Slashdot Mirror
Windows XP SP2 In Release
mr_tommy writes "Service Pack 2 for Windows XP has been released to manufacturers (RTM), is available to MSDN customers, and will soon be available to all via Windows Update and Microsoft sites. At ~ 250 megs, the download is big, and Microsoft will be offering the option of getting it on CDs. The much awaited Service Pack comes with many security updates (new NX and DEP protection), extra features (firewall, security center), and improvements for Windows. New versions of IE and OE come with the release, as well as improvements in the wireless networking field. So far, the service pack seems to be very stable (no known major issues) and does seem to speed up most systems. A review of SP2 Final with some limited download links is available at Neowin.net. I'd urge all users (pirate users too) to deploy the service pack and benefit from the genuine effort Microsoft have made with regards to security in this release." We did cover this recently but since this is a major deal, we figured people would want to know more.
Even as a person who owns a legal copy of XP Pro, I am pleased that SP2 will be able to be installed on almost all copies of XP that are around. Hopefully this will help slow spyware and other annoyances down!
Also, I've heard that the download is available from the new windows update site: here and several bit torrent websites(file name: WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe, MD5: 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7, size: 278,927,592 bytes)
Boxing Equipment Reviews
Use this link for the pirates info. No sense in linking to a forum that just links to another.
Daddypants agrees.
After it harassing me left and right about programs connecting to the internet. Even after letting it run for a while, it never spotted a program connecting that wasn't supposed to be.
I imagine things will continue as they have. No firewall. No spyware, no trojans, no 0wn3d machines. Just proper patches and Mozilla.
It's the top three downloads on Filemirrors.com, for those of you having problems getting working links.
-Ares
Yea. Try this post that was made in the original article:= 9905241
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=117069&cid
If you're using one of the two widely pirated keys for XP (XXXXX-640-0000356-23XXX or XXXXX-640-2001765-23XXX), SP1 didn't install for you, and neither will SP2. So go ahead and change your key using Microsoft's own process. Search the web for valid keys....
The new security center looked nice too, I can't imagine many people misunderstanding it.
I'm not going to link to the site I got from... probably would go against DMCA, but here's a like to a torrent with like 180 seeds already. http://66.90.75.92/suprnova//torrents/2355/Windows XP-SP2-RTM-exe.torrent
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
Well remember that they do not provide 'changes only' -- e.g. if they change one line in a DLL they have to provide the entire DLL. Given the breadth of fixes it's not unsurprising that many files will be replaced.
The MD5 hash of the real file is 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7. If you download it, then you can check it with any tool to generate the MD5 hash, and if they match, you can be certain it hasn't been messed with.
That's the whole point of telling people what the hash of the file is.
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
I work with a CRM finance program named Made2Manage. We were informed by them that this service pack breaks the connection between them and SQL. We have heard the same thing from another software vendor for a sql based e-mail system. Supposedly, when MS turned on all of the security features for this SP they eliminated the way in which a number of vendors communicated with SQL. To date I have not received the go ahead for this service pack. M2M evidently contacted MS about this issue but received little or no assistance in resolving this issue.
So be warned. If you are running third party SQL based software this service pack may break it.
AbortRetry
Damn, now I need to create an account
If you have a processor that supports NX, SP2 will not be compatible with some programs, especially dynamic recompilers.
As R. Belmont pointed out to me on a different message board, dynamic recompilers allocate memory, fill it with x86 instructions, and then jump to it. NX specifically prohibits executing allocated memory, so dynamic recompilers should crash in SP2 on processors that support NX.
Expect this feature to break many current emulators (Mame will be fine.) The feature supposedly can be turned off in Windows, but since I don't have a processor that supports NX, I don't know where one would do so in the interface. The newer Athlon chips - specifically, the Athlon 64's, and future Pentium 4s, support NX, so keep that in mind when upgrading to SP2.
For those confused about whether pirated versions of XP will be allowed to installed the service pack, the answer is mostly no. If you have either the famouse FCK key or a few of the leaked corporate keys, for instance, you won't be able to install SP2. According to one MS employee, if you were rejected when installing SP1, you will be rejected when installing SP2. You will be excepted, however, if you've installed XP on multiple machines using a single CD. This appears to be the 'piracy' they're overlooking.
Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit
Try 475. At least, the one that's up on MSDN is 475.
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
Holly cow, that's bigger than ALL of windows 98! I know there are a TON of improvements in SP2 but the size is kind of crazy
That's the administrative install version that covers everything - including Windows Media Center edition, Windows Tablet PC Edition, etc. If you download the client version, it'll only download the files you need.
Coming soon - pyrogyra
Windows BITS will download SP2 incrementally every time you are online using spare bandwidth (assuming you dial in directly) when you enable automatic downloading of updates. In a couple of months (years ;)) you'll be prompted that it's ready to install, assuming you haven't ordered your cd by that time :)
Please be aware that SP2 will cause some problems with official MS products (i.e. CRM). So you may want to backup your system (obvious) prior to installing this update.
