Windows XP

H-Online: Users of Windows XP are reporting more problems with recent automatic updates. Three security updates for .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.5 are at the center of the problem, labeled as patches KB2518664, KB2572073 and KB2633880 in Windows XP’s automatic update feature. On affected systems, the installation of these patches proceeds without error but after a short time, the update service says it would like to install them again and will keep reinstalling the patches if allowed. Microsoft’s general advice in this situation is to reset Windows Update components, though it has yet to offer any specific advice. It is interesting to note that the three patches in question were not released on Microsoft’s official patch day. ...

Today is a very important day for Microsoft: it’s the first day that Windows XP can no longer be bundled on new PCs and it’s also the first anniversary of the release of Windows 7. Either Microsoft planned for these dates to coincide, or we just have a big coincidence on our hands. Due to Vista’s performance issues on cheap netbooks, Microsoft had to extend the Windows XP installation deadline for its OEM partners. Back in 2008, Microsoft told OEMs that October 22, 2010 would be the last day they could sell computers that come with Windows XP. ...

As announced last Friday, Microsoft released 16 security bulletins on the October Patchday. They fix security vulnerabilities in various Windows operating systems and components like Internet Explorer, Windows Kernel, .Net frameworks, and Microsoft Office. Affected are all operating systems from Windows XP to Windows Server 2008 R2. Office needs to be updated from version XP to 2010 – also the Mac OS flavours. The patches fix critical rated vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 6 to 8. ...

The Redmond company today announced that it plans to release 16 security bulletins on coming Tuesday, Microsoft’s official monthly Patchday in October. Never before Microsoft released so many security bulletins on a Patchday. Four of these security bulletins are rated critical by the company. Thus they allow attackers to inject malicious code into computers without user interaction. Ten get the rating important, and another two are rated moderate. Affected are all supported Windows operating systems from Windows XP to Windows 7 as well as Windows Server 2003 and 2008 – not only the 32-bit flavours, but also the 64-bit versions. Also, all Microsoft Office Versions starting from Office XP are vulnerable, including Office for Mac. ...

Microsoft discontinued support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 on July 13th, and that means there is no SP2 update for the recent LNK shortcut vulnerability (KB2286198). If you review the comments from this SANS Diary post, you’ll see that there was some initial confusion regarding SP2 support, due to a typo in Microsoft’s Security Bulletin (MS10-046). The bulletin is now corrected. However, even today, the download for Windows XP still includes SP2 in the file properties. ...

If you’ve been squeezing the last bit of value out of that installation of Windows XP Service Pack 2 or are continuing to run it because of proprietary software that you’re squeezing the last bit of value out of, well, you only have two more months of squeezing. Microsoft will end support for Service Pack 2 on July 13. Now if you can somehow upgrade to Service Pack 3, you can forget about the problem until Microsoft’s Extended Support for XP ends April 8, 2014, assuming the hard drive in that PC you bought in 2001 lasts that long. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t slack off on the backups. ...