A year ago, the author of the MSBlast computer worm taunted Microsoft with a message in the fast-spreading program: "billy gates why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software!!" Bill Gates and company apparently took up the challenge. On Friday, Microsoft released Windows XP Service Pack 2, an update aimed at locking down customers' computers. SP2 took more than nine months to complete and contains significant security changes to the flagship operating system. Microsoft's overhaul of the software underwent a fast shift in direction--from a focus on features to an overwhelming concentration on security--after the rapid spread of MSBlast last summer threw doubt on the operating system's protections. The worm compromised more than 9.5 million Windows PCs by exploiting a flaw in the software that had been fixed by the Microsoft, but that many customers had not patched.
|