Foul Writer’s World

Microsoft has officially announced the release date for Windows XP Service Pack 3. The long awaited SP has been confirmed for release to the general public on April the 29th. Earlier today Microsoft confirmed that the source code has been released to manufacturers for testing and implementation.

It has been almost 4 years in the making, and Microsoft has taken their time to ensure that end users don’t have the same problems as the previous SP.

Testing for the SP has revealed a streamlined and greatly reduced install process. A big improvement on the install process comes in the form that the actual download package is a lot smaller than the previous SP and installation took a measly 15 minutes.

The SP includes the following updates for Windows XP:

• Support for WPA2
• Detection of black-hole routers
• Inclusion of BITS 2.5 for Windows Live OneCare
• Added Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP) to Windows XP
• An updated Windows Installer platform (version 3.1)
• Inclusion of Digital Identity Management Service (DIMS)
• Added support for MMC 3 platform (enhanced User Interface)
• New version of MSXML6
• Improved implementation of IPSec
• A new network policy platform, Network Access Protection (NAP)
• Plus many other improvements

So come April the 29^th I would recommend installing the latest SP for Windows XP. Even if you won’t be using new features it ensures that your computer will have all the latest security updates.

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