The funny thing about this piece of information that got forwarded to me is that the majority of the target user base has not heard of this impending event... At All...
I predict a LOT of confusion and angst are in store for more than half the computer using world... Wouldn't it be interesting if this resulted in additional openings for the Linux distros targeting the desktop? Lindows/Linspire could generate some press from this as could NDL (Novell Desktop Linux) and maybe others. RBW ******************************************* Subject: Microsoft Forcing XP SP2 Tuesday Microsoft Announces Forced Download of XP Service Pack 2 Please take some time to review the following important information regarding Microsoft's plans for the Windows XP Service Pack 2. Microsoft Announcement http://echo.bluehornet.com/ct/ct.php?t=913470&c=540401666&m=m&type=3 Microsoft announced that on Tuesday, April 12, 2005, they will push a download of Windows XP Service Pack 2 onto any machine that hasn't yet deployed the update. According to Microsoft, the benefits of the Service Pack outweigh any problems that might ensue. Possible negative consequences are in store for businesses that have not downloaded XP SP2, especially if Windows Automatic Update is enabled. Few Companies Have XP SP2 A recent survey by AssetMatrix, a Canadian technology asset management company, revealed that only 25% of corporate IT departments have deployed Windows XP Service Pack 2, which means this action by Microsoft could have a wide-spread affect. The Problem The crux of the problem is that XP SP2 includes a Microsoft Firewall, which can conflict with corporate network systems and cause problems ranging from a breakdown of communications between machines within a network to disabled applications. IT administrators who thought they had control over their networks may be in for a rude awakening. Here are some additional details. Key Issues for IT Administrators IT administrators who have tried to defend against network vulnerabilities by adjusting registry keys to temporarily block XP SP2 will be out of luck. The forced download will bypass the registry settings. Companies on the Windows platform with an XP client that have Window Automatic Update enabled are the most vulnerable. If the XP Service Pack 2, with its firewall, gets deployed on machines in your network, you will have to fix the problem by going to each workstation -- a tedious and time-consuming task. Microsoft has information on their site regarding disabling automatic update. Here is the link. http://echo.bluehornet.com/ct/ct.php?t=913472&c=540401666&m=m&type=3 Patch Tuesday In a related story, April 12th is Patch Tuesday and Microsoft will be issuing 8 new patches -- all groupings rated Critical. Accorging to Microsoft, a "Critical" rating signifies a vulnerability whose exploitation could allow the propagation of an Internet worm without user action. The new patches includes: 5 for Microsoft Windows 1 for Microsoft Office 1 for MSN Messenger 1 for Microsoft Exchange -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
