Microsoft Security Exec Details Windows XP Service Pack Plans

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June 7, 2004 (Computerworld) -- Microsoft Corp.'s latest security efforts are focused on Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, which is due this summer. Mike Nash, vice president of Microsoft's security business and technology unit, recently discussed SP2 and the company's security strategy with Computerworld. Excerpts from the interview follow:

What guidance can you give IT pros about Windows XP Service Pack 2 breaking applications? Making sure that we're doing things to make XP SP2 compatible with key customer scenarios is a top priority for us. One of the things with the new firewall in Service Pack 2 is to make sure that it's compatible with more scenarios so that it can be turned on by default and left on by the customers.
There may be some cases from a security perspective where we're doing things that change the behavior of the operating system. ... There may be certain cases where security and compatibility are at odds, and we're going to focus on security, because people really need us to be focusing on security. ... The most important thing customers should be doing right now is planning for their rollouts of Windows XP Service Pack 2, which means testing it today so that if there are issues, we get that feedback now so we have a chance to respond to it before we ship the product.

How important is the firewall in Windows XP SP2 for companies that already have network firewalls? When your machine is always inside the network, the primary thing that the firewall's going to do is protect your machine from another infected machine that was brought inside the network. If you have a laptop that comes in with an infection, the edge [network firewall] can't help you. But your machine will be protected from that attack. So I never turn my firewall off.
The other thing that will happen, if a machine comes in with malicious code on it, its ability to propagate can be somewhat slowed down by having a firewall there. The primary place it makes a difference is for machines that are checking in remotely. We know a number of situations where an end user VPNs into the corporation and didn't have a firewall turned on. That machine is both out on the Internet but inside the [corporate firewall] all at the same time. Think of it as redefining "edge of the network."

Will XP SP2's firewall work with other personal firewalls? It is designed to support multiple firewalls, ours and a third party's, at the same time. Practically speaking, if you're using a third-party firewall and you're comfortable with its level of protection, that's a fine answer.

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Microsoft Security Exec Details Windows XP Service Pack Plans

Sidebar: Microsoft Sees Need to Escalate Efforts in Security War

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• Virtually every Windows PC at risk, says Secunia
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