Windows XP Service Pack 2 has been released to computer manufacturers, and the full version intended for network administrators is now available for download. It'll start showing up at the Windows Update site any day now, and will start suggesting itself to XP users as an available update soon as well. (Those who have their machines set up to download and install updates automatically will end up with it installed before they know it -- though it'll take a while due to its size, so you might have an idea what's happening.)

Common wisdom on this service pack is to wait 30 days, let the pros 'test it out'. This is by far the largest service pack Microsoft has ever put out, and it's always the case that Microsoft service packs 'break' things. This one should be no exception, so it's a good idea to wait and let others see what problems might arise before wading in yourself.

More at

http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/60.htm#winreport

Thanks John for this update. I just went over to Microsoft to look for it and it wasn't there yet. But you are saying we should wait 30 days before downloading it? Okay I will do it. My computer doesn't automatically download it but it does send me a notice automatically but I can put it off three days at a time!

Thanks...my computer is working so much better now with ZoneAlarm on it as well as Spyware and Adware!! Amazing!!

Glad you got it cleaned up! Spyware actually causes more problems than viruses these days, from what I see and read.

For those who are interested, Johannes Ullrich of DShield.org/SANS.org has set up a comments page where people can weigh in with their SP2 installation experiences.

http://isc.sans.org/xpsp2.php

You can look through people's posts by clicking on the "browse recent messages" link on the left-hand side. Or, click on a problem category on the right-hand side to see posts pertaining to that category.

Here's list of programs that are known to break when XP Service Pack 2 is installed --

link to page at Microsoft.com

And here's a page where you can download a little tool that'll turn off notifications for SP2 until December 13th; i.e. Windows will quit bugging you to download SP 2 if you install this. Until Dec. 13th anyway, at which time Windows will start prompting you again. Hopefully by then they'll have most of the problems ironed out.

link to download page at Microsoft

English-language CDs of WinXP SP2 are now available for ordering (free), at

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx

This might be a good option for dial-up users, since the SP2 download is pretty hefty.

The page says, "Please allow approximately 4-6 weeks for shipping"; by then things should be all clear as far as installing and knowing what the associated problems might be.

Other languages will become available per the schedule on that webpage, stretching out through the end of September.