Is SP2 better than what I have now?

[Andy Bonanno]

I understand SP2 has alot of security options. But I'm running security
features now from third parties.

Is SP2 antivirus better than McAfee VirusScan?
Is SP2 firewall better than McAfee Guardian?
Will SP2's pop-up blocker work better than my Yahoo Toolbar?
Are there alot of problems associated with SP2?

 

[Jone Doe]

Is 98 beter than 95? Same question really. Answer is "it depends"

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

There is no AV program included with SP2.

The following articles are very useful for SP2 pre-installation:

"Introduction to Windows XP Service Pack 2" - by Barb Bowman
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/expert/bowman_introtosp2.mspx

"What to Know Before You Download and Install Windows XP Service Pack 2"
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/sp2_whattoknow.mspx

 

[Testy]

No.

Testy

 

[Bob I]

Inline answers

I understand SP2 has alot of security options. But I'm running security
features now from third parties.

Is SP2 antivirus better than McAfee VirusScan?

SP2 does not supply anti-virus

Is SP2 firewall better than McAfee Guardian?
NO


Will SP2's pop-up blocker work better than my Yahoo Toolbar?

Don't know

Are there alot of problems associated with SP2?

Not usually. Clean, up todate drivers, generic PC's typically no
problems whatsoever. Laptops and proprietary built PC's should check
with the manufacturers website for problem driver issues.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I understand SP2 has alot of security options. But I'm running
security features now from third parties.

Is SP2 antivirus better than McAfee VirusScan?

Windows XP has no anti-virus capabilities--not before SP2, and
not with SP2.

Is SP2 firewall better than McAfee Guardian?

No. The Windows firewall monitors incoming traffic only. Almost
any third-party firewall will also monitor outbound traffic,
stopping rogue programs trying to call home, and is a better
choice.

Will SP2's pop-up blocker work better than my Yahoo Toolbar?

I'm not familiar with the pop-up blocker in Yahoo's toolbar, so
I'm not sure. But my guess is that the two are similar in how
well they work.

Are there alot of problems associated with SP2?

There are no problems at all, in my experience on my own machines
and those of many others I know. The only exception I'm aware of
is someone who installed it on a spyware-ridden machine (a
definite no-no).

 

[Bob Milton]

Andy,
There's more to SP2's security than just a firewall - there are numerous
patches to system DLLs and a revised version of IE. So I run SP2 for those
(and use McAfee for AV and firewall).
Bob

 

[Alex Nichol]

I understand SP2 has alot of security options. But I'm running security
features now from third parties.

Is SP2 antivirus better than McAfee VirusScan?
Is SP2 firewall better than McAfee Guardian?
Will SP2's pop-up blocker work better than my Yahoo Toolbar?

Those items are not its main purposes, and the Firewall provided (there
is no AV) is a basic facility to ensure basic safety. The real point is
the revision of a very large part of the code of the system to remove
the major ways in which malware managed to get in. As such it is worth
having. There are also some improvements 'round the edges', notably in
Wireless networking. It should not cause trouble in installation
provided you do it with sensible precautions on a clean system, and on
one that is legitimate and not say 'hacked' to evade Product Activation.
Some applications may give trouble if run behind a Firewall at all; and
browsing may encounter the tightening up of security, especially over
running ActiveX components, that have been a fruitful route for malware