Windows XP

Get help with Windows XP Service Pack 2

Welcome to Windows XP Service Pack 2

Introduction
Windows XP SP2 is Microsoft's largest ever service pack and thus contains more new features and functions than ever before. The pack, which is supplied on a CD with this issue of PCW, should help keep your computer safer online and make maintaining its security
settings even easier than ever before. It should also help to make your computer safer by presenting clear information about what represents a threat so that anyone else who uses your computer should also be able to evaluate potential threats while surfing.

Windows Security Center
This is the main hub of SP2's security settings. Where before setting security on your system required visiting multiple Control Panel categories, the Windows Security Center combines all of these settings in just one place. Three key components of a secure computer are contained here: Firewall, Automatic
Updates and Virus Protection. Now at a glance, you can see the status of these three settings.

With the Virus Protection part of the Security Center, this is designed to work with the major third-party products including Symantec, Sophos, McAfee, Trend Micro and Norton. Check online for a full list of compatible software. The Security Center informs you of what virus software you have and how up to date it is. Should your virus protection be disabled for any reason, it will also inform you of this instantly.

The Security Center not only offers information and -protection though. It also offers control. The Internet Options button takes you straight into Internet Explorer to check the settings for security within the browser.

Enhanced Firewall
Windows XP already contains a built-in firewall but this has been considerably enhanced for SP2. As standard this is now set up to let through very little.

It is set up to prevent outside computers listening to ports. Ports
are used to monitor a system's resources and accessibility on the internet. Windows XP blocks this function, which is often used by hackers to identify potential machines to target, unless you explicitly decide not to. More than this, the firewall prevents programs from accessing the internet as default and will warn you if software attempts to do so. Advanced settings mean you can configure exactly what software, services and protocols are allowed.

The firewall though makes sure that the applications that you trust are able to access the internet. The first time a given program tries to access the internet. The first time a given program tries to access the internet, the firewall will inform you of this and offer you a choice of whether you want to allow it to do so or not. Using the advanced functions you can then further configure exactly what you want the program to access, specifying port settings for example.

System Security Settings Attachment Manager
The Attachment Manager is used by both MSN Messenger and Outlook Express to safeguard users against unsafe attachments. When the Attachment Manager finds an attachment that could be potentially used to launch a virus attack, it isolates the attachment. Any attachments that are executed are done so with the minimum of system privileges in order to minimise the potential harm that they could cause.

Data execution prevention
Many exploits work by running code in a section outside of that designed for the program. Hackers can use this technique to hack systems and compromise the integrity of your computer. By working with chip manufacturers, Microsoft is working towards hardware enforced security against this attack. This means that
once SP2 is installed, if a program tries to do things that it is not supposed to, Windows XP will inform you of this and allow you to stop it rather than running it automatically.

Remote Procedural Call Service
This was the source of the MSBlaster worm. Remote Procedural Calls, which allow one computer to request services from another without having to understand the network details are a security threat because they allow programs to be run without user authentication. Microsoft has tightened this up by requiring
authentication before an RPC is successful, and by limiting the ways and means that code can be run.

Internet Explorer enhancements
Internet Explorer now takes far more of an active role in keeping your computer secure. It will warn you of the security risk of downloading software and is set up with ActiveX disabled as standard. This helps to make browsing a safer experience. But the Internet Explorer controls are also set up to make browsing more pleasant too, by blocking pop-up advertising as standard. This has
become far more prevalent in recent years, with unscrupulous web designers coming up with new ways to make the pop-up ever more annoying and intrusive.

If particular domains, such as the GAIN network (a well-known publisher of spyware), prove to be particularly prevalent then you can opt to permanently block them in Internet Explorer by clicking Tools>Internet Options>Security, and then adding the domain to the list of Restricted Sites. This will mean that the Information Bar will no longer inform you when pop-ups or ActiveX Controls are
used by that particular domain, so you are no longer troubled by them.

Crashes in Internet Explorer are often to do with the various add-ons that we all accumulate searching the web. While additions such as Macromedia's Shockwave Player greatly enhance the browsing experience, others can also cause problems. Therefore a new item on the Tools menu called Manage Add-ons has been created. This gives you a way of monitoring exactly what you have running and make amendments if particular programs cause you problems. To help you make these choices, if an Internet Explorer crash is caused by an add-on, Windows will now inform you of which one so that you can take appropriate action and disable it.

Finally, the way that Internet Explorer handles downloads has been improved. The wording in downloading boxes has been changed so that, rather than asking a user if you want to open a program or
file, instead it asks if you want to Run the program. It also explicitly states the risk that this represents.

It's not all security... Updated drivers
Microsoft constantly updates the drivers available on its operating system and Windows XP as standard will go out to the internet to search for any drivers not locally installed. However, enhanced Bluetooth 2.0 drivers are now installed as standard. This helps you
take advantage of the latest wireless devices including wireless keyboards, mice, mobile phones and PDAs.

Windows Media Player 9
The way that Windows handles media has been It is impossible in this article to go into detail about enhanced in SP2. Where before there was some every single enhancement contained in Windows
overlap between the Internet Explorer Media bar and XP SP2.
Windows Media Player, the Media Bar has now been removed.

This means that any media that is clicked upon in Internet Explorer now triggers Windows Media Player 9 However, users can set up Windows Media Player that it is `docked' into Internet Explorer with controls accessible from within the browser.

The latest version of Windows Media Player has been enhanced with improved security and also new optimised codecs that ensure that streamed video and music from the internet appears clearer and smoother than ever before.

Whereas before the security settings for Windows Media Player were controlled from within Internet Explorer, these are now handled directly from within WMP itself.

Further reading...

For more information, the following Microsoft paper provide further detail about some of the functionality in the service pack: go Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2