find a way of fixing it without making
| things worse.
|
| Can anyone tell me, and this is a genuine request, what benefits I would get
| from installing SP2 bearing in mind that all my systems have ICF enabled,
| zone-alarm, file & printer sharing unbound from tcp/ip, Avast, a whole
| collection of anti-spyware tools and a NAT router?
|
| Apart from that all machines here use firefox and only this one uses Outlook
| distress, the rest are happily mailing from thunderbird.
|
| So, truly, do I have anything to gain and would it outweigh the possibility,
| seemingly large, of having my otherwise perfectly running systems bought to
| the floor?
|
| I truly believe that SP2 will do as much for Linux as Internet Explorer has
| done to boost useage of mozilla/firefox and other 'safe' browsers.
|
| B

> Can anyone tell me, and this is a genuine request, what benefits I would
get from installing SP2 bearing in mind that all my systems have ICF
enabled, zone-alarm, file & printer sharing unbound from tcp/ip, Avast, a
whole collection of anti-spyware tools and a NAT router?<

A lot/most people are thinking like you. You would have to go back to NT
4.0 SP2 to find this much trouble. The reason that I wanted it was in case
a virus comes along to exploit another one of XP's many weaknesses, it might
not happen to me. Future updates also rely on service packs being
installed. However we have to make sure that the vacination is not worse
than the disease. Like you, I'm not convinced of that yet. The most
apparent benefit is for people that don't have personal firewalls.

Regards,
Jack T.

I am completely disgusted with Microsoft. I saved for a very long time in
order to buy their damned Windows XP OS, and it absolutely stinks! After
initial installation from the XP Setup CD you have that long and tedious task
of ploughing through multi-megabytes of downloads from Windows Update, just
so you can protect your own files and documents from their stupid
incompetence. Yes, we all want to be up to date, but at the end of the day,
all that Joe Average wants is a reliable, easy to use OS that works, and an
OS that doesn't have to be tweaked and continually patched, poked and prodded
just to get it to surf the internet, save a document and print a letter off!

I am a methodical backer up of my system data and thank goodness that I did.
I don't have any copied or illicit Software on my system. I pay the money for
the legitimate software that I need, but when I installed Windows Update /
Service Pack 2 it completely devastated my system and the System Restore
feature did not work.

I am so angry that I am seriously thinking of ditching XP, switching to
Linux, and demanding my money back because I feel that I, and millions of
others have been duped into buying this crappy OS and have been well and
truly conned and cheated.

"brushes" wrote:

> ....why, after reading through this litany of woe and anxiety, is anyine
> actually entrusting MS enough to go and download the thing!
>
> I remember reading a couple of months ago how SP2 was likely to break so
> many applications/systems and promptly switched all my systems over to
> manual which is where they'll stay until the people who created all the
> vulnerabilities in the first place find a way of fixing it without making
> things worse.
>
> Can anyone tell me, and this is a genuine request, what benefits I would get
> from installing SP2 bearing in mind that all my systems have ICF enabled,
> zone-alarm, file & printer sharing unbound from tcp/ip, Avast, a whole
> collection of anti-spyware tools and a NAT router?
>
> Apart from that all machines here use firefox and only this one uses Outlook
> distress, the rest are happily mailing from thunderbird.
>
> So, truly, do I have anything to gain and would it outweigh the possibility,
> seemingly large, of having my otherwise perfectly running systems bought to
> the floor?
>
> I truly believe that SP2 will do as much for Linux as Internet Explorer has
> done to boost useage of mozilla/firefox and other 'safe' browsers.
>
> B
>
>
>
>

"Carey Frisch [MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Help newsgroups are somewhat like a hospital.....folks tend
> to only visit when an illness unfortunately occurs.
>
> SP2 is a solid, secure release. It is a major "Critical Update"
> for Windows XP and updates about 5 million lines of code,
> enabling much stronger security, stability, and a tad better
> performance benefit.
>
> You may wish to view the following:
>
> List of fixes included in Windows XP Service Pack 2
>
http://support.microsoft.com/default...t=windowsxpsp2
>
> Learn About Windows XP Service Pack 2
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/preinstall.mspx
>
> What to Know Before You Download and Install Windows XP Service Pack 2
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/s...hattoknow.mspx
>
> I would suggest performing the following maintenance prior to
> installing SP2:
>
> Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
>
http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp
>
> How to Perform Disk Error Checking in Windows XP
>
http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp
>
> After installing SP2, run the above maintenance utilities again, then
perform a Defrag:
>
> HOW TO: Analyze and Defragment a Disk in Windows XP
>
http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp
>
> --
> Carey Frisch
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows XP - Shell/User
>
> Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...t/default.aspx
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
>
> "brushes" wrote:
>
> | ...why, after reading through this litany of woe and anxiety, is anyine
> | actually entrusting MS enough to go and download the thing!
> | snip...snip...snip...

I won't be the only one to be unsurprised that someone wearing the company's
cloth cap fails to answer tthe question but merely seeks an opportunity for
a bit of back-slapping.

Whilst it may be true that the majority of people posting here would tilt
towards seeking help with problems do you think the scale of disaster is not
replicated amongst the customer base who are not newsgroup users? from the
calls I'm getting it would appear that the problems are widespread.

