With automatic download of Microsoft  's enormous SP2 security patch to the Windows XP operating system set to begin, the industry still waits to understand its ramifications. Home users that have their preferences set to receive operating-system updates as they are made available by Microsoft may be surprised to learn that some of the software they already run on their systems could be disabled by SP2 or may run very differently.
Microsoft has released a long list of programs that are affected, including many of its own products. Even administrators of sophisticated networks are having a hard time making their way through the update, security firm Secunia's CTO Thomas Kristensen told NewsFactor. "People really should be very careful" about this mega-patch, he stressed.
Home-User Conflicts
Many of the programs on Microsoft's list of problems will affect enterprise users for the most part. However, a big group of computer games, including a range of those made by Atari, are affected. In addition, the update can interfere with the operation of several popular antivirus programs -- including those made by McAfee and Symantec.
Quicken 2003 products are among those that may "experience issues," according to Microsoft's notice. WordPerfect Office appears on the list, as do three versions of Microsoft's own Outlook.
Enterprise Headaches
Technical-support personnel responsible for hundreds or thousands of corporate users have a rough road ahead of them, said Kristensen. His firm is advising clients to test SP2 very thoroughly to make sure that it is compliant with all other applications running on the enterprise network.
"Don't apply it until you know that it's working," he stressed. He added that Secunia's business customers are not rushing to apply this particular security enhancement due to the plethora of compatibility issues.
Yahoo's instant-messenger tool appears on the list of applications with potential SP2 conflicts. So does ICQ. The corporate editions of several popular security products appear on the list. Ubiquitous plug-in and helper applications used with Web browsers are involved, such as Real Networks" Real Player.
Perhaps most frustrating for the system administrator in Microsoft-based shops, however, is the fact that the update could affect so many of Microsoft's other products running on the same network. Several Visual Studio products already have known conflicts with SP2, as do a range of Office editions and BizTalk 2004.
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