Microsoft
Windows XP Professional is a Windows operating system designed for
businesses of all sizes, and for individuals who demand the most from
their computing experience. Windows XP Professional goes beyond the
benefits of Windows XP Home Edition with capabilities designed
specifically to optimize productivity. Built on the solid foundation of
Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional provides improved reliability,
security, performance and ease of use
Windows XP Service Pack
3 (XP SP3) fixes a range of bugs and adds new features to Windows XP.
The file is a large download and can be applied to any version of
Windows XP Home, Professional, TabletPC or Media Center (32 bit only).
In addition, it doesn’t matter what XP patches you have previously
applied to your system, SP3 will update any unpatched, partially
patched or completely updated system to version SP3. It includes all
features of Service Pack 1 and 2, plus all patches, updates and fixes
released up to and including April 2008’s monthly security bulletin.
Keep in mind that new patches made available after Service Pack 3 was
released (mid April 2008) will still need to be applied.
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes the following:
All previous security patches and fixes released for Windows XP.
All enhancements and new features that were included with Windows XP SP1 and Windows XP SP2
Only two new features have been added: Black Hole Router Detection Windows and Network Access Protection (NAP).
The
following are already available for Windows XP in stand-alone updates.
Windows XP SP3 includes them by default (System administrators must
choose to install each of these updates): MMC 3.0, MSXML6, Microsoft
Windows Installer 3.1 v2, Background Intelligent Transfer Service
(BITS) 2.5, IPsec Simple Policy Update for Windows Server 2003 and
Windows XP, Digital Identity, Management Service (DIMS), Peer Name
Resolution Protocol (PNRP) 2.1, Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2).
From
the Release Notes: "Microsoft is not adding significant functionality
from newer versions of Windows, such as Windows Vista, to Windows XP
through XP SP3. For instance, Windows XP SP3 does not include Windows
Internet Explorer 7, although Windows XP SP3 does include updates to
both Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7, and it will update
whichever version is installed on the computer. One notable exception
is that, SP3 does include Network Access Protection (NAP)."
