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New security and admin tools included in the update are a Security Configuration Wizard, a Post-setup Security Update Wizard which helps secure your server for role-based operations, and Windows Firewall for the server. There is also support for 'no execute' hardware (both 32- and 64-bit processors), preventing buffer-overrun attacks placing malicious code in data memory.

'With Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, our development team took the time to treat the root cause of many security issues, not just the symptoms,'

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said Bob Muglia, senior VP of the Windows Server Division at Microsoft. 'This service pack is very significant and should help address certain classes of exploits.'

'Service Pack 1 is a major component of our overall strategy to help keep customers as secure as possible,' he added. 'I encourage all of our Windows Server 2003 customers to deploy it.'

There was a time when Microsoft - beleaguered by accusations of poor software reliability - promised to restrict service pack updates to bug fixes and corrections rather than adding new features. But it seems this is now more honoured in the breach than the observance (see, for example, Windows XP SP2), and this service pack for Microsoft's server platform follows the new pattern.

You can find more information at www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003. The download weighs in at 337MB.

Note that Microsoft also plans a service pack update for its Windows Small Businesses Server, again featuring securing improvements. This is promised within the next 60 days.