Microsoft probably find this acceptable and are prepared for this degree of
fall-out in order to try to protect their PR stance from criticism that they
release insecure products onto the market. It would be more re-assuring if
they dealt with the inherent flaws at an earleir stage and also used
something more like a rational testing system. Personally I have taken steps
to avoid disaster and advised my clients similarly. Sadly, many of the folk
who blindly trust in the product they have purchased will by now be looking
at a malfunctioning system.

"SP2 is a solid, secure release"

Really, when was anything out out by MS able to make such a claim? Every
single operating system released by MS has been deeply flawed as has been
their office products. Further, MS will prove to be incapable of issuing
software which is secure owing to their tendency to seek total domination of
the worlds computers.

"enabling much stronger security, stability"

Sure that's why Secunia have already listed vulnerabilities in XP-Sp2,
Internet explorer & Outlook express.

"and a tad better performance benefit"

The primary performance benefits I am looking for is that MS stop releasing
software that creates such vulnerabilities in the first place. An immediate
help would be a patch that disables the leaky potential of IE and OE for
those of us who don't use them but are still vulnerable to MS created
vulnerabilities.

Carey, if someone asks a serious question here which you are not prepared to
answer, don't click 'reply'. I don't need anymore self-congratulatory
back-slapping from MS clones.

Brushes

> brushes scribbled:
> "SP2 is a solid, secure release"

It is for me, as was my upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro, SP1 when I installed
it, along with all updates I have installed.
In fact, in the last 12+ years I have been using MS OS'es they have all been
rock solid, and secure.

> Carey, if someone asks a serious question here which you are not
> prepared to answer, don't click 'reply'. I don't need anymore
> self-congratulatory back-slapping from MS clones.

IOW you just want to whine and bitch.....
Hell you're not even prepared to use your own NAME in your posts, so why
should anyone in this forum want to help you?

--

Replace the obvious with paradise.net to email me
Found Images
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~mlvburke

I provided with a clear response, but unfortunately you
are blinded by your own inability to comprehend good information.
It's apparent you are just trolling and unwilling to accept good
advice.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...t/default.aspx

"Carey Frisch [MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> I provided with a clear response, but unfortunately you
> are blinded by your own inability to comprehend good information.
> It's apparent you are just trolling and unwilling to accept good
> advice.
>
> --
> Carey Frisch
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows XP - Shell/User

I was not seeking what you choose to portray as 'good' advice, I posed a
specific question relating to the necessity of SP2 given a stated set of
circumstances. You could, on the basis that you were not going to answer the
specific question, have just passed it over instead of seeking an
opportunity to flaunt your point of view.

Your reponse may have been clear, it may have been good, however it did not
relate to the original posting. I believe that trait to be more akin to
trolling than anything I have said so far.

Now **** off! go shine your tin badge

B

"Max Burke" <mlvburke@%$%#@.nz> wrote in message
news:%...
> > brushes scribbled:
> > "SP2 is a solid, secure release"
>
> It is for me, as was my upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro, SP1 when I
installed
> it, along with all updates I have installed.
> In fact, in the last 12+ years I have been using MS OS'es they have all
been
> rock solid, and secure.
>
Yes of course they are. The fact that the blaster worm was able to bring
down swathes of PC's, that respected govt. agencies recommend using any
alternative to the embedded browser owing to its inherent ability to install
potentially destructive software without the users knowledge and the fact
that, unlike mac & linux users we need to spend time installing and updating
various software to block the holes is evidence enough of how 'rock solid
and secure' MS software really is.

Of course, if it was they wouldn't be hoisting what seems to be a poorly
configured and loosely tested service pack on us would they?

MS contradicts your opinion in the text that accompanies every securty
update i.e." ...discovered which may allow someone to gain control of your
computer etc..."

Far from wanting to whine and bitch, I asked a sensible and serious
question, if you were not able to answer it, don't type

Of what possible relevance is a name here, a posting is either relevant or
it is not.

bog off, pratt


> > Carey, if someone asks a serious question here which you are not
> > prepared to answer, don't click 'reply'. I don't need anymore
> > self-congratulatory back-slapping from MS clones.
>
> IOW you just want to whine and bitch.....
> Hell you're not even prepared to use your own NAME in your posts, so why
> should anyone in this forum want to help you?
>
> --
>
> Replace the obvious with paradise.net to email me
> Found Images
> http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~mlvburke
>

> brushes scribbled:

>> Max Burke wrote
>> It is for me, as was my upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro, SP1 when I
>> installed it, along with all updates I have installed.
>> In fact, in the last 12+ years I have been using MS OS'es they have
>> all been rock solid, and secure.

> Yes of course they are. The fact that the blaster worm was able to
> bring down swathes of PC's,

I have yet to have ANY virus or worm on my computers in the 15+ years I have
owned and used computers. Same with most of the people I know that own/use
computers.

See if you can figure out why.

snip....

> Far from wanting to whine and bitch, I asked a sensible and serious
> question, if you were not able to answer it, don't type

BS! You have been offered advice by others (I've read their *civil* replies
to you) and all you've done is come back with obnoxious comments and flat
out saying they're lying....

> Of what possible relevance is a name here, a posting is either
> relevant or it is not.

Are you *ASHAMED* of the name your parents gave you? Is that it?

You're just making a complete fool of yourself with the *STUPID* attitude
you're displaying in your posts.....



--

Replace the obvious with paradise.net to email me
Found Images
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~mlvburke