Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Developers

• Get Windows XP Service Pack 2
  Windows XP users: Get Service Pack 2 today
  Follow these important steps to prepare your computer for this new security update and then learn how to install it.

Highlights & Top Issues

• Programs that connect to IP addresses that are in the loopback address range may not work as you expect in Windows XP Service Pack 2
  On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2), programs that connect to IP addresses that are in the loopback address range may not work as you expect. For example, you may receive an error message that says that you cannot establish a connection.
• Release Notes for Windows XP SP2
  This article lists Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that are included in the release notes for SP2. This article also lists knowledge base articles that document known issues and other information about SP2 for the release notes.
• Troubleshooting Windows Firewall settings in Windows XP Service Pack 2
  If Microsoft Windows Firewall is blocking a port that is used by a service or by a program, you can configure the Windows Firewall to create an exception. This article describes advanced troubleshooting steps for determining if Windows Firewall is blocking a port.

Step-by-Step Instructions & How To Articles

• Configuration utility to get the Visual Studio Remote Debugger to work through the Windows XP SP2 Firewall
  In order to use remote debugging with Visual Studio .NET on Windows XP SP2 and later, the Windows firewall on both the local and the remote computer needs to be configured correctly. The DebuggerFirewall tool performs most of the configuration automatically to allow debugging.
• How to configure Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) for use with SQL Server
  After you upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2) in Microsoft Windows XP SP2, some SSL-secured (128-Bit) Web pages and Web sites may not work correctly. Frequently, this behavior is caused by security changes in Windows XP SP2. This article helps you determine why the pages do not display correctly.
• How to turn on remote debugging in Windows XP Service Pack 2
  This step-by-step article describes how to turn on remote debugging by using the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) for Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).
• Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 new security enhancements in Windows XP SP2
  Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 introduces several new security enhancements in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). These security enhancements reduce the overall attack surface of the product.

Additional Resources & Related Sites

• DCOM Security Enhancements
  The Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) is a platform-independent, distributed, object-oriented system for creating binary software components that can interact. The Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) allows applications to be distributed across locations that make the most sense to you and to the application. The DCOM wire protocol transparently provides support for reliable and efficient communication between COM components.
• Windows XP SP2 resources for developers on Microsoft MSDN
  With Windows XP SP2, Microsoft is introducing a set of security technologies that will help improve Windows XP-based computers' ability to withstand malicious attacks from viruses and worms. To developers these technologies will have impacts on the applications that they create and the tools they use. This page contains resources to assist developers in dealing with these impacts.
• Windows XP SP2 resources on Microsoft TechNet
  Windows XP SP2 provides an enhanced security infrastructure that defends against viruses, worms, and hackers, along with increased manageability and control for IT professionals and an improved experience for users.