What are the pro/cons of Windows XP SP3 (over SP2)

windows-xp

I"m trying to decide whether to deploy the SP3 patch for Windows XP (Pro).

What are the benefits?

So far all I've found is some security stuff (preventing a new pc from accessing your network unless it meets certain security criteria, etc.)

When we upgrade from SP1 to SP2 we had some problems due to the tighter security. (Yes, that improved security was an improvement but it broke stuff and I noticed not benefits : we already have a firewall and I didn't see any other benefits).

So… I'm just checking out SP3.

Best Answer

Pretty much that's what this is mostly for: Security, but it also implements newer features/capabilities to the OS:

  • Stability updates: These updates impact on how the already stable XP runs increasing the availably and reliability of the operating system.
  • Performance updates: These updates improve XP performance and enhance interoperability and hardware compatibility.
  • Security Updates: These updates include previous security updates and new updates. Out of band releases:** These updates include some releases that Microsoft has developed like MMC 3.0 and core XML services 6.0.
  • Minor feature updates: Features like NAP have been added so that customers can now take advantage of Windows 2008 server. Support for WPA2 is also available as a separate download.

I found this article pretty informative about what comes with Windows XP SP3: http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Windows-XP-SP3-Security.html

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