Exetools - Windows XP SP2 Almost Final

Exetools (https://forum.exetools.com/index.php)

- General Discussion (https://forum.exetools.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2)

- - Windows XP SP2 Almost Final (https://forum.exetools.com/showthread.php?t=4838)

nullz

08-06-2004 23:41

Windows XP SP2 Almost Final

Windows XP SP2 Almost Final

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/winxpsp2.mspx

Quote:

Aug 2, 2004: Windows XP SP 2 Release Candidate 2 (RC2) Removed from the Web

This signifies the end of the pre-release distribution program in anticipation of the final release of SP2. Windows XP SP2 remains on schedule for release this month.

We recommend that you not install the RC2 version of SP2 on computers that are running the latest security updates. Instead, install the final version of Windows XP SP2 when it becomes available. Installing the RC2 version of SP2 on computers that already have the latest security updates installed can cause incompatibilities. The final release of SP2 will be compatible with all previously installed security updates.

There is a version of Windows XP Service Pack 2 RTM Build 2180 floating around at the moment. I wont post any links. Frankly, I am not interested until there is an official announcement and network install download link on the MS site (the horse's mouth).

Here are the rumours going around now:

Quote:

The dates for WinXP SP2 release are as follows:

4th August RTM (2180 or 2181)
5th August RTW (release to web) & MSDN Subscribers - Network Install
25th August Windows Update/Automatic Updates release

Microsoft informed premier support customers that their own customers will begin receiving XPSP2 by automatic updates on the 25th August.

FYI:

RTM = Release To Manufacture
In other words, RETAIL.

RC = Release Candidate
In other words, NOT FINAL.

EDIT:
I originally wrote RTM = Release To Market which is wrong sorry.
Proof:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/msit/deploy/wxpdpsp.mspx

Quote:

Release to Manufacture (RTM)

Explanation elsewhere (not mine):

Quote:

RTM is release to manufacturing. This is when the code "goes gold". It'll be around 2 months afterwards until you'll find retail packages available(printing boxes, manuals, pressing CDs and distribution takes time!).

c4p0ne

08-06-2004 23:53

It's already almost august 7th ... where is it? M$ is a load of...

Anyway, SP2 breaks a lot of shit man.. First of all for those of you who use torrent-based downloads, apparently SP2 will slow you down. I'm not sure about that but if you like using Raw Sockets or have written programs that "craft" packets using raw sockets in XP, you can just change the icon of the recycle-bin into a shitty toilet bowl and FLUSH ALL your raw-sockets programs down it. Like to sniff around you're own neighborhood, or even someone elses neighborhood using XP for convenience? TOO BAD if you try to run port-scans after you've installed SP2 it'll be like trekking across Anna-Nicoles never ending belly. The TCP stack is changed man. Changed for the worst.

Once again M$ taking power out of the users hands and attempting to "cradle" them like little teeny weeny infants. Actually on SOME feakish twilight level, I can't blame M$ because there are really TRULY soooo many millions of users out there that are beyond the level of comprehention of the terms "idiot" or "computer morons" that this probably was the only way to protect them from themselves.

Oh BTW, Blink v1.0 (for those of you that use it) is 100% incompatible (so far) with XP SP2. As is the case with fortres's new version of Clean Slate v3.0. Just a heads up on those.. I think we should make a temporary section of "SP2 Issues and Solutions" for the coming wave of crapness..

nullz

08-07-2004 00:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by c4p0ne

I think we should make a temporary section of "SP2 Issues and Solutions" for the coming wave of crapness..

Well said/recommended.

Also, off topic:

Code:

c4p0ne

A Smith

Join Date: Jul 2002

Location: Athens, Greece

Age: 2 (???) (hehe)

Posts: 50

Good luck in Athens 2004 for all "clean" competitors!

ghost

08-07-2004 02:20

Hi

According to someone on the web you can manually change the number of
simultanious connections to something more usefull under SP2
I havent tried this yet but I did kill the anoying nag that keeps on bitching
if you turn off auto updates by changing a reg setting.

This is the key to add to modify the maximum number of simultaneous connections

TcpNumConnections

Key: TcpipParameters
Value Type: REG_DWORD - Number
Valid Range: 0 - 0xfffffe
Default: 0xfffffe

Description: This parameter limits the maximum number of connections that TCP can have open simultaneously.

View : View : TCP/IP and NBT configuration parameters for Windows XP - (Q314053) at Ms site

Regards
G

sunilt

08-07-2004 03:17

Release date for SP2

well one of friend works for M$ technical support, and they have been trained and told to get ready to take calls for sp2 from 28 of this month

nullz

08-07-2004 04:27

Windows XP Service Pack 2 RTM Build 2180 seems Final

1 Attachment(s)

If the following attached image is REAL (not my own) then I understand that
Windows XP Service Pack 2 RTM Build 2180 is the Final Build.

The file name is WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

Note that
WindowsBeta
http://windowsbeta.microsoft.com/
is an OFFICIAL MS beta testers site for members only

I tried it and it FAILED with "Server Too Busy" :eek: :eek: hehe
which would indicate that they are downloading it like crazy :rolleyes:

I for one will be waiting for an OFFICIAL "public" download link from
download.microsoft.com and will sit it out a while (letting others be guinea pigs) before I even think about using it. :D

Note that the release notes are "public" at:

Release notes for Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=835935
Last Reviewed: 8/6/2004 (5.0)

but there is no "public" network install download link (yet).

aldente

08-09-2004 09:13

Well, I installed the German SP2 RTM this morning, and after disabling firewall, virus-scanner, popup-blocker in ie, tcp-limitation, attachment-blocking in oe and all the other crap, it works quite fine.

