WindowsXP SP2 has caused major headaches for sysadms. Designed to
tighten up security holes, it unfortunately also breaks quite a few
applications. Microsoft has a list of applications that are are
affected. But this list needs to be expanded by at least an order of
magnitude.
Another major problem with SP2 is that it may have inadvertently created
another type of security hole (or, a security crater as some called it)
in the wrong hands.
For Windows XP Service Pack 2, Microsoft added new fields or records to
keep track of the Firewall and Antivirus information in the WMI
database. Unfortunately, the WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation)
database is designed to be accessible via the WBEM (Web-Based Enterprise
Management) API and is available to any program that wants to access the
WMI. These programs can be desktop applications written in desktop- or
web-based scripting or ActiveX modules. See:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1639276,00.asp
To SP2 or not to SP2? Microsoft has created a touchy issue. Most people
I know don't have any problem with SP2. I installed it on my XP-Pro
desktop, and it screwed my WordPerfect 11--my No. 1 business tool. One
of my buddies from Exxon told me that no one there is allowed to even
think about SP2. Of course we represent two unlucky data points among
perhaps millions (?) of happy XP/SP2 users ("Microsoft"), but the
security crater issue is something that cannot be ignored. wayne