Someone sent a friend of mine a BSOD graphic after they installed SP2 on their computer. Their computer now needs a fresh install. Though I like to do a fresh install whenever an SP update comes out (good for the soul).
I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
folks will fully understand
the 260MB download is only for the full network install...the msdn download includes tools and comes in at over 400MB.
folks using automatic updates are apparently looking at a 70-90MB download as the updater reads and downloads only what is missing.
and also point out the svc pk update cd will be mailed FREE OF CHARGE around the world.
Well, IBM isn't recommending that anyone deploy it at all just yet.
Put identity in the browser.
I did that with a beta, no problems at all.
Here's a quote that might help:-
This patch was issued in response to a surge of malware intended to steal the unecrypted key from the private data store of users. This was unavoidable, and a design decision we had to make given the relative time and urgency.
Given the nature and scope of SP2, a full and considered solution to the matter was developed that does not as-easily allow a single comprimised client to open up an entire private network.
I have RC2 installed on my system and I haven't had any problems yet. No BSODs, no crashes of other software that I use, and I have even been playing Doom 3 with no problems. To me it seems that RC2 was pretty stable. Now I might just be one of the lucky 2 of 5 that works and it might have something to do with the fact that my system only has quality hardware and drivers installed, but I am pretty happy with RC2. In fact, I have even noticed an increased performance in my wireless connection. It seems to me that the installation of the final SP2 should go pretty smoothly, at least on my system anyway.
SIGFAULT
The definition of stable varies. The problem in the heavily biased tests was that driver-level hooks to the operating system were being used to enforce the reinstallation of software that should not have been there in the first place. These hooks were not designed to work with the new configuration, and as such fail, causing all manner of wierd and wonderfuls.
:)
While SP2's final release does not contain specific code to deal with this, if your system is completely comprimised then any good security institution will tell you that a system rebuild is in order. It is your personal task to obtain software that secures a system in advance of a major upgrade. You wouldnt start fitting new locks on the car while driving down the road at full throttle, after all
As a matter of fact, the industrial success rate for non-compromised systems when deploying XP SP2 was near enough 100% amongst the test cases as to make no odds. Don't forget, the same source that claimed 3 out of 5 was also the one saying it'd been delayed again just last week.
No.
.NET/2003 Server series has much of this pre-built into it, and the limited number of applications that had to be accomodated when making design decisions meant that we could bang out the code on that operating system at a breakneck pace. With XP SP2 it was a matter of going back and testing every path through everything from SOL.exe down to ATAPI and beyond.
The
Additionally, a lot of the code on this release is consumer oriented, people who implictly have little knowledge of the dilema they face from hackers. They just want a button that basically says "Whoom! Sheields up!" and never hear about it again.
2003 server and XP both use the same basic firewall, but SP2 just gives it a nice look and some more dialogs for users to see whats going on. As server admins, it is implicit that you understand the activity difference when blocking off all extenerally originating transfers.
-SG
Running without a firewall is not smart, but not necessarily stupid, either. Once you run all the windows update patches, and disable file sharing on your WAN adapter (or at least use a good password and disable the guest account), what's left for people to hack? The only difference between this situation and one with a firewall, is that your ports will be replying to requests with a connection reset packet instead of staying silent. It shows that your PC is up and running, but nothing else. To be exploited, one must be already running trojans or spyware that allow this sort of behaviour. You don't open *those* attachments, do you? So run your machine without a firewall all you want, just be sure to keep it up-to-date.
Also, ZoneAlarm works as promised, and it's free. This isn't a hearty recommendation, but it's not broken, either. If you don't have a hardware solution (router), use ZA.
What are you guys smokin? My download from MSDN says:
File
en_winxp_sp2.iso, ISO-9660 CD Image
Size
475.35 MB
My favorite part?
Minimum Estimated Download Times
T1 42 minutes
128 KB 8 hours, 39 minutes
64 KB 19 hours, 29 minutes
28.8 KB 43 hours, 18 minutes
Can I bum a sig? I left mine at the office.
Yes they do. As of this release/Windows Update 5, in fact. The size, as is pointed out a few posts down, is cos this is the administrative edition which contains everything. You won't need everything unless you're running a vanilla XP install that hasn't had SP 1 or a single hotfix installed.
Buy the President
I'm not in the habit of making things up -- except perhaps this -- but an excerpt from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxp pro/maintain/sp2chngs.mspx:
-Oisin
PGP KeyId: 0x08D63965
Does no one even bother looking at the security center that comes up after first reboot?
Ok after that trollish intro, do this:
* Open Control panel
* Open "Security Center"
* Click on "Change the way security center alerts me"
* Turn off any alert options like virus scanning or firewall that you do not have or do not intend to have installed.
* Tray icon goes away!
Contrary to popular belief, coding is not all free blow-jobs and beer. Those things cost MONEY!
You can download now without any login required from MS.
Guess this will be breaking down within minutes...
Nils
Don't know if it's been said yet, but won't install on XP versions other than English. So if you have a localized version of XP, you might as well save yourself the download...