Entry for December 30, 2008
Well folks, it has finally happened -- AskWoody.com has issued the status MS Defcon 5 -- ALL CLEAR. This applies to Windows XP SP3 only now.
Windows XP sp3 is now safe to install, except that it reverts Flash Player (update that) and may mess up Microsoft Updates (Go to MS Updates and run through the process to fix that.).
There may be a patch which needs to be removed before the sp3 install, and all anti-virus, firewalls, and background processes should be shut down before installing sp3. I recommend getting the CD version from Microsoft and installing sp3 from there. (The download takes forever!)
As always, I am responsible for the content of this blog, but my information comes from AswWoody.com, Windows Secrets web site, and other reliable tech resources on the Internet.
Update Wed., Jan.14, 2009, 6:55 PM CST:
I just finished installing the Acronis 2009 and Disk Director 10 programs, and the Acronis 2009 Update. There were also new Rescue Media to burn. I still haven't figured out what I'm supposed to do to make a BartPE Rescue Disk -- my efforts so far won't boot.
Update, Dec. 6, 2009, 3:02 PM CST:
I did finally get the BartPE Rescue Media working. The Media are OK up through True Image Home 2009. TIH-2010 may not yet have BartPE specific Rescue Media. I should check in with Acronis about that sometime soon, I suppose. (End Edit.)
I also installed Windows XP Service Pack 3, and the installation ran FOREVER! I thought the thing had failed, but after two hours, it indicated success. This was confirmed by visiting Microsoft Updates and running Secunia Personal Software Inspector (the desktop version of this version tracker). And I must say that Microsoft really dropped the ball when they downgraded Flash Player Active X to Version 6! That is unforgivable, as even last March, Flash Player was in Version 9. It took a lot of reconfiguring of Internet Explorer (which I usually keep tightly locked-down) to get the Flash issue resolved. And the Comodo Firewall was not cooperating with the Flash downloader or its installer. (Note: The Flash Downloader Helper turned out to be classic adware -- I erased the Active-X Control with the Acronis File Shredder utility, and I recommend others to do likewise for security reasons.)
Speaking of Comodo, they have gone over to a full-scale security suite, in a free version or a paid version. The firewall now offers an option of including a Stack Overflow ("leak test") protection module on top of Defense +, which is proactive protection beyond a traditional firewall. And it is not necessary to install the whole suite (with AV and AS). If all you need is a firewall, you can choose that option. I think the Firewall, Defense +, and Memory Firewall (Stack Overflow protection) is the best combination, and for AV/AS, I use Avast 4.8 (free version) with Super Antispyware (free version) for additional AS scanning. Scans take about an hour with SAS, and another hour with Avast on my computer. Your mileage may vary.
No ill effects from these upgrades so far. I'll post further if anything interesting develops.
-- LittleWolf --
Updated Wed., Jan.14, 2009, 6:55 PM CST
New update, Mon., Feb. 23, 2009 --
I noticed that when I hibernate my laptop lately for more than one day, it fails to recognize any of the account passwords, and I am forced to reboot. This may be a side-effect of installing Windows XP SP-3. More as it develops, but this is the first sp-3 glitch I have yet suspected.
As of Dec. 6, 2009, this little glitch seems to have gone away. But I do not hibernate my laptop for very long anymore.
-- LittleWolf --
- Entry for January 14, 2009
- Edited by LittleWolf Wed., Feb. 25, 2009, 12:30 PM, CST:
As stated here before, I have upgraded to Windows XP SP3, and I will continue to list that as an MS DEFCON 5: All clear, and very few problems encountered so far. Just make sure you keep up with Image Backups of your SP3 system. Once the upgrade is applied, your OEM restore media will no longer be able to return you to SP2 Windows without destroying your data. So make the SafeMedia Rescue CD, and use Acronis True Image Home 2009. It will be perfectly adequate, even if the computer will not boot. (That's what the Rescue CD is for.)
Last Edited by LittleWolf Sun., Dec. 6, 2009, 3:05 PM CST.
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