SP3 functions primarily as a collection of past fixes with a few security additions. SP3 is most certainly essential for anyone who hasn't applied SP2, and for those who haven't kept up with the Windows Update downloads, but if you've been on top of things, SP3 won't do much for you.
The most obvious new additions are the latest versions of Microsoft's browser and media player—Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7.0—both of which have been downloadable for quite some time. You'll also notice (if you look hard enough) new and clearer descriptions of some settings in the Control Panel Security Options applet, changes designed to help users avoid configuring system security incorrectly. The only other significant user-interface modification lies with the taskbar, which no longer has the Address Bar—a change Microsoft describes as a regulatory request
Besides the loss of the Address Bar and the new descriptions in Security Options, here's what's new in SP3. First, as with Vista, you no longer need to provide the product key during installation. If you don't, however, you'll be prompted for the product key later as part of the Genuine Advantage check that Windows initiates. Second, SP3 adds support for FIPS 140-1 Level 1 cryptography as a DLL at the kernel level. Developers can access this Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module, making use of the cryptographic algorithms to improve the security of their own drivers. In addition, SP3 improves black hole router detection (sensing of routers dropping certain kinds of packets), allowing XP to reconfigure the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to keep connections alive without the performance compromise the detection formerly caused. SP3 turns on detection by default; in earlier versions of XP, the facility was both less capable and, to minimize processor load, turned off by default.
Answered by
keshto
, an ibibo Master,
at
8:02 PM on May 25, 2008
