8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONALLESSON 2

1-8 Chapter 1 Introduction to Windows XP Professional

Lesson 2: Identifying Major Features of Windows XP

Service Pack 2

As part of a major effort to increase the security of desktop computers, in 2004,

Microsoft is releasing an update to Windows XP named Windows XP Service Pack 2.

As with all Windows service packs, Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes all of the crit-

ical updates released for Windows XP to date. In addition, Service Pack 2 includes a

large number of new enhancements to Windows XP—enhancements aimed at increas-

ing the default level of security for the operating system.

In addition to a new Security Center that provides at-a-glance security status for a

computer, Service Pack 2 provides enhancements to the built-in software firewall in

Windows XP (now named Microsoft Windows Firewall), to the Automatic Updates fea-

ture, and to Microsoft Internet Explorer.

After this lesson, you will be able to■

Determine whether Service Pack 2 is installed on a computer running Windows XP

Professional.

■

Identify the major enhancements included in Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Estimated lesson time: 20 minutes

How to Determine Whether Service Pack 2 Is Installed

Aside from simply looking for new enhancements to the interface (such as the Security

Center), you can determine whether Service Pack 2 (or any Service Pack, for that mat-

ter) is installed in one of two ways:

■

From the Start menu, right-click My Computer and click Properties. The General

tab of the System Properties dialog box (in the System section) allows you to

know which version of Windows and which Service Pack is installed.

■

From the Start menu, click Run. In the Run dialog box, type winver.exe and click

OK. The About Windows dialog box shows you the exact version of Windows

(including Service Pack), down to the build number.

Note This section presents an overview of the most important and obvious features of Win-

dows XP Service Pack 2. The procedures and discussions in this book assume that you have

Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed. You can learn more about Windows XP Service Pack 2

at https://traloihay.net.

You can download and install Service Pack 2 from the Windows Update site at

https://traloihay.net.