The latest Service Pack for Windows XP—Service Pack 2 (SP2)—is all about security, and it’s one of the most important service packs ever released.
With Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2, you get safer browsing and communication, powerful security tools, and improved experiences. Packed with multimedia features, Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 aims to unlock the full potential of your personal computer. It also looks great, with rounded window corners, larger and more detailed icons, and a clean-look desktop.
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The Security Center lets you check the status of your essential security settings. | The best thing about Windows XP is that, because it belongs to the Windows NT/2000 product family, it's designed from the ground up for reliability, security, and networking. XP Home users will soon see the benefits of this. The dreaded Windows crash-and-reboot cycle really is much less common with XP, and, provided the hardware is up to scratch, XP's performance is better, too. The downside is that using a different code base can make compatibility with old applications less assured. Business applications normally run fine, but older games, MIDI software, and system utilities may well cause problems. Windows XP is more customizable than previous versions, including its visual themes that let you change the whole appearance of Windows in an instant. Fast User Switching is a neat feature for computers used by more than one person--it lets another user log on without killing the previous user's session, and when you switch back, running applications and open documents are as you left them. This is impressive, but what really counts is that XP understands how to deal with multiple users. Each user has their own special folders, such as My Documents, which cannot be seen by other users. And for those with more than one computer, the network setup wizard simplifies setting up a network. |
| Windows XP Home has many strong multimedia features. New Media Player lets you copy music from CD to hard disk, create your own playlist, and write your own music CDs if you have a CD writer. You can also play back DVD-Video (but only if a hardware or software DVD decoder is already installed) and play MP3 audio files and MPEG videos (but sadly not the popular RealMedia formats). Admittedly, Media Player does nothing that you cannot also do with free alternatives, but it is slick and nicely integrated. There is also Windows Movie Maker, a basic tool for capturing and editing videos that's fun to use, although too limited for serious work. | 
The Information Bar in Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 notifies you when it blocks ActiveX control or active content and then lets you decide what to do.
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For Web browsing, XP Home comes with Internet Explorer 6.0 and MSN Explorer. The most significant new feature for Internet users is the built-in firewall. A firewall protects against one of the most disturbing security risks, in which other users unknown to you might connect to your computer while it is online, reading private files or causing other damage. XP's built-in firewall is a simple affair, but it does prevent most types of unauthorized connections.
Service Pack 2 allows users to instruct Internet Explorer how to handle downloads from a specific publisher | The XP user interface is not a radical departure from earlier versions of Windows, but there are a number of small changes that together add up to a significant improvement. For example, you can add and remove shortcuts from the Start menu by right-clicking on the icon and selecting Pin or Unpin from the pop-up menu. Windows online help is integrated into a Help and Support Center that works like an internal Web site, with searchable help, tutorials, and walkthroughs. Laptop or other flat-screen users can set Windows to use ClearType for screen fonts, for a more readable display. There are, of course, some pitfalls. Windows XP Home is demanding on hardware, and it would be a mistake to install it on less than Microsoft's recommended minimum. Business users note: unlike Windows 98 or Me, XP Home Edition cannot join a Windows server domain, so the networking is peer-to-peer only--see Windows XP Professional Edition for this functionality. There is also no multiprocessor support, and a mildly annoying anti-piracy measure requires you to obtain a code from Microsoft for full installation and any future system changes. But don't let that put you off: this is Microsoft's best Windows yet. |
Windows XP Service Pack 2 Features
| Internet Explorer Pop-up Blocker | Makes browsing the Internet more enjoyable by enabling you to reduce unwanted ads and content. |
| Internet Explorer download monitoring | Warns you about potentially harmful downloads and gives you the option to block files that could be malicious. |
| Internet Explorer Information Bar | Provides better information about events that are happening as you browse the Web, so it’s easier to know what’s going on and address potential security issues. |
| Windows Security Center | Allows you to easily view your security status and manage key security settings in one convenient place. |
| Windows Firewall update | Automatically turned on by default, this improved firewall helps protect Windows XP from viruses, worms, and other security threats that can spread over the Internet. |
| Improved wireless support | Dramatically improves and simplifies the process of discovering and connecting to wireless networks. |
| Bluetooth technologies | Enables you to easily connect to the latest Bluetooth-enabled hardware devices such as keyboards, cell phones, and PDAs. |
| Windows Media Player 9 Series | Makes it easy to enjoy music, video, and broadband content with enhanced security. |
1 Worst OS on the market; try Linux instead.
Here's what you probably think: Microsoft Windows XP is the most popular OS on the market, so it must be the best, right? Wrong. Ford is more popular than Lexus; would you seriously consider Ford to be a better car?
