Sp2 Yes Or No???

[J1978]

Hi evryone

If i have a good firewall (Norton internet security pro 2004) should i install sp2 yes or no?

could anyone help i heard that one of the functions in sp2 is to limit the number of simultaneous opened ports to 10 (true or false?) it probably affects most P2P clients if yes do u know how to change that?

Thanks

[RayH]

While focusing mainly on security, it's not the only update in the package.

[bailey]

sp2 has many other fixes and I would recommend that it be installed.

if your needing to run more than 10 networked systems, then I would recommend that you set up a server and use windows server on it, then you would have a better set-up.

but if you do not need 10 systems connected all the time , it would be a waste of a lot of money.
a simple home lan should work fine.

[ThePoor]

yes, installed it.. very good...

[RJ]

I also say install it.

And as far as the limit of the half-opened connections is concerned: Yes, it is true, they have been reduced to 10, but there is a possibility to change it.

RJ

[J1978]

Originally Posted by RJ I also say install it. And as far as the limit of the half-opened connections is concerned: Yes, it is true, they have been reduced to 10, but there is a possibility to change it. RJ

Hi. thanks.
how can i change it?

[pam123]

Originally Posted by J1978 Hi. thanks. how can i change it?

When you install it you'll get choices.
I turned off the firewall and the AV monitoring program ( that's now my job, it always was ) and left the rest of the updates alone ( it's going to hit the media player, if you don't want to get involved with license tricks pay attention ) .
I did one other thing (well I'd always had it so I just confirmed it), Windows can alert me to updates but it MAY NOT download them or install them unless I agree ( that automatic update thing is a mistake ).
Pay attention to those pop-up windows !

[Statica]

Originally Posted by J1978 Hi. thanks. how can i change it?

Let's clarify something here first, the TCP/IP connection limit is on HALF OPEN or SYN connections. It is not a limit on the total number of connections your network will make. This should not limit your filesharing programs, what it will do is limit the severity of damage a worm or a port scanner will do to your connection. Honestly, if you know what you are doing then by all means look for modifications to your TCP/IP - there is no one that should tell you how to limit yourself. But try to be honest, unless you have a program that is severely impaired (and if it is the authors should be looking at their half baked program in the first place and before we argue, yes it is SUPPOSED to be an accepted standard) you shouldnt patch it out, because this level of restriction on raw sockets was put in place to protect against users who don't know about the TCP/IP or raw sockets from being exploited.

[Statica]

Addendum:
pam123, It involves patching Microsoft's tcpip.sys files; it is not an option that you get during installation.
It is a procedure that has been oversimplified for the benefit of script kiddies and folks who want a quickfix without a clue about the basics of what they are patching. Unfortunately those that understand what the limitation is, what the patch does is in a minority.

[pam123]

Originally Posted by Statica Addendum: pam123, It involves patching Microsoft's tcpip.sys files; it is not an option that you get during installation. It is a procedure that has been oversimplified for the benefit of script kiddies and folks who want a quickfix without a clue about the basics of what they are patching. Unfortunately those that understand what the limitation is, what the patch does is in a minority.

???Glick,glack,gah!!!!
I didn't know and now I'm going through the whole thing again to make sure I got all things right !
Thanks Statica.
Getting careless really does cost.

[J1978]

Thanx evryone for ur help.

[J1978]

Ok i just installed sp2 and evrything is just fine.
i find my computer faster surfing as well seems faster (is it possible??)

anyway thanx again for the good advice.

[CarlS]

I'm confused. I have ordered the SP2 CD since I am on a slow dialup connection.

I read the MS list of programs that have problems with SP2 - EZTrust Antivirus and ZoneAlarm being two of them. I am currently running both. If I install SP2, will I have the option of disabling the built in firewall and the antivirus monitor? I have the firewall disabled currently. If so, will this enable me to run EZTrust and ZoneAlarm? Input greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[pam123]

I have ZoneAlarm and with the XP firewall disabled it runs just fine.
I don't know what will happen with the EZTrust.
I should add that I have the latest ZA, the 5.1 .

[CarlS]

Thanks for the reply, Pam123. I, too, am running ZA 5.1 so that is good to know. Since it will be a few weeks before the MS CD gets here, maybe someone will have the answer about EZTrust.