SP2 flaws uncovered

[ViRaL1]

Just when you thought it was safe

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5315063.html

[gitreel]

I have already posted this in the computer forum.

[Moloko_Plus]

Im not upgrading to sp2, i dont need it. I did before and had a ton of problems, Decided it was time for a fresh clean reinstall. Dumped all the important stuff onto my secondary partition, did a quick format and put back in sp1a.
The worst part was they snuck in wmp 8 in the update. That was pretty much the straw that broke the camel's back.

[freestyler]

WMP 8? Isn't it WMP 9?

[Vanderlow]

I think this puts it in better perspective:

"As for flaws in XP itself, eEye's Maiffret points out that the update is about making Windows XP more secure by adding new protection features and better configuration, not about finding all the vulnerabilities in the operating system."

It doesn't sound like it adds security flaws per se.

[ViRaL1]

Maybe XP IS the actual flaw.

[gitreel]

Whfg znxrf lbh jvfu gurl unq fcrag zber gvzr ba fc2 orsber gurl eryrnfrq vg.

[ViRaL1]

I think I'd have to disagree with you on that one.

[gitreel]

Qvfnterr jvgu jub?

[RottenFoxBreath]

just went onto windows update.
it installed WU v5 on my pc,and then proceeded to tell me that a shitload of services that " are required" to be running,are disabled and wouldnt let me go any further in the updates selection.
i mean,if i want to switch them off,i will.
i installed a previous version,and noticed that some of the services that were there before,were mysteriously overwritten and had disappeared.
meaning that on my task manager,i could see them running,but when i disable them,a lot of programmes shut down or wouldnt work.
best bet,IMO,is to wait till some of the worms,virii(sp!),etc have hit sp2 users,and have been fixed before updating to it.

[gitreel]

rotten,

Have you ever heard of run-on sentences?

Break your sentences up please.

When you do that, it is easier to read.

[gitreel]

There is no harm in upgrading to sp2.

I just recommend trying it out on a test computer before you install it on your main computer.

[hiptune]

There is no harm in upgrading to sp2.

I just recommend trying it out on a test computer before you install it on your main computer.

Great suggestion, like eveyone has an extra computer running XP, and it also has all their currently used software on it too.

I have three computers, but most people have only one.

[gitreel]

There was no need for sarcasm.



Actually most families these days have more than 1 computer.

[freestyler]

Where'd you find this statistic?

[gitreel]

Let me rephrase that.

Most of the families that I know have more than 1.

I have three.

One is not running yet, because I am rebuilding it.

[ViRaL1]

Even if you use your main PC, you can always back it up before you install SP2.

[lacywest]

just went onto windows update.
it installed WU v5 on my pc,and then proceeded to tell me that a shitload of services that " are required" to be running,are disabled and wouldnt let me go any further in the updates selection.
i mean,if i want to switch them off,i will.
i installed a previous version,and noticed that some of the services that were there before,were mysteriously overwritten and had disappeared.
meaning that on my task manager,i could see them running,but when i disable them,a lot of programmes shut down or wouldnt work.
best bet,IMO,is to wait till some of the worms,virii(sp!),etc have hit sp2 users,and have been fixed before updating to it.

Try this website ... lots of tips and tricks for WinXP

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm

Sample from BlackViper's webpage >>>

Important(!!) Additional Notes:Feel free to use this tool and send me feedback with success and failure stories.

No checks are performed to ensure that all dependencies are accounted for. Ensure that you validate your service configuration before creating your custom file. Checks for dependencies may be included at a later date.

Download the default registry settings before attempting to install your own registry file. For downloading default and other configuration files, please visit the Windows XP Services Registry Patch Guide.

This tool does not automatically apply any settings to your current configuration. Upon submitting it will create custom code for you to cut and paste into Notepad and save as you see fit.

You may validate your configuration by bringing up the services.msc control panel and this tool side by side and transferring the entries.

The default selections are based on Windows XP Pro. However, no issues should arise by having the additional registry entries when creating a file for Windows XP Home, nor should the changes from Pro to Home affect your current setup.

All services marked as "Not Installed" or "Not Available" are set to "Automatic" by default, here. This is to ensure that the tool does not break an existing system configuration. However, if you desire an optional service that you installed to be set differently than Automatic, change the entries in the tool below.

Several services do not have the option of changing from the default. If you wish to do so, you will need to edit the resulting file manually.
Upon submitting, a new page with further instructions will appear.

[RottenFoxBreath]

rotten,

Have you ever heard of run-on sentences?

Break your sentences up please.

When you do that, it is easier to read.

what the hell are you talking about?
grammar,etc on the internet-i couldnt give a shit.
if you dont know to pause on a comma,and stop on a full stop,then its not my problem.
i can read that post fine,it makes sense to me,im not really interested in your opinions about my typing.

[LSchafroth]

rotten,

Have you ever heard of run-on sentences?

Break your sentences up please.

When you do that, it is easier to read.

what the hell are you talking about?
grammar,etc on the internet-i couldnt give a shit.
if you dont know to pause on a comma,and stop on a full stop,then its not my problem.
i can read that post fine,it makes sense to me,im not really interested in your opinions about my typing.

Even that post is difficult to read. Do you want me to have my 6th grader come over and homeschool you a bit? He will do it for CHEAP.

LS

[ViRaL1]

i can read that post fine,it makes sense to me,im not really interested in your opinions about my typing.

That would be great if you were posting to yourself in a forum all by yourself. The whole point of posting in a public forum is that you're communicating with OTHER PEOPLE. If no one can make sense of your post or won't bother taking the time to decipher it, you've just wasted more of your time.