JMI	08-09-2004 11:04

Maybe your machine simply forgot Wie man Deutsches spricht. :eek:

Got to love M$. They know how to make your machine their machine.

Regards,

aldente

08-09-2004 19:52

The problem is not that those "great features" do not work - I just don't want them!
When using Brain v1.0 nobody needs all that crap.

And another big problem i forgot to mention: Microsoft changed the bootlogo!
Now it is without the name of the version ("Professional", etc.).
Chaning it back takes some time!

And one (little) problem: You can't disable backing up of old files using the SP2-Installation-Dialog, so you have to start it 3 times:
1. See that it does not work.
2. Start it to find out the parameter.
3. Start it with the correct parameter.
And everytime the whole nasty package is being extracted first.

ArC	08-09-2004 23:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_or_what

And everytime the whole nasty package is being extracted first.

I know that problem, too but it's easy to solve.
The servicepack package extracts all of its contents to the temporary folder of your account. The folder itself usually has a cryptic name but it's easy to find. Once you have found the folder just remove writing permissions for this folder for EVERYONE by customizing the NTFS ACL. Now when you quit the SP installer the contents of the SP packge are not deleted :D

aldente

08-10-2004 00:39

1 Attachment(s)

Well, I could have done so, I also could have extracted it with WinRAR - but anyway, I would at least have extracted it twice - and thats two often!

Does Microsoft even disable disabling of backing up files, just to avoid that the newbie-bastards do so? :mad:

/Edit: Have a look at the attached Screenshot (made from 2 singe screenshots): Even if its just a graphical error ---> its nasty!

Mkz	08-10-2004 01:59

Blocked PIDs

Regarding pirate keys, here's some info

http://www.msfn.org/comments.php?shownews=9214

Quote:

Many users have questioned why illegal PIDs are being allowed on a Windows XP SP2 installation when they were blocked in previous betas. This is due to Microsoft's new approach on security in Service Pack 2 to prevent any further Windows XP machines from getting infected with viruses and malicious attacks. Microsoft's Gary Schare answers:

"There have been a number of discussions on this newsgroup regarding whether SP2 will install on non-genuine (aka "pirated") versions of Windows. Here is the official Microsoft position on this topic:

We expect that nearly all Windows XP users, running genuine or pirated Windows, will have access to the security technologies in SP2. The same users that were blocked from installing SP1 - those that have used a small set of legacy pirated product keys - will be blocked from installing SP2. We believe that there are very few systems in use today that use these keys -- in other words, the pirates have moved on to other keys which we are not blocking.

So how do we charaterize our policy?

We want to make sure that the broadest number of people can install SP2. The nature of malicious attacks on computer users is constantly changing and we will continue to evaluate how we deal with security updates for pirated versions of Windows to best protect our genuine Windows customers.

JMI	08-10-2004 02:32

That's why some of us are waiting for all you gungho hotshots to figure out all the problems before we push "install." :D We can ALWAYS count on M$ to break or f*ck up something, somehow, and often "on purpose."

I remember several years ago when they were releasing a "free" version of Encarta everywhere, that worked perfectly with M$ product, but, "oh did we do that", just "happened" to break everyone's current version of Wordperfect, which just "happened" then to be more popular that "Word." Took them a long time to conceed that "anything" they might have done could possible have affected another competitor's software and "certainly" we wouldn't have done that to one of our big competitors "on purpose." Right. :eek:

Regards,

aldente

08-10-2004 04:43

You will need SP2 for having an up-to-date system!

Microsoft probably did not WANT to put that bug there, and the rest is caused by the big number of newbies using Windows XP:

Or why isn't there a SP7 for WinNT 4.0, which consists of an easy-to-use, coloured firewall, which blows up the system, and all the other crap, nobody with a brain needs?

I think it's even getting worse in the next years.

adv	08-10-2004 04:50

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation

hxxp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

tAz	08-11-2004 01:29

got mine up and running... no problems so far.
i'm interested in the memory protection features of SP2, do you guys know of any link where tests (and results) were made regarding this? (e.g. testing slammer, codered, or even simple BOF code)

tomlynx

08-11-2004 06:50

no luck with me, my box stops working when loading SI 3.1 with sp2, anyone else? :eek:
It is ok if without using SI.

Mok	08-11-2004 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomlynx

no luck with me, my box stops working when loading SI 3.1 with sp2, anyone else? :eek:
It is ok if without using SI.

Compuware already released an updated OSINFO.DAT which supports SP2. Grab it here:

ftp://ftp.compuware.com/pub/driverstudio/outgoing/OsInfo/OSINFO.DAT

and replace the old one in c:\windows\system32\drivers.

opu_janggo

08-11-2004 17:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by tAz

i'm interested in the memory protection features of SP2, do you guys know of any link where tests (and results) were made regarding this? (e.g. testing slammer, codered, or even simple BOF code)

I think that even if this is implemented, some viruses will still be able to circumvent it, since it's not forced by the MMU (Memory Management Unit) of the corresponding CPU platform. I think only until this kind of protection fully implemented "in very close relation" to hardware such as the NX bit of the 64-bit's AMD CPUs (AFAIK Intel is implementing the NX bit) this will become an effective solution for the BOF attack.

All times are GMT +8. The time now is 23:55.