windows XP SP2 - useful?

[ashish]

so now that SP2 is out and installed on the PC's of most of the people... i just want to ask one question...... did you ppl find the security centre feature useful?

i turned it off right away.. or tried to.. it kept on giving me turn it back on notification for a long time...... finally took me two days to figure out how to turn it off.. :)

i presonally saw no use for the antivirus and firewall (which by the way is not all the great)... i have got norton for that and as far as the pop-up blocker is concerend..... there are many others out there.... ok google has got privacy problems.... but there are some free ones there as well.....

just cant figure out the need for making such a move by MS..... most of the people who are already on the net have got soem sort of pop-up blocker and anti-virus... and even firewalls.. then wat was the compulsion for this?

[Content]

to brainwash everyone and make them use windows operating systems
because at this point windows is right in everyones faces for the most part,
Other Linux based systems are in the backround and will soon rise to be better
than they are eventally. Instead of just filling out the cracks in service pack 1
with service pack 2, they should have just made a new and improved service pack

[zipp51]

Actually,most computer users do not regularly update their firewall,antivirus,spyware,and adware and popup blockers.When the subscriptions run out most people do not renew.With more and more users going to high speed internet service vulnerabilities are increased.Microsoft is trying to help you remember to regularly update these security softwares.I'm not saying that M$$ SP2 firewall and antivirus are the best but at least they are something,and most new computers come with antivirus programs that can be renewed and updated so you can notify the SP2 security query that you will monitor your own program.SP2 is a positive step for the XP operating system. :D

[Conan]

Actually,most computer users do not regularly update their firewall,antivirus,spyware,and adware and popup blockers.When the subscriptions run out most people do not renew.With more and more users going to high speed internet service vulnerabilities are increased.Microsoft is trying to help you remember to regularly update these security softwares.I'm not saying that M$$ SP2 firewall and antivirus are the best but at least they are something,and most new computers come with antivirus programs that can be renewed and updated so you can notify the SP2 security query that you will monitor your own program.SP2 is a positive step for the XP operating system. :D


I agree. SP2 was targetted for the casual PC user and not us software/hardware geeks. :msnnerd:

[ashish]

butm ay i point out.. this still does not address the central issue.... the solution by MS is half-baked..... The problem is that those pop-ups are produced by spyware etc.
the security centre just stops pop-ups... but what abt the spyware that is already there on the PC??? that is still gonig to send out info on the net.....
this whole trouble starts with the active-x controls in IE.... i think the default setting allows active-x to install software without asking you or something like that...

[Conan]

butm ay i point out.. this still does not address the central issue.... the solution by MS is half-baked..... The problem is that those pop-ups are produced by spyware etc.
the security centre just stops pop-ups... but what abt the spyware that is already there on the PC??? that is still gonig to send out info on the net.....
this whole trouble starts with the active-x controls in IE.... i think the default setting allows active-x to install software without asking you or something like that...

The default setting after installing SP2 is that it stops Active-X installation unless you grant it permission.

[bcraig]

I found it annoying after I installed SP2 when I had to go and change all these setting to get it to let me download files and stuff again. A casual user would have no idea what to do. Ya, i guess it would be a slight advantage for a casual user though, as long as their computer isn't already FUBARed. Like my parents' computer, its mcafees subscription expired and it hasn't seen a virus definition update since like 1999. Being reckless with Active-X is probably the absolute BEST way to wreck a good computer.

[joshsiao]

Dah, I just disable the sercurity centre. I thought it was useful at first but its really annoying. I believe that if you are really religious in updating your computer and really aware of phishing sites and trojans and viruses, and know how to protect yourself, any anti-virus program isn't needed at all. Its better safe than sorry, so best to be aware of how to protect yourself, thats the best anti-virus.

[Curio]

Norton (whole lot of it) is useless at detecting trojans, adware, spyware and keyloggers even if you are using 2005 versions. There is a free antivirus called Antivir PE which will detect most of this stuff plus you must run an anti-spyware tool such as SpyBot Search and Destroy (also free). If you only have Norton installed then you should try these free products to see what it has missed. As far as XP security centre goes - most people had no idea windows xp even had a firewall and many have no idea whether or not they have antivirus. It doesn't add any security but it makes people aware that they should have some - is that a good thing?
Most people wouldn't know an egress filter if it bit their bum and have no intention of getting into that area, your brain can only hold so much. Microsoft are trying to make their stuff more secure and are getting there. While they are still plagued with IE problems you can use Mozilla Firefox browser, it is the best browser anyway.