Microsoft resumes SP2 distribution
Company taken aback by business use of automatic updates
By Joris Evers, IDG News Service
After a nine-day postponement, Microsoft is ready to start pushing
out Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) to PCs running Windows XP
Professional Edition.
Taken off guard by the large number of business customers who rely on
the Windows Automatic Updates feature for patches, Microsoft last
week postponed automatic distribution of the mammoth service pack.
The software maker sent a note to corporate customers saying the
delay was in response to customer requests for more time to install a
registry key that will block the automatic delivery of SP2.
"When we designed Automatic Updates, we had consumers and small
businesses in mind. We have been surprised by the number of
enterprises who use Automatic Updates," said Jon Murchinson, a
program manager at Microsoft.
Faced with concerns from business users, Microsoft two weeks ago made
available a tool that allows users to set a Windows registry key that
will instruct the system to skip downloading and installing the
service pack for 120 days, but still download other critical updates.
The tool was released one day after the network installation package
for SP2.
Microsoft claims that SP2 is more than the usual roll-up of bug fixes
and updates. In the light of Microsoft's new-found priority of
security, the company claimed that SP2 makes significant changes to
Windows' security. As a result, SP2 can render existing applications
inoperable. Because of those changes, many businesses want to hold
off on installing the update and are taking time for testing.
Automatic Updates initially did not give users that flexibility.
Although Microsoft advises consumers to enable Automatic Updates, the
company recommends businesses use patch management tools such as its
Systems Management Server (SMS) and Software Update Services (SUS) or
third-party products.
The initial schedule called for Microsoft to begin pushing out the
already delayed SP2 to all editions of Windows XP on 16 August.
Systems running Windows XP Home Edition finally started downloading
SP2 on 18 August.
Thomas Smith, manager of desktop engineering at a large Houston-based
company, is pleased Microsoft is listening to customers. Smith
manages about 5,000 desktops running Windows XP Professional Edition,
most of which use Automatic Updates.
"Microsoft finally sees the issues that we see from the corporate
world about how serious this is," he said. Automatic Updates probably
would have crippled his business by making certain Web-based
applications inaccessible, Smith said.
Still, Smith feels Microsoft's decision to automatically push out SP2
is wrong. "I think it should never go out as a critical patch," he
said. Instead, Microsoft should have offered feature updates that
users could decide to install on their own terms, Smith said.
Aras Memisyazici, systems administrator at Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), is testing SP2 and
has disabled Automatic Updates. "If it was enabled, it would cut my
network performance almost in half because of all the traffic," he
said. Memisyazici plans to start updating the about 140 PCs in his
department in about a month by applying new software images.
Microsoft has labeled SP2 a "critical" update and urges all Windows
XP users to install it as soon as possible. The software maker
expects about 100 million PCs will be updated by October via
Automatic Updates alone. As of March this year, Microsoft had sold
about 210 million Windows XP licenses, not counting volume license
sales to businesses. There are about 600 million Windows PCs in use
worldwide, Microsoft estimated last month.
Caution on the side of corporate users when it comes to installing
SP2 seems warranted. Microsoft has published several articles in its
"knowledge base" listing over 200 applications that may not work
correctly after installing the Windows XP update.
Microsoft has repeatedly urged developers and IT professionals to
test SP2. A first beta of the service pack was released in December,
followed by Release Candidate 1 in March and a second release
candidate in June. The service pack represents one of Microsoft's
most broadly tested products to date, the company has said.
While users and Microsoft are busy distributing SP2, security experts
and hackers are racing to be the first to find a security problem in
the software. Researchers with German Heise Security in a bulletin
published 13 August said they found two problems with a security
feature in SP2. Microsoft is investigating the reports, but has said
it is not aware of any way for an attacker to use the flaws to gain
access to a Windows machine.
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