August 16th, 2004
First MS SP2 errata reveals compatibility, usability issues
With barely a week of public availability under Service Pack 2’s belt, Microsoft’s first major errata report regarding SP2 deployment problems lists 47 newly discovered conflicts between the default settings of SP2’s Windows Firewall and some commonly used applications. Reflecting the early release’s focus on IT managers, 40 firewall conflicts are ones that will primarily be found in business environments and the remaining seven are with games. Of the 40 business-oriented conflicts, six are with Microsoft applications including Visual Studio .NET, Systems Management Server 2003 Server, and Microsoft SQL Server. But, with multiple listings for the same product (sometimes using different text), inexact product names, and incomplete information, the list looks rushed. Perhaps drawing attention to SP2’s absence of sufficient graphical, Windows-based tools for managing the firewall, the document contains a step-by-step explanation of how to use the Windows command prompt to discover the precise firewall settings that need to be changed, and how to change them. Should average users encounter problems with the listed applications, or should the list expand (and it will after SP2 penetrates the small business and consumer segments), these not-for-mortals steps for firewall conflict remediation will become a source of frustration for many.
