Countdown to XP SP2: Forced Protection

Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is scheduled for release within the next few weeks. Ever since Microsoft first pushed back the XP SP2 release date from December 2003 to April 2004, I've been going through a love/dislike relationship with the upcoming service pack.

When Microsoft delayed the service pack's release date, I was troubled. Considering that XP first shipped in October 2001, the delay meant that XP users would be getting one service pack every 15 months. Whatever happened to “We’ll get out two service packs per year?” Yes, XP’s pretty reliable, but it still suffers from a number of known networking problems, not the least of which is a nagging Server Message Block (SMB) signing error brought on by the last service pack. True, you don't need to wait for SP2 to get patches for many XP problems, but if those patches aren't security oriented, you have to call Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) to ask for the patches. And according to the Microsoft articles that refer to those patches, you run the risk of being charged $245 for the call if the person on the other end of the line decides you don’t truly need the patch. Like many of you, I’ve been waiting for SP2 so that I can get all those fixes in one guaranteed-to-be-free download. . . .