There are two reasons why Windows XP is so popular: (a) it is relatively easy to use, and (b) it is compatible with almost all programs on the market. Nonetheless, Windows XP is extremely unreliable. It crashes very often, doesn't handle multiple applications well, and requires a lot of memory. It is also closed-source and very expensive. The solution: Linux, by far the best OS you can get. Linux
(a) is free;
(b) comes in multiple versions ("distributions"), so you can choose the one that is right for you;
(c) is open-source;
(d) comes complete with an office suite, media players, text editors, and many other applications that are not part of Windows XP;
(e) is very reliable, able to handle multiple applications simultaneously, and takes very little memory;
(f) Evolves very quickly and efficiently due to its open-source nature.
Do not let Linux's relative complexity deter you. Once you get used to it, it is a piece of cake. To make the transition easier, you can easily install SUSE or Red Hat Linux on a computer running Windows. Linux will install itself alongside Windows so you can choose which one to use at boot time. Interestingly, Windows will not allow this dual-boot option: if you install it on a computer already running Linux, it will erase everything on your hard drive and will take over completely.
2 Is Windows XP good for you?
Ok, Windows XP may be good for people doing some things, while the older versions may be easier for you.
Usually Typing Pages In Microsoft Word - Windows XP and Windows 98 really make no difference in this. You could use both, and you could probably get things done quicker. Though, Windows XP is a bit more user friendly, so I'd get it for that.
Multimedia - You NEED Windows XP if you love movies and music! It comes with WMP 9, but I recommend using the 7.1 version, it's much better. But in XP, you get to create your own movies, and make cool music playlists, and burn CDs in minutes. Windows XP is the way to go here.
Interet Surfing - As owning 98 for 6 years and XP for not even a year, Windows 98 is better for this. I've had a lot of viruses with the SP1 version, mostly trojans. I've never had a joke, worm or mailing worm yet, but hoping not to have another.
But...
Since this comes with SP2, Windows XP is the best choice for the internet. I've never had ONE viruses with the SP2, so I would highly recommend downloading it if you currently have SP1.
Gaming - Hmm...a bit tricky here. If you have a lot of Windows XP compatable games, go to Windows XP. I have a lot of 98 games, and most of them run perfectly on XP (I've only had 2 out of 20 not working). So, XP is good for gaming, escpecially with the new DirectX.
Freezing - I've only had my computer freeze once on Windows XP (and it was my fault to, I pressed IE about 10 times in a row). On Windows 98, some days the computer wouldn't even open the start button. Windows XP's point.
Customizing Your Computer - Windows 98 time. On Windows XP, they only give you have of what 98 has. Plus, the desktops and screen savers are less outstanding, though with the upgrade, the 98 themes are still inside. Though, I think 98 should take this point.
Overall -
Windows 98 - 1 point
Windows XP - 5 points
Hmm...I'd recommend getting XP. It's faster, funner, and easier than 98.
3 Windows is self Pirated
First of all, you can download Windows XP SP 2 from Internet if you have the original Windows XP.
The main part of Windows, of what it deppend is DOS, originally called QDOS (Quick and Dirty OS, stealed by a bunch of hackers of a Informatical research company in the 70's), Windows is a grafical adaptation of MS-DOS, not modified in the last 30 years (1975).
Well, if you just win the challenge of installing Windows, so hard and problematic, you will see it will run for 4 days, then you enter a page, and you note that there are some new software already installed, that software that installed without your permission will help you to see 4 pop-up banners and web pages you dont want to look every 30 second and will send all your browsing habits to a unknow company without your permission.
But, ÀHow did this software installed itself?.
!Yes! its Microsoft inovatory ActiveX, it even will let a web page to shut down your PC! or install publicity software or execute a code that will install a virus.
The good security sistem will not protect you if a picture on a web page has a virus that will install itself and auto-send itself to your friends by mail.
Well, Microsoft is interested in your privacy, they just have a copy of all the webpages you see and every email you receive, well if you delete Internet Explorer Cache, that should be erased from the PC, and it will be erased, but just the first copy, the second stays hidden for Microsoft or Other companies, well, Windows if for you, if Privacy is have your emails public for any hacker.
But, why is possible to hack windows?, because it has Flaws, big holes that will let anyone enter, More than 2,000 have been discovered.
Better not talk of the errors, you will get painfull experience with them it is just too much to talk about the errors. its recomended to re-format your PC every 6 months, and erase all your data.
