Users back Windows SP 2 despite 'massive failings'

By Paul Trotter

Posted on 3 Nov 2004 at 14:44

Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP 2) appears to have been a largely painless update for XP users, according to the first conclusive survey of the UK IT community.

Two months and 106 million installations after its release, 5,000 PC Pro readers have given the update a cautious thumbs up, with 75 per cent of respondents experiencing 'no problems' when installing the software. But Microsoft said it was surprised at the results, and will officially comment in the next issue of PC Pro.

Amongst the niggles reported with SP 2 were incompatibility with existing anti-virus and firewall software. Half of respondents opted not to enable the new firewall feature, which has been criticised by security
vendors. Security firm McAfee told us that users should be aware of 'massive failings' within the new tool.

But industry sources backed PC Pro's largely positive results, and said installing SP 2 was advisable for most XP users.

'Updates can be, in the short-term, disruptive both to customers and software companies,' said Carole Theriault, security consultant at Sophos. 'But if the long-term benefits are a more secure computer with a stronger
hacker defence, then it is a no-brainer.'

For Microsoft's response, further analysis and to view the full results from the survey, see the January issue of PC Pro, available in shops from November 18.