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Enterprises with any Windows XP-based computers in their organizations face an imminent threat of software incompatibility problems and other network security issues when Microsoft next month begins pushing Service Pack 2 as part of automatic Windows updates.

Microsoft made XP SP2 security update available last summer to fix security holes in its Windows XP operating system. SP2 is a crucial update to protect computers from intruders and other security risks--it blocks all executable program files, closes all TCP/UDP communications ports, enables firewalls, disables pop-up windows and disables some communication protocols.

Although that frustrates hackers and prevents viruses and malicious programs, it also wreaks havoc on about 70 percent of the business applications that are client/server based and use Windows-based clients with servers that use UNIX and other operating systems.

After initial complaints from enterprises whose users were allowing Microsoft to install the SP2 update automatically on their computers, Microsoft provided a temporary "block" of the automated delivery of SP2 to Windows machines. That delay expires April 12 when Microsoft plans to resume the automated installs.

Mani Sridharan, vice president of business solutions for BOSS, the Norcross, Ga.-based network solutions company, said enterprises that have not worked out issues related to SP2 and properly installed the update on all Windows XP PCs in their organizations could experience significant problems if they do not act now.

"If there are just a few machines in your organization that don't have SP2 installed, you could experience the same problems others faced last summer," Sridharan said. "SP2 automatically closes ports that may be needed for other applications and, unless you take steps to keep those ports open, the applications will not work."

Enterprise network managers should use a deployment utility, such as BOSS's DiagWin Professional, to make sure SP2 and all future patches and upgrades can be correctly installed and confirmed on each computer in the organization, Sridharan said. DiagWin provides network managers with an effective tool to address what BOSS calls the "5Ps" of SP2 deployment problem areas: ports, protocols, programs, pop-ups and protection.

# posted by Medical Information : 4:26 AM