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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Microsoft Changes Its Tune on Porting SP2 Fixes
Microsoft has been reticent to commit publicly to how, when and if it would make the browser-specific security fixes that it delivered as part of Windows XP Service Pack 2 available to users of older versions of Windows.
The decision: No SP2 fixes—- not even ones like the SP2 pop-up blocker or the ActiveX-control blocker—- will be offered for users of older versions of Windows and Internet Explorer (IE).
Microsoft never publicly committed to providing any of the SP2 fixes for users of older versions of Windows or Internet Explorer. But company officials privately told a select group of developers earlier this year of plans to port some of the IE-specific fixes to the version of IE 6 for Windows 2000 (Service Pack 5 update).
“Trying to retrofit older technologies (which were never designed with current environment in mind) with current advancements creates a set of challenges that make it difficult for customers to deploy and doesn’t provide a level of security that we feel confident in providing to our customers. Microsoft’s decision not to port SP2 fixes to Windows 2000, in particular, doesn’t sit well with Michael Cherry, senior analyst with the Kirkland, Wash.-based “Directions on Microsoft” research outfit.
Is it ‘no’ to improvements that could be part of Windows 2000 in a future SP before it leaves mainstream support?
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1650707,00.asp