I Expended more than US$2,000 in a Soy Vaio PC, and i ended installing other OS.
And then i had to buy a Mac, In Mac, is IMPOSSIBLE even let a software check something of your PC info of your mac without your confirmation.
Viruses in mac, 3 discovered 10 years ago, they just where like a joke, in Windows, you will not get to run your PC again,,, or even they will damage your HD or your BIOS.
If you do not want to expend thousands on reapairing your PC, just buy a Mac, you will not even need an Antivirus
I do not recommend Windows, but if your going just to use it for four days only, it is OK to buy it.
I have used windows for 5 years to get to know really know how it works.
It doesnt Work.
4 Windows Downgrade
I really have to admit, I was very surprised about how Windows XP was at first, thinking it was a better version of Windows than Windows Millennium Edition. Boy, was I ever wrong. When I installed Windows XP, it completely wiped out all my data, and stored files. Not only that, the software that was compatible to Windows XP including several computer games, and my modem which was Windows XP reliant, really didn't work on my computer, or ran at a much slower rate than previously, especially while I was surfing on the internet. I really have to admit I was very dissapointed in this version. It was such a big waste of money.
Overall: F
5 But get the PRO edition and not the HOME one
Running Windows 95 and that means Windows 98 is illegal in your country and you are in the land of needing a new computer fast, feeling that you might have a box that looks like it is running windows 3.1 and to be honest now is your chance to move to Windows 2000 for a more solid operating system. Even NT users found more stability in Windows 2000, 98 users mostly gamers or downloaders, seeing the blue screen of death often, while Win 2K users doing something a little more software intensive like multimedia, graphics and servers that 98 could not manage. So came the day of the duel-processor, having an NT Dual 500mhz, upgrading to Win2K and you still had a fast machine, 64mb and 128mb games cards never really impressing you that much to get a better machine, a games console maybe cheaper and better, XP a little slow for you and besides, 2K was compatible with nearly everything and you could duel boot linux for fun. The only reason to buy a computer between the release of XP and now was if you did not have one and even then plenty of second hand units going around.
Year: 2005
256mb graphics cards, LCD monitors on the cheap, DVD-R media, Broadband, now is the time to upgrade your machine. AMD have some nice chips but the hyperthreading Intel P4 3.0GHz is a killer chip. 1GB of RAM, no problem. A pimpin' fast graphics card and you have a machine that can play Half-Life 2 on full resolution. The best games of the 21st century were released before Christmas this year, with 2005 bringing lots more to come. Broadband on the increase, DVD-R media and life might get less expensive if you are into computers and certainly a whole pile better.
Why not Linux? Well XP2 has the games and Linux not, so we can stop there. For speed on an OS, well Linux is a much faster, but XP2 is not bad on a system with half the ram of the above and a 1 GHz processor. If you are programming or doing fundamental computer work then do check out Linux because it might be what you need and learning Linux is like DOS with a bit of windows with all the free fundamental software you could want. Why not Apple? Well the same as above, but you have a better selection of stuff and to be honest multimedia applications work well on an apple, and why shouldn't they since Apple is industry standard for that kind of design work, so what does XP2 have to offer?
Obviously stability (not to be confused with security). XP2 is a very stable operating system. It is more stable than Windows 2000. For that reason, I made the upgrade. I have not found XP2 doing much annoying or something that I could not fix with Google. Installing is a big deal because you need Internet for verification; however it is fast on a high end system. There are obvious things you must do after you install it like download Firefox and use it instead of IE and try to use realplayer instead of mediaplayer, use Microsoft's AntiSpyware, don't use the firewall, use zonelarm free instead, spend on a good anti-virus software package, turn off the preview pane in Internet Outlook mail or try to find a free mail browser, make sure you get all the latest windows updates, careful what you put into your machine or extract, careful what mail you open, change passwords every week, and you can achieve a secure on-line machine that can do anything most computers can do right now with a company that has admitted that it has a security problem that will be addressed with future updates, but overall one should be impressed with the OS for stability, not speed or security, but for not crashing, as long as there are no hardware configuration conflicts, that do happen, get someone else to build your machine and blame them when it doesn't come together (and it wont come together because things are now cutting edge so get it done elsewhere; if your task bar hangs this is because of routers or USB hubs that are not compatible). The machine like the above is a 5 star experience but God help those who don't address security issues the moment they go on-line with it which is a bit like just driving your car off a cliff. Expect to loose everything to a virus and have your address details stolen with all your VISA card info.
