XP SP2 (beta)

[cahj]

Anyone tried it yet?

Any good?

[Kyle]

Haha that's so funny, I just got it yesterday and it is TOTALLY worth it...they actually fixed up a ton of the security issues...they also buffed up their firewall, it's definitely more visually pleasing and carries a zone alarm kind of thing, asking which programs you want to have access to and which networks you want to allow acccess to your computer (instead of turning it on and off when you want to network)....i think the final will actually include a virus scanner (It lists it as one of the features, but says (not finished)....the second thing i noticed was the wireless network configuration is a lot more streamlined...it's definitely good stuff....i recommend getting it off of bittorrent

[Springer]

yeah, the new wireless stuff in it rocks..

[Goat Boy]

Any issues with CD keys like SP1?

[Kyle]

I didn't have any issues at all, I just installed it and it worked out perfectly

[BlueBoy]

After the horrors of DirextX 5 Beta. My policy to just to say 'No' to Microsoft Betas.

[midg3t]

I'll take bets on how many hours it is before someone discovers a buffer overrun exploit in the virus scanner.

[hijukal]

Originally posted by BlueBoy
After the horrors of DirextX 5 Beta. My policy to just to say 'No' to Microsoft Betas.

Or Microsoft RCs. Or Microsoft RTMs. Or Microsoft software.

Just wait until the first service pack for the service pack, and then implement it. ;)

[Ins0mniac]

I don't use Betas unless I am extremely enthusiastic about a piece of software to the point of bursting.

For the Microsoft Windows XP service pack 2, I haven't reached that stage yet...

[RASPUTIN]

Sounds good to me. I'll wait until it is released though.

[Kyle]

it's a really late beta, and so far I haven't come upon any problems at all, so i'm happy with it....the firewall works very well....

[Lord_Phat]

Originally posted by BlueBoy
After the horrors of DirextX 5 Beta. My policy to just to say 'No' to Microsoft Betas.

not that you're known to hold a grudge?

was dx5 even this century? :p

[BlueBoy]

Originally posted by Lord_Phat
not that you're known to hold a grudge?

was dx5 even this century? :p
1998 from memory.

Manual uninstalls all round.

[Spingo]

I've been using it for a coupel of months now (managed to get it through MSDN a while back, and already have written up about it). It's pretty good and rather stable. The popup blocker in the new version of IE is a godsent though!

[Kyle]

Yeah it is really stable, but i've neem using Netscape for a long time, so I wasnt so excited about the IE popup blocker (more about the firewall and the wireless improvements). I hate how messenger is automatically re-installed and blocks the removal of it (without the rundll key....which is easy enough to find, but annoying nonetheless)

[hijukal]

Yup. Microsoft's browser changes are too little, too late. I moved over to Mozilla Firebird last year and honestly don't see any reason to move to any other browser at this point. Maybe when Internet Explorer renders pages properly (http://meyerweb.com/eric/css/edge/complexspiral/glassy.html) I might begin to use it again.

The firewall is a good step in the right direction. If it is as user-friendly and versatile as ZoneAlarm then it could be quite good.

The wireless changes are the ones I'm most interested in. Always having issues here at work with wireless networking.

Edit: Oops, vB code, not HTML...

[Ins0mniac]

I swear to god, one day Microsoft will add so much to their operating system that third party software will become obsolete.

[Kyle]

Yeah wireless networking is much more streamlined, and it's a lot prettier, not that that matters much. The firewall has little pop up's that ask if you want to block, allow, or allow with exceptions, i'll post a pic later....

[BlueBoy]

Nothing special. Every other firewall software does that.

I woonder how long it'll be til they refer to it as Microsoft Sieve. :p

[Pirate]

Where can I get this?

[Kyle]

It's kind of cool because it's integrated with the OS, I'm not saying it's anything incredible, but what else do you want? I really don't think it's going to be called the sieve, although MS has had a lot of security problems, I don't know why theyd ever make a firewall, something MEANT to secure , have security holes and leaks in it. I myself have never encountered any of the security problems, with the right knowledge, one can shut down anything that could be insecure, and anyways, I hear MS Windows 2003 server edition is incredibly secure....

[Kyle]

I got it from bittorrent, check out http://isohunt.com and search for Windows XP sp2, if all else fails i can upload the torrent....

[locust]

If you're concerned enough about security to want an interactive firewall built into your OS, then you probably shouldn't be installing untrusted binaries you downloaded from Kazaa..

[hijukal]

Originally posted by BlueBoy
Nothing special. Every other firewall software does that.

True, but if it's enabled by default, then imagine how well it will stop the flow of shitty viruses just because idiots don't have a secure PC!

[Kyle]

I already had zonealarm pro with Norton 2003 installed, AND im on a router that blocks ports by default anyways, so im pretty sure downloading a beta isnt going to screw me up, and it wasn't from kazaalite (all i get from there is music if I can't find it on MIRC), it was from bittorrent, from a verified source (winbetas.org) so THERE! :D

[Turtle_Wrangler]

Official release information (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7bd948d7-b791-40b6-8364-685b84158c78&DisplayLang=en)

these are major steps in the right direction by microsoft. Especially since I spent tonight running anti-spyware progs on my G/F's computer...

I especially like the part that says,
"What does Window Restrictions do?
Internet Explorer provides the capability for scripts to programmatically open additional windows of various types, and to resize and reposition existing windows. The Window Restrictions security feature, formerly called UI Spoofing Mitigation, restricts two types of script-initiated windows that have been used by malicious persons to deceive users: popup windows (which do not have components such as the address bar, title bar, status bar, and toolbars) and windows that include the title bar and status bar."

This patch is seriously gonna help out the un-leet masses who dont have a virus shield, an additional firewall, and something like Spybot S&D installed. Now if only they would just make automatic updates (with resuming) both default and required, The internet would be a nicer place.

[Ins0mniac]

Originally posted by hijukal
True, but if it's enabled by default, then imagine how well it will stop the flow of shitty viruses just because idiots don't have a secure PC!

That's actually a very good point.