SP2...Fred Langa's take on installing SP2...
Go Slow With XP's SP2
Many readers are wondering what to do about XP's SP2, which is starting to trickle out in a limited release. But over the next few weeks, just about all XP users will be offered the download in a carefully sequenced rollout designed to prevent the overload of Microsoft's servers.
When you're offered SP2, my advice is: Do nothing; wait a bit.
SP2 is huge--- so big it's almost a whole new version of XP. Like any new version of any OS, it *will* contain bugs, and it *will* cause trouble on some setups. The more complex and/or nonstandard your setup is, the greater the likelihood of a problem.
Plus, there's no "must have right now" element to SP2: Much of SP2 is designed to force uninformed (or just plain lazy!) PC users to use basic security--- to stay current with updates, to use a firewall, etc. (These are the users running the unpatched/unprotected systems that allow most worms/viruses to spread.)
But odds are, if you're reading this newsletter, you already know about and are using pretty good security practices, such as good firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware tools, and you're keeping up to date with Critical Updates. If that's the case, you won't gain a lot by rushing into SP2.
Instead, wait a bit--- even as much as a month or two--- to let the worst problems with SP2 come to light and be fixed on other user's PCs.
Again, as long as you're already using the kinds of security tools and techniques we discuss in this newsletter every week (example informationweek.com ), there's no need to rush into SP2.
I'm not the only one suggesting this "go slow" approach. See, for example these other authors:
scotsnewsletter.com
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