Related Resources

If you didn’t find exactly what you were looking for on this page, try these resources.

• Description of the Windows Firewall feature in SP2
  This article describes the Windows Firewall feature in SP2. Windows Firewall is the updated software firewall in Windows XP SP2 that replaces the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) feature.
• Description of the Internet Explorer Information Bar
  The new Internet Explorer Information Bar is displayed when potentially dangerous actions on a Web page have been blocked. This article describes the different notification messages displayed by the Information Bar.
• Description of the Data Execution Protection feature
  SP2 uses a new data execution prevention (DEP) feature to prevent the execution of code from data pages. When an attempt is made to run code from a marked data page, an exception immediately occurs and prevents the code from executing. This prevents the attacker from overrunning a data buffer with code and then executing the code.
• Manage Your Computer's Security Settings in One Place: Introduction
  SP2 contains a collection of new technologies designed to help keep your PC and your personal information more secure. SP2 also makes it easier to monitor these settings with the new Windows Security Center, available through the Control Panel.
• Manage Your Computer's Security Settings in One Place: Monitor Your Firewall and Antivirus Software
  If you connect your computer to the Internet, you can be vulnerable to viruses, worms, hackers, and other Internet intruders. To help protect your computer against viruses and other security threats, you need to have a firewall and updated antivirus software running at all times. But you don't want to waste time always checking to make sure those programs are doing their job. With the Windows Security Center, you don't have to.
• Use the New Security Features in Outlook Express
  If you use Outlook Express, the e-mail program that comes with Windows XP, you might notice that some settings have changed after you install SP2. The new default settings are designed to help protect your computer against viruses and worms and help reduce the amount of spam e-mail you receive.
• Frequently Asked Questions about Windows Security Center
  SP2 provides a new feature that helps you protect your computer, Windows Security Center. This article lists the some of the frequently asked questions about Windows Security Center.
• 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.
• The hard disk space requirements for SP2
  This article describes the hard disk space that is required when you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) on a computer that is already running Microsoft
• Microsoft Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack Cumulative Help Content Update
  Microsoft has provided an update to the Help system that includes important new information available for the Microsoft Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI). This update contains important security information and documentation on new features that that are included with SP2.
• Get Ready for SP2: Turn On Automatic Updates Today
  The best way to ensure you get SP2 when it is released is by turning on the Automatic Updates feature in Windows XP. Visit the Protect Your PC site to let us turn it on for you or follow the manual steps - either way you'll get SP2 automatically as Microsoft releases it.
• The new language locales that are supported in SP2
  This article lists the new language locales that are included in SP2. This article discusses how to use the new locales to specify how some programs display numbers, currencies, dates, and time and how to use the new locales to specify the language that is used by programs that do not use Unicode encoding.
• List of Security Bulletins for SP2
  Windows XP SP2 provides new proactive security technologies for Windows XP, to better defend against viruses, worms, and hackers. In addition to a more robust security infrastructure, SP2 improves the security configuration options of Windows XP, and provides better security information to help users faced with security decisions. This page lists the Microsoft Security Bulletins are included in SP2.