Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional (3rd Edition)

What's New?

Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP fixes many bugs, but most importantly, it includes significant changes to Windows networking and Internet security. The major features of SP2 are listed in this appendix.

Windows Firewall The original "Internet Connection Firewall" has been replaced with a more sophisticated firewall service called Windows Firewall that provides much more fine-grained protection against hackers and viruses. On a corporate domain network, Windows Firewall can be configured with different security profiles depending on whether a computer is plugged into the network, taken into the field, or taken home. The new and improved firewall also protects your computer during XP's bootup process, which, amazingly, the old firewall didn't.

To learn more about the new firewall, p. 840.

Windows Security Center A new control panel window displays the status of the three main lines of defense against Internet attacks: Automatic Updates, Windows Firewall, and antivirus protection. The settings and status of these three systems can be seen at a glance. Windows pops up annoying reminder balloons if your computer doesn't have an up-to-date third-party antivirus program installed.

To learn more about the security center, p. 936.

Improved Windows Update and Automatic Updates SP2 delivers new versions of Windows Update and the Automatic Updates system. The new systems perform more intelligent downloading of update files (for example, interrupted downloads are resumed where they left off), a boon for people with dial-up Internet connections. The intention of these changes is that no Windows computer should ever miss a critical security fix, even if the owner neglects his or her computer. Windows Update now lets you select any assortment of updates, even those that must be installed separately.

To learn how to configure Automatic Updates, p. 1022.

Wireless Networking Enhancements SP2 includes a replacement for the Wireless Network configuration dialogs, for people who use 802.11a, b, or g Wireless networking. The new dialogs are more streamlined. SP2 also adds support for Wireless Protection and Authentication (WPA), an advanced encryption scheme that is supplanting WEP.

For details on the new Wireless Networking setup dialogs, p. 576.

Bluetooth Service Pack 2 integrates support for Bluetooth short-range network devices like cell phones and printers, if an XP-compatible Bluetooth networking adapter is installed.

Security Improvements for Internet Explorer Microsoft has finally given IE a means of blocking pop-up and pop-under ads, those annoying advertising windows that appear when you visit many commercial Web sites. IE no longer lets Web sites hide the URL field when a new window is opened, has improved detection of dangerous file downloads, and provides a tool to let you manage IE plug-ins.

For a description of the new Internet Explorer security features, Security Improvements for Outlook Express Again, finally, after several years of Microsoft foot-dragging, Outlook Express will no longer automatically display images linked-to by HTML-formatted email. This stops it from automatically notifying spam senders that they have found a valid email addressyours. OE also has improved detection of dangerous attachments.

For a description of the new Outlook Express security features, Security Improvements at the System level The Windows XP system kernel and many system components have been updated to provide better protection against programs whose bugs were previously exploited by hackers to run malicious code. SP2 provides better management and protection of internal memory and includes support for "No Execute" (NX) mode. NX mode, available only on modern processors such as the AMD Opteron, lets Windows prevent programs from executing instructions out of memory that has been designated for holding data only. This may prevent some programs that use "Just-In-Time" compilation from working (Java, for instance), but closes the door on a large category of bugs that have been exploited by hackers to take control of Windows systems.

To see how to enable NX protection on a compatible processor, p. 957, (chapter 25) and "Advanced System Properties," p. 1020.

Security Improvements for RPC and DCOM Microsoft's RPC and DCOM (COM+) components, which form the basis of many advanced networked application programs, have undergone extensive changes to minimize vulnerabilities from Internet hacking. These changes will break many corporate software applications but, for the increased security, Microsoft believed that the tradeoff made the changes worthwhile. Some network applications will have to be updated or reconfigured to work correctly after SP2 is installed.

New Scheduled Tasks Option The Scheduled Tasks window now has an option to run a scheduled task only if a specific user is logged on. In this mode a password is not stored with the task definition.

To see how to set up a scheduled task, p. 1014.

Windows Messenger Version 4.7 The new version of Windows Messenger includes improved audio and video compression for better sound and picture quality, improved response to network dropouts and congestion, and several security fixes. Internally, it has enhanced "hooks" that should make it easier for third-party developers to create and offer enhanced function plug-ins.

To learn how to use Windows Messenger, Windows Media Player 9 Series Service Pack 2 installs Windows Media Player version 9. Media Player 9 includes a "mini-player" mode that puts a tiny control panel in the taskbar when the player is minimized, cross-fade and automatic volume adjustment tools, pitch control, and a "queue-it-up" feature that lets you quickly add songs to the current playlist. Media Player version 9 was superceded by version 10 immediately after Service Pack 2's release. You may download the latest version through Windows Update.

To learn how to use the new version of Windows Media Player, p. 265.

Service Pack 1 updates SP2 includes all of the bug enhancements in Service Pack 1, including USB 2.0 support, IPv6 networking support, and the Set Program Activation and Defaults control panel applet.

Hot Fixes and Security Updates SP2 includes a "roll-up" of all security patches and hot fixes that have been released for Windows XP since it was sent to manufacturing in 2001. Hot Fixes are security updates and bug fixes that are important enough to be released before and between service packs. While Windows Update delivers the most critical Hot Fixes, there are hundreds of others that are announced only in the Microsoft Knowledge base and must be downloaded manually. Service Packs like SP2 deliver all of collected Hot Fixes. To see a list of the bug fixes included in SP2, visit www.microsoft.com/technet and search the Knowledge Base for article number 811113, "List of fixes included in Windows XP Service Pack 2." The article lists 818 items, each described in detail in another Knowledge Base article. These were just the most significant fixes; there are likely many other small changes not documented.

Getting More Information

Because SP2 has so many changes that impact Windows's networking functions, Microsoft has published an extensive array of articles describing SP2's features and implications. Check out some of these links:

• For information about how SP2 impacts you as an end-user, visit www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2.

• For technical information appropriate for IT professionals, visit www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2 and follow the link "Information for IT professionals on Microsoft TechNet."

• For information on deploying SP2 in an enterprise environment, visit www.microsoft.com/technet and search for "Windows XP Security Guide."

• Software developers can find information about DCOM changes and Windows Firewall technology by visiting www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2 and following the link "Information for developers on MSDN."