Security → Re: Microsoft 'taking security risks'

If you want to run off at the mouth at least do your research first. I have said repeatedly for a long time that I have no plans to upgrade this 8 month old gaming computer to Vista. Since this is a new computer, I won't be buying another for some time. So no Vista. I also have not been complaining about MS not securing XP. In fact, I have complained that MS gets in the user's face way too much already because they are a monoply. I am quite satisfied with my security which has nothing to do with MS's junk offerings. I have not been in the least inconsistent. I would still be using XP ProSP1 even after it goes unsupported except that my computer had so many problems that Dell sent me a new one as an exchange and it has SP2 on it. I don't like the added security in SP2 and everyone here but you knows that...god knows I posted enough about it when SP2 came out. Where were you?

By added security of SP2, do you refer to the notification of no firewall, no antivirus or no auto-updates that SP2 provides ? Or is it the numerous security patches that were rolled up into a single install, or something horrifically dysfunctional that I also have apparently missed ? I'm not being a wize guy, I'm just trying to understand what seems to be the extremely narrow point of view that you display.

I didn't need any rollup. I had the patches already. I don't use auto updates nor Windows Updates site so I have no idea what "improvements" in those SP2 has brought as I disabled all that in Services immediately upon booting this computer the first time. I also turned off the junk about the firewall status, etc.. I have a router. I certainly know if my AV is working and current. I don't need a babysitter for that.

I can't use my scanner now. It would work on SP1 but not on SP2. The ONLY really useful thing in SP2 that I see is the improved networking. I was able to network my 98SE box almost instantly with this computer that has SP2. I could never network with my SP1 computer and I even had the Dell field tech try to network them and he finally gave up also after two hours of trying. So I traded my scanner for the ability to network my two computers. (Of course, it could have been some other something stopping networking that was unique to that computer and nothing to do with SP1 versus SP2. I think though that SP2 has made it much easier to network a 98SE box with an XP one. Networking XP or 2000 to another XP probably wouldn't make any difference if they were using SP1 or SP2).

I don't blindly install all patches. I pick and choose. I still use SP1 on my virtual machine and prefer it to SP2. I can't see any improvement anyhow in security in SP2 because it needs all or almost all the patches that SP1 needs.