XP2 PRO is 5 stars if you visit a place on the web called Gibson research incorporated, a highly respected individual in the security community who developed a way that people can test the vulnerability of their PC on-line. He developed a series of a security fixes for XP1 and XP2 problems. Bookmark that page and use it to have a somewhat secure and stable XP2.
Also remember, forget the HOME EDITION, go PRO.
6 This is a must-have upgrade! It is way good
If you're reading this. You want to upgrade, your old computer to Windows XP home edition here are a few things to keep in mind.
256 MB of RAM. I have found is adequate more equals better.
500 MHz or higher will do.
If you're running Windows millennium edition, or 98 upgrade now the stability is vastly improved. Gone are the blue screens of death.
Frequently asked question: is Windows XP Pro better than home edition?
Windows XP Pro has a more high-end networking features that most home users will never miss or would even know were missing. So for most users Windows home edition is fine. They both are based on the same code and are almost identical.
If you're thinking of upgrading from Windows 2000, I did, because I like the GUI interface better. But Windows XP is as stable as Windows 2000. So it's your call.
The plug-and-play ability of Windows XP is totally great! Windows XP will by default find most drivers for video card sound cards, network cards, etc. that is such a bonus gone in the days of having to search for CDs with drivers.
That's about all I can think of this is a recommended upgrade for me
Have some fun and get it done
7 Latest, Greatest, Gotta Have It
Wow, what an improvement over MICROSOFT MILLENIUM EDITION, WINDOWS 2000, and WINDOWS 98. WINDOWS XP, both the home and professional editions, have finally worked out the electronic glitches in Windows 2000 and ME. Both 2000 and ME were stop-gap products rushed to market to cash in on turn of the century fever. Unfortunately, both products had such teething problems that many buyers, including myself, reverted back to tried and true Windows 98. Eventually I reloaded MILLENIUM EDITION, but had to tie up the phone line for almost three hours to download all of the necessary Microsoft patches in order for ME to work properly.
XP is light years ahead of the former Windows applications. It was easy to load, required no tinkering or patches to enable the program to function, and added options, like audio, digital photo, and CD transfer capabilities, that never before existed. The computer loads much faster and is generally much more user friendly. Additionally, XP is better equipped to deal with the Norton family of computer security programs.
There are a few drawbacks, and XP warns you about them as it is loading. Some programs, particularly older programs, must be reloaded. In my case, I had to reload the software for my HP 800 series printer, Epson Scanner, Photo Shop, and Sonic Record Now. Where the original CDs are available, this is not much of an inconvenience. Unfortunately, some of my computer's software was installed at the time I had upgrades, such as a DVD burner, professionally installed, and I did not have the original CD.
So it goes. Microsoft WINDOWS XP (with Service Pack) is the next logical progression in the ever-evolving Windows applications. Save yourself a lot of headaches and invest in an upgrade now.
8 Works OK but product keys are a pain
The product key stuff is really annoying. You cannot boot the same partition image natively and under VMWare. It records this as different hardware when it's the identical physical partition and the same processor.
Requires a lot of care and feeding to make sure that patches are up to date and you need extra virus scanning software to deal with all the software bugs and vulnerabilities. All of these updates tend to fill up your hard disk. You have to know about the other options in cleanmgr to clean up all the system restore checkpoints.
I avoid running XP as much as possible. It's still not as stable as Linux. Even though you might see a lot of Linux patches too, there are many fewer than Windows if you're running your machine as a desktop and not using the Linux server capabilities.
Avoid the home edition of you have multiprocessor machines. It doesn't use them. You have to send more money to get the "Professional" edition for that to work.
The default user interface is the "Pretty" one. You have to dig through the settings to turn off all the pretty stuff to speed up the user interface.
9 The best contemporary operating system for individual users
I've been using XP Home on various machines for three years, simultaneously with Linux, and it's enough time to say that XP has been excellent while Linux was just so-so.
Some of the reasons why I love Windows XP:
1. It is amazingly stable. Do you remember Windows 95/98 that were crashing several times a day? Maybe you still have these old windows and they're making you upset. Crashing no longer occurs with XP. At the beginning, in 2001, the Internet Exporer was rather unstable and it had to close many times a week. Such things simply do not happen to me anymore, as a result of the updates that have been done. I am getting the blue screen roughly once a year, and it is never unexpected because I almost always do something controversial.
2. It is getting very secure. The Service Pack 2 made the XP the safest affordable operating system. You know, operating systems are not created by God, and therefore there can be holes in them. The same is true about Windows. But Microsoft is a very active company and the hotfixes are available very quickly if it is necessary. The number of bugs that have survived is very small.
