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As Microsoft smooths out the ripples after last week's big splash with Windows XP Service Pack 2, users say they found fewer problems than they expected, but some complain that late code changes and lingering compatibility issues will serve to refuel testing efforts and further delay full-scale deployments.
The biggest deployment issues last week involved tweaking the Windows Firewall, which is turned on by default, to open ports or configure exceptions to ensure applications such as anti-virus and management work correctly
Microsoft also issued a hot fix to correct an IP addressing bug that was crippling VPN software and another that will make it possible to edit new XP SP2 Group Policy Objects from older Windows platforms.
The company also fixed a bug that prevented users with Software Update Services, which lets corporations centrally manage patch deployments from inside their firewalls, from controlling the installation of XP SP2.
"We have seen fewer problems than expected and not anything major," says Russ Cooper, moderator of the NT BugTraq Web site and senior scientist for TruSecure, which develops security and risk management products and services. He says preliminary results of his online survey of more than 600 people show 43% of...