Windows Update, Windows XP SP2, and more!
As a Microsoft employee, I can certainly sympathize with customers who were receiving updates from http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com so often that it seemed like a daily occurrence. I got so used to selecting Internet Explorer -> Tools -> Windows Update and seeing all those updates. Now, I visit the site only to find that my updates come once a month. Of course, critical updates come as soon as they are available. Yes, I have to admit that I am a compulsive updater. I like installing new versions of software. Maybe this is because I am a developer! :(
I attribute this reduction in the number of updates to a variety of initiatives happening at Microsoft. All of them fall under the umbrella of “Trustworthy Computing“. Our initiatives around security, patch management, etc. have been nothing but spectacular. The customer experience is improving each day and it is getting better.
There is still one thing that I think is hard to solve. My father-in-law bought a new Dell a couple of years ago. He uses it for a number of different tasks: email, spreadsheets, word processing, Internet, etc. Remember when Blaster hit? I do! He asked me if he was vunerable to the attack. Luckily for him, I was at his house updating his computer with all the latest updates two days before Blaster hit. We just happened to be visiting and I thought I would help him out. To my surprise, he had a number of updates that needed to be applied to his computer. I checked his computer and it was set to automatically download updates and notify him when they were available. I also checked to see if he had the Internet Firewall enabled on his dialup connection. Unfortunately, I was not able to enable the firewall on his AOL dialup connection. (BTW, if anyone knows of any issues with AOL and the ICF, I would like to know how to fix this.)
So, what is my issue? Bandwidth! My father-in-law uses a 56K modem and some of the updates were so large that they didn't complete. My in-laws stays on the Internet just enough to do a little web surfing and check email. I am sure the updates would have been downloaded eventually, but not in time to do any good. In my opinion, bandwidth is the #1 technology disabler out there.
So, what is someone to do? Well, luckily my father-in-law has an update service for his computer known as “Rich”. This service visits his computer periodically Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. and applies patches. That will soon change! Instead, his computer will be able to fight off unwanted attacks. Windows XP SP2 has a number of improvements for security. The number one improvement that I am excited about is the new firewall capabilities. Check out http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0104.mspx for more information. The improvements to the firewall alone are worth the upgrade. The fact that the firewall will be enabled by default will improve security greatly. The ideal situation is that his computer will defend itself even if it doesn't have the appropriate update installed. I am eagerly waiting for the release of Windows XP SP2. There are other network improvements including enhanced wireless capabilities, IPv6, and Peer-2-Peer Networking. For those that are interested in testing these new features, you can check out the following link to the XP SP2 Preview http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/sp2preview.mspx.
