Potential Problems with Windows SP2

  1. Making Windows Security Center recognize your antivirus program
  2. Enabling Windows Automatic Updates
  3. Downloading a file from the Internet with SP2
  4. Allowing Programs or Process Exceptions in Windows Firewall with SP2
  5. Enabling Specific Windows Pop-Ups

Making Windows Security Center recognize your antivirus program

The security center in Service Pack 2 likes to make sure you're protected from various threats. One way is by making sure that you have antivirus software installed. If Service Pack 2 does not recognize your antivirus client, you see this popup warning:

The University provides faculty, staff, and students with Symantec Antivirus at no cost. However, SP2 does not currently recognize all antivirus clients. So, if you have antivirus installed and would like to stop receiving these messages, follow these steps to tell the security center that you have antivirus manually.

  1. Click the balloon or red shield in this warning message to go directly to your computer's Security Center in the Control Panel. (Or go to Start/Settings/Control Panel and click Security Center.)

  1. In the Security Center, you see a message that Windows was not able to find your antivirus program.

  1. Click on Recommendations. When the window opens, click to check the box marked "I have an antivirus program that I'll monitor myself."

  1. Now Windows knows that you have an antivirus program installed and it stops reminding you to install one.

Enabling Windows Automatic Updates

Regularly updating your Windows XP operating system keeps your computer safe and secure from bugs and holes. The Help Desk recommends that you download and install all critical Windows updates. Windows updates are set to automatically download and install automatically with Windows XP Service Pack 2. But just in case your computer doesn't have them set already, here are the instructions on how to set them to download and install automatically.

  1. Windows tells you if Automatic Updates aren't turned on.

  1. Click the balloon or red shield in this warning message to go directly to your computer's Security Center in the Control Panel. (Or go to Start/Settings/Control Panel and click Security Center.)

  1. In the Security Center, you see that the Automatic Updates are turned off and your computer is at risk to viruses and other security threats.
  2. To turn on Automatic Updates, click Change setting.

  1. You see that Automatic Updates are ON, and you are now set up to download and install all critical updates for Windows XP.

Downloading a file from the Internet with SP2

It takes a few extra steps to download a file from the Internet with SP2, due to enhanced security. Microsoft added this feature to limit accidental downloading of malicious files onto your computer.

  1. When you click a link to download a file, Windows Internet Explorer notifies you that its popup blocker has blocked the file.

  1. If you trust the website, and want to continue downloading the file, click the yellow bar and select Allow this page to download files.

  1. A new window asks if you want to run or save the file. If you think that you are only going to run the file once, click Run. If you plan to run it more than once, click Save.

  1. If you clicked Run, the file should open and run itself. If you clicked Save, you must specify a location. Navigate to the directory where you want to save and click Save.

  1. Once the file is downloaded, you can either open it or close the window and open the file later.
  • To open the file now, click Open.
  • To close the window, click Close.

Allowing Programs or Process Exceptions in Windows Firewall with SP2

The built-in firewall in SP2 automatically blocks all programs accessing the Internet from your computer. This prevents viruses and other malicious programs from gaining access to your computer, e.g., generating popup messages or accessing your email address book and sending emails under your name. So whenever a program tries to access the Internet Windows Firewall, it prompts you to allow access.

  1. If you trust the program and want to allow the program access to the Internet, click to select Unblock this program and press OK.

  1. If you don't know the program and/or don't want to allow it access to the Internet, click Keep blocking this program.

Enabling Specific Windows Pop-Ups

If you frequently visit a website that has popups you want to receive, but that are being blocked by Internet Explorer in SP2, you can add that site to a list of "trusted" sites. When you add a Website to this list, the popup blocker lets you see the popups generated from that site.For example, if you frrequently download files from a specific site, add it to your list of "trusted sites" so IE won't bother you when you're on that site.

  1. To access your Trusted Sites list, open Internet Explorer and go to Tools/ Internet Options.

  1. On the Internet Options page, click the Privacy tab. Click Settings under Pop-up Blocker

  1. Type the URL of the website you wish to add, and click Add.