Windows XP Service Pack 2: a first look
Published: 24 Mar 2004
Protection from memory overflow
Under Service Pack 2, protection from memory overflow -- which can be exploited by malicious code -- is ensured by new processors that support the NX (No eXecute) feature in hardware (AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, Intel Itanium).
PCs that use the Pentium 4 and other chips that do not offer hardware-enforced execution protection (the NX feature), must rely on execution protection built into the operating system. However, this procedure – known as 'sandboxing' -- is not as effective as the hardware implementation in NX-enabled chips.
AMD and Microsoft are currently planning a campaign to promote the value of the NX feature to users.
PreviousRelated articles
Microsoft unprepared for SP2 support nightmare?
News Update: Microsoft seems unprepared for the deluge of technical support calls expected when it releases the much-publicised security update for Windows XP [05 Apr 2004]
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Full Talkback thread
24 comments
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There is missing things in the conclusions:
1. It... utomo -
OOps I Tought the review based on Win Xp Sp2 Rc1 (... Utomo
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The reviewer makes a couple of naive and potential... David Wright
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I agree with David comments. the firewall is too s... Utomo
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While the ability to block pictures and HTML in Ou... Check Your SP2 Facts
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will the inclusion of xp sp2,orgment or
supersede... grahamlee
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Three things need clarifying.
Firstly, will the m... Charles Stewart
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I just uninstalled it. It killed my Panda Anti-Vi... Anonymous
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I have installed the release version of SP2 a... A Reynolds -
I am also having problems with sp2 and Panda.... Anonymous
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I uninstalled Service Pack 2 due to the... Doug Thompson -
I recentley installed SP2 on a laptop.
When the la... Anonymous
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This has happened also on my Packard Bell lap... Anon
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Here same problem, when unplugging my ro... Pierre -
I have the SAME problem.
With SP2 c... suz
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I have the same problem as you.
(acer ferrari... suz
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After installing sp2 on a packardbell ip... peter
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Installed it on top of SP1 on a machine I just rec... Mike Cartwright
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how did these people get sp2 Jack Hackman
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I have downloaded the Beta version of Windows XP S... Joe Wildeisen
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I have been running Winows xp with
service p... Anonymous
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I have been using winxp sp2 and i have to say big... John
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I downloaded and installed XP SP2 and found that w... David Blackford
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SP2 caused a major problem for me - a total crash... Peter hutchinson
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