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August 25, 2004
XP Upgrade - Service Pack 2
I use the Windows XP Live Update service regularly to keep my home computer current with all the updates and security fixes that are continually pushed out by Microsoft. For the last week, the Live Update icon has been sitting in my system tray to let me know it's time to download again. Yet I hesitate. Why, you might ask, am I reluctant to update? In three words, Service Pack 2. While it's main purpose it to make your PC more secure, vigilant security comes with a price.
I'm not the only one who is concerned. Business customers are also hoping for more time to test applications for potential problems, so Microsoft provided them a workaround to delay the inevitable.
You'll find that SP2 asks your permission more often in an attempt to make you aware of changes happening to your computer before they can cause damage. And that's a good thing. It includes an updated firewall, turned on by default, as well as a pop-up blocker for IE 6. While these features will often rebuff intrusive ads and takeover attempts, they can cause problems for researchers using premium subscription services.
Westlaw and Lexis are effected. Both have issued instructions that
summarize the issues, and the fixes, which involves adding Lexis and Westlaw as trusted sites in IE and bypassing the pop-up blocker.
Lexis Instructions
Westlaw Instructions
Users of RIA's e-forms need to take similar precautions.
According to a new MS knowledgebase article entitled "Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2" there are over 200 that have some kind of issue with XP2 such as Quicken 2003 (aack!), and including several Microsoft applications.
According to PC Magazine (spotted on Virtual Chase), the most common cause of broken applications is the firewall. The article gives instructions on how to deal with this problem, which could be handy once I finally get up the nerve to download XP, that is.
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