The Service Pack 2 provides you with a firewall (protection against hackers, so to say), monitoring of antivirus software (if it's out of date, you're alerted) and of patches, new wireless utilities, and many other things.
3. XP is compatible with all previous software I tried - including very old-fashioned games that used to run under MS-DOS. Although XP is based on the technology of Windows NT/2000 Kernel, which was more stable, it became compatible with the systems 95/98/ME for the home users. XP also works with all modern games and other programs, as well as all external devices that I've tried. Although it is very likely that all necessary software will continue to work, you should check whether your key programs have any issues if you upgrade to XP.
4. XP is very configurable. I've changed the icons of everything - every folder and every file type, as well as all the sounds. It is also very user-friendly, and the international support works smoothly.
5. In the case that something goes wrong, it is still very likely that "System Restore" will save you. It's a time machine that can return all system files on your PC to a moment (checkpoint) in the past. It has been useful several times to fix various small problems with the configurations that appeared because of new programs I installed. Also, I like hibernation - you can turn off your computer quickly in such a way that the memory is saved to your hard disk, and you may then continue exactly where you stopped.
All people who are upgrading should try to backup their key data before the upgrade. Problems are very unlikely, but possible.
10 Its time to upgrade from older Windows!
I have been running Windows XP since 2001 and to tell you the honest truth it has been stable ever since. With the introduction of SP2 in this minor update of Windows XP, Microsoft has decided to make the product "secure", than it was thought to be in the beginning. But the past few years have been rough on Microsoft, with consistency in attacks on the product with such vulnerabilities as Trojans, buffer overflows, viruses and the most memorable of the all Blaster (August 2003).
Ever since its debut, Windows XP has been causing a lot of headaches and wreaking havoc on corporate networks because of its susceptibility vulnerabilities that were not fixed in its initial release or Service Pack 1. So Microsoft decided to go back to the drawing board and decided to rethink what Windows XP should mean in terms of Security. At first Service Pack 2 was thought out to only be a minor Service Pack update with usual bug fixes, but because of the aforementioned problems Microsoft took new direction and after 1 year of testing we have finally reached a conclusion.
SP2 is really apparent, based on my experience of installing the update, users displayed a welcome screen recommending Automatic Updates be turned on (and I would recommend too), after which the user is presented with the Security Center where you can configure the new and improved Firewall settings, such as which programs can access your PC. You also have the option of configuring your Anti-Virus program, unfortunately I have not been able to do so because my Anti-virus is not supported, although it seems (Norton Anti-virus Corporate Edition 7.6). Security Center is really the big change here and should have been implemented from beginning, but better late than never.
Other great features which I and many users are undoubtedly thankful for include the Pop-Blocker which should have been included in IE 6 from the beginning (better late than never), its not 100 % percent effective but does a decent job so far of blocking most annoying Pop-Ups. I wish the Windows Team allowed users to train it, so if a Pop does succeed, you can tell the pop-up blocker engine that was a pop-up window and you shouldn't let that pass the next time, maybe Microsoft will let it improve over time. Other great improvements to IE in SP2 is the ability approve programs, so drive by downloads have become a thing of the past, anything you decide to download or accidentally clicked on a webpage has to be approved.
Another wish is, better integration of the ActiveX controls with Microsoft's own technologies, I notice that when I had to do a Office Update, the ActiveX API engine on Microsoft's Office website had to be approved before I run the utility that checked for updates for Office products I needed.
Microsoft has also streamlined Windows Update to be more user-friendly, you the user have the option for a Express or Custom install, Express only installs the most critical updates, while Custom allows to install the entire kitchen sink, including stuff some users can do without on Windows, (go with Express). Windows XP SP2 includes minor enhancements such as Windows Media Player 9, but why didn't Microsoft just wait a little longer and included Windows Media Player 10, which is already out? The blue tooth update is also a needed update, it wasn't intuitive right out of the box, but is more user friendly, all this, you can get for free if you are existing XP owner.
Overall, if you haven't upgraded to Windows XP yet from older versions of Windows, this is the time, but if you are an existing Windows XP user, I say skip this and just order the SP2 CD or download it from the Windows XP Website. I highly recommend users running prior versions of XP especially 95, 98, 98 SE, NT 4 and ME, maybe 2000 also move to XP, since Microsoft is planning on porting any of technologies in XP to those older versions of Windows, plus it has some great new features and you will love the Security technologies that provide a better experience for you the user. Most of all, I highly recommend Windows XP users get this update!
