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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.
I'll be letting that one sit for about 6 months before I touch it...
RTM usually means there are about 60 hotfixes to follow.
I swear among all OSes, AIX is the only OS that has figured out how to pack near perfect patches. M$ still has alot to learn from IBM, even in 2004.
WHOA -- I have to be honest with you, I'm not going to trust an update of my operating system to something I drag off a BitTorrent site. Perhaps someone can alleviate the apprehension -- what are the odds that some jerkweed is going to attach backdoor warez to that download?
Personally, I'm cautious enough that I'd rather download it directly from Microsoft than try to gain some perceived savings in downloading it from a 3rd party site.
*** *** You're just jealous 'cause the voices talk to me... ***
I have dial up. On a two hour cut off basis. I'm thinking my system may stay unpatched !
I'm not going to trust an update of my operating system to something I drag off a BitTorrent site.
I infer from this that you'd trust any other download from BT? Why?
what are the odds that some jerkweed is going to attach backdoor warez to that download?
About the same that some jerkweed is going to attach a backdoor to any other torrent you download.
Whoah, whoah slow down. How do I know that's the real MD5 hash? How do I know you aren't the jerkweed that installed the backdoor warez, and that's YOUR new hash?
HMM????
You have 3 choices:
1) Order the service pack on CD
2) Get a better dialup ISP
3) Stay the hell off my internet
And not to be overly pedantic, but unless I download the file from Microsoft, how do I know that's really the MD5 hash? I'll wait until it's totally released, and download it once, and only once, test it, and once satisfied, will deploy it.
No offense, but unless Microsoft themselves put up a statement with this MD5 checksum as being valid, I think I will pass on the BitTorrent method in this case. Chances are that it is 100% legit, but given the nature of the patch, I'll go with better safe than sorry and download it directly, even if it takes hours or days.
Rule #1 -- Politics always trumps technology.
So, that RC2 was soooo unstable (3 of 5 machines wouldn't boot afterwards) and now the release is stated as "stable" ? I find it hard to believe that they were able to fix it that quickly.
Does anyone have a GM they've tested yet?
I'm still worried about having everyone install it right away... Will probably recommend to wait until September.....
Thanks for any additional info!
-m
http://www.invisik.com
Microsoft says Installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) will prevent Microsoft CRM versions 1.0 and 1.2 from running correctly. Version 1.2 is the latest.
More Microsoft CRM stories: Shortly after Microsoft began using its Customer Relations Management software, we got a call from a Microsoft representative inviting us to a meeting in New Jersey. This caused some confusion until the rep said the Microsoft CRM database showed we were based in New Jersey. (Correct answer: Oregon.) Last Friday we got a call from someone at Microsoft who invited us to a local meeting. Three minutes later we got another call from the same person. She didn't realize she had called the same number.
And how is this any different from downloading your newest Linux distro ISO? I would not call your concern insightful, I'd call it pure FUD. As with any download, compare and verify the hash before you use it, if a known good hash is not available, take your chances.
Some MD5 verification apps for W32.
Here
Here
Here.
There are others.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
He has a point. It's all about trust: if you don't trust any of the posters that say, "I've downloaded the original and its MD5 hash is the same as that of the torrent" then, no matter how many me too's there are, you should steer clear and get the file from a trusted source. Simple as that.
;)
Personally, I check MD5s and GPG/PGP signatures of the binary tools I use whereever possible, but not all of them are supplied with these so it's a little impractical. It doesn't hurt to be cautious though: do you really, absolutely, positively need it [whatever it is] RIGHT NOW, or would you rather wait for a guaranteed source that doesn't stand a chance of being the latest German beta/trojan/Goatse.cx vs. Tubgirl animated Flash EXE?*
Considering that installing a Service Pack (or equivalent OS update) should NEVER be taken lightly, I'd rather spend a few hours ghosting the machine and/or making sure that everything important was backed-up and verified, rather than rush to "be the first", especially in light of the previous Slashdot XP-SP2 coverage (as unscientific and unproved as the linked article was for that topic). Besides, wouldn't you rather that Microsoft paid for the bandwidth?
*(Of course all of this is hypothetical; I haven't checked the torrent or its source or tried to confirm the hash with a trusted source. It may very well be the real thing, and from the amount of news coverage starting to spread SP2-final does appear to be out.)
BitTorrent is designed to transfer data while verifying its validity, but in order for that to work the metafile (.torrent file) must come from a trusted source. In this case, you aren't retrieving the file from microsoft.com, so you'd better have an alternate method of figuring out whether or not it's been tampered with.
I'm with you. Furthermore, I'm absolutely not going to trust information like that posted on a site known for being distinctly anti-Microsoft.
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
And yet this update is actually making headlines, and I'm watching Windows users scramble for it like it's bread and water after a long trek in the desert.
"Yes," said the man standing next to the ocean. "I know I'm on fire, but I'd rather wait for someone to come along with a fire extinguisher. I'm perfectly fine as I am, thankyouverymuch."
--Rick "If it isn't broken, take it apart and find out why."
I know that if I were the government, and I could read people's thoughts if they weren't wearing a tinfoil hat, the first thing I'd do is launch a massive campaign to make the idea of wearing a tinfoil hat synonymous with insane paranoia.
Sure, 250 is a lot, but after a clean install of Mandrake 10.0 the updates were something around this 250 MB too (I don't recall the exact amount as it was a couple of months ago). Granted, this updated more than just the OS and core apps, but its still a heafty download.
>I know that they have an unpatched version of XP
So did everyone else before today!