[/end constructive criticism]

[Moloko_Plus]

Yes i meant wmp9, lol.

Theres no reason for me to upgrade to sp2. I have everything i need working fine and im not getting popup windows using Internet Exploder and i doubt anyone is hacking my computer. I also can do without wmp9, mpc works great for me.

[gitreel]

The download.ject worm is a reason to upgrade.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1638124,00.asp

Download.Ject-style worm spreads via IM
By John Leyden
Published Friday 20th August 2004 15:26 GMT

A Download.Ject-style worm which spreads through instant messages is spreading across the Net, according to intrusion prevention firm PivX.

The as-yet unnamed worm arrives as an innocuous looking instant message on AIM or ICQ which says: "My personal home page http://XXXXXXX.X-XXXXXX.XXX/". This link takes users to a one of a number of sites hosted in Uruguay, Russia and the US, from which a Trojan horse program is downloaded. These websites contains exploit code designed to infect surfers by taking advantages of a variety of well known IE exploits (such as Object Data, Ibiza CHM and MHTML Redirect).

Infection will modify a user's home page to a site called TargetSearch. The setting of an infected user's browser will also be changed to open up several browser windows displaying adult advertisement and referral links every time IE is loaded, according to preliminary analysis of the worm.

The scope of the worm's spread is unclear but early analysis hasn't revealed any of the key logging features that made the original Download.Ject worm such a menace.

On 24 June many websites running IIS 5 were infected with malicious JavaScript code called Download.Ject. Websites running the latest versions of Microsoft IIS were unaffected. Users visiting a website contaminated with Download.Ject activated a script that downloaded a Trojan horse (called Berbew) from a website in Russia.

Acting with law enforcement authorities, Microsoft was able to rapidly shut down the Russian website, but the affair still highlighted security concerns with IE. Security clearing house US-CERT took the extraordinary step of advising users to ditch IE in favour of alternative browsers. Microsoft has since fixed the underlying flaw that Download.Ject exploited.

PivX Labs has notified anti-virus vendors so that they can create signatures to defend against the latest threat, which is nowhere near as serious as the original Download.Ject worm. ®

[Infiniti2004]

I upgraded and it was a nightmare... So many of my programs stopped working UGH. Anyway , I did a system recovery and I am back to sp1 thank God

[Nilfennasion]

I find it utterly amazing that people can keep going through this latest patch-du-jour and have the nerve to question why some might start exploring alternatives to Windoze. The next time I buy a computer, it will almost certainly be a Mac with OSX rather than the legacy-burdened, safe-as-a-Mexican-hospital crap that Microsoft wants us to regard as the sole option. It's time we started taking back responsibility for, and control of, what our computers do.

[vitualis]

Well, to each his own...

WindowsXP seems to work fine for me and I haven't had any problems with SP2.

Until there is another OS with the sheer breadth of software (free and otherwise) as Windows, it would be very hard for me to switch (even if I wanted to ... and I have seriously experimented with Linux on two separate occasions on an old computer).

As for MacOS... It is very good of course, but I kind of like the idea that whatever OS that Microsoft comes up with next will probably be mostly compatible with my current software. A slow easy transition to the next platform is what I prefer, and what I'm sure most people would. I don't consider buying completely new software as mandatory for an OS upgrade (no matter how good it is) as particularly consumer friendly.

Regards.

[DVDJET]

If you are comfortable with fixing and learning new tricks to deal with sp2 issues then install it,if you are not comfortable dealing with pc software problems then simply dont install it.Wait for the guinea pigs like me and the other sp2 users to find out the bugs,post some feedback to m$ and the software companies,let them fix it and then install it :P

As i said its all down to personal choice and above all have fun

[Nilfennasion]

What I find absolutely astounding is that Microsoft has deliberately destroyed alternatives to the extent that even people who want to use a computer without Microsoft products often cannot do so, and we have people like virtualis saying "Until there is another OS with the sheer breadth of software (free and otherwise) as Windows". Tell you what, virtualis, how about I stick you in a time machine and send you back to 1991. Would that do it for you? When I had a Commodore Amiga that crashed every time the Word Processor encountered some kind of unknown condition, I accepted that as normal. Then I found out that there was a severe defect with the RAM, which got fixed, and I wound up having to make a serious physical effort to make the machine crash. Given that I was in my early teens at the time, I suppose I should just wisfully reminisce about having that machine, but if I had known how much cash I'd have to pour into my computer since I was 18, and for an inflation in productivity that barely reaches 10%, I know I have a right to be pissed off at Windoze, and none of the piss-poor defenses you or any other novice (and face it, if you spring to Microshit's defense, you have no right to call yourself anything else) can come up with will change my mind.

While it is true that I am having major teething problems with Linux so far mainly because procedures I used to take for granted are not as straightforward, I happen to like it that way. I happen to like being reminded to learn what the results of seemingly innocent actions could be, and I also like knowing that, commands like format notwithstanding, my personal data is safe from my operating system. Show me a man who tells me that last statement when he uses Windoze, and I will show you a man who has been using a computer for less than a week, tops.

[adam]

So you are saying that those who have no problems with windows must be novices, and those who can't seem to get a near fullproof os to do basic functions are the experts?

[Nilfennasion]

No, I am not.

What I am saying is that people who claim Windows XP is near-foolproof are definitely not savvy to all the facts, for one thing. I've seen every version of Windows from 3.0 onwards, with the sole exception of ME, and I know very well how immature a product it is. While I hated the 95/98/ME line passionately, the one advantage that can't be ignored is that when enough of the thousands of files that make it up are corrupted, they can be replaced from DOS without a complete reformat. Try doing that in Windows XP. Near-foolproof, eh?