Service Pack 2 provides the latest updates to the 2007 Microsoft Office suite. This download includes two types of fixes:
* Previously unreleased fixes that were made specifically for this service pack. o In addition to general product fixes, this includes improvements in stability, performance, and security. o You can find out more information in Knowledge Base Article 953195, where product-specific changes are described. * All of the Public Updates, Security Updates, Cumulative Updates, and Hotfixes released through February 2009.
Before installing this service pack, you are strongly encouraged to read 953195, which describes some big improvements introduced by SP2, and also calls out some important information that you should be aware of before installing.
Today's offering for me on this computer is for "Internet Explorer 8 For Windows XP". Apparently it is finished and not a beta release. I am not sure of how it might be different as regards my Favorites and/or previous settings. I do have the Accelerator feature on IE7 but that might be coming for MSN Explorer. I would appreciate any pros or cons on this update before I do the deed. Thanks as usual.....Dale
That was a "final" release (neither a beta nor a release "candidate").
the difference between then and now is that then, you had to intentionally seek out and download the program; whereas now, apparently Microsoft is ready to automatically "push" it out to users.
I am using IE8 on one of my machines (on which my primary browser is firefox). I am keeping IE7, for the foreseeable future, on my other systems.
Sure glad I have this set up to notify me first rather than just start downloading! After reading that thread through I think I will go ahead and stick with the IE7 on this XP machine for the time being. I assume that IE8 would install over IE7 and that the latter would be gone, unless it is still available . Not sure if a System Restore would get me back to 7 if 8 didn't pan out...in the event that I did go ahead and allow the update. However...in Red Dawn's post I noticed:
"Starting on or about the third week of April, users still running IE6 or IE7 on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 will get will get a notification through Automatic Update about IE8. This rollout will start with a narrow audience and expand over time to the entire user base. On Windows XP and Server 2003, the update will be High-Priority. On Windows Vista and Server 2008 it will be Important."
According to the above quote an IE8 version for Windows Vista is expected to follow a bit later on and I would be willing to test it out on my Vista machine then, since I have not added much to that computer yet. In the meantime I could learn to live and ignore the update notifications for this new version.
Installation of IE is done with a "rollback" feature... if you have ie7 installed, and then "upgrade" to ie8... you will then have ONLY ie8 on your system... but should you choose to UNinstall ie8 at a later date, it will do so, "rolling back" to ie7 in the process. You will never be left without some version of IE.
[likewise, for someone who still has ie6 and advances to ie7, it will include a "roll back" feature to ie6, should the person subsequently choose to uninstall ie7.
there is a potential complication here, if the user upgrades from xp sp2 to sp3 after upgrading from ie6 to ie7. in such a case, should the user wish to rollback to ie6, they will have to rollback from sp3 to sp2 first, and then from ie7 to ie6 --- a convoluted, messy way to have to do things ]
are you referring to its smart screen filter? if so, any first-hand experiences you can cite?
or its domain highlighting? cross-site scripting filter? data execution prevention (DEP)?
or some other security aspect(s)?
or are you referring to other innovative features included, but not necessarily a security nature, like accelerators or InPrivate Browsing?
It would be appreciated if you could comment/evaluate/criticize/elaborate for the benefit of the community here --- including caveats about any first-hand negative experiences you might have encountered (e.g., any add-ons / toolbars you had to disable, any conflicts such as the known one with SpyBot's/IESpyAd's Immunization, &etc).
All the features you mention just make sense to me though, although I haven't fully explored them all. The InPrivate filtering seems to make particularly good sense, when doing general searches. And the Domain highlighting in the URL bar is helpful.
I have the SmartScreen filter enabled, and it has yet to alert me. Possibly because my Hosts file or WOT prevents me from visiting bad sites, or more likely because of my safe-surfing practices.
The DEP appears to only apply to Vista SP1, which I don't use, so I can't comment there.
As for problems, I have had very few. The only conflict (with SpywareBlaster populating the restricted sites) isn't that big a slowdown for me, and as you know I don't use Spybot's resident modules. I uninstalled iespyad some time ago. All my other resident defenses and on-demand scanners work well with IE8, as do WOT and OpenDNS.
I also had to uncheck the cleaning of IE's Index.dat files by CCleaner, since this resulted in the removal of all my login cookies.
Other than that, IE8 has been problem-free, at least as fast as IE7 (if not faster) and I use it as my default browser. Quite apart from its alleged security improvements, I like the instant search suggestions, and the ability to expand the search box by dragging its left border. The Compatability View button has proved useful at a few sites. I'm also better able to organize my Favorites.
I suppose I'm taking it on faith that IE8 is a "safer" browser, but I trust the experts that say so, and I don't regret installing it.
IE 8's Smart Screen Filter protects against evolving threats. Cross Site Scripting (XSS) is the most common class of software vulnerability and IE 8 protects you against type 1 “reflective” XSS attacks. Phishing and malware protection is enhanced to be more effective over IE 7. IE 8 protects the user against click-jacking vulnerabilities.
In-Private Filtering gives an added level of control and choice about the information 3rd- party websites can potentially use to track browsing activity.
Per-Site and Per-User Active X controls allows the lockdown of individual Active-X controls to a specific site or user(s), therefore significantly reducing the attack surface for Active-X controls, minimizing your risk.
Domain Highlighting automatically highlights the owning domain of whatever site you are currently viewing. This aids users in identifying the real site that they are on when a website attempts to deceive them.
Speaking of IE 8, it blocks the new Facebook Phish.
(Don’t Sign In To Fbaction.net)
If you get an email message that looks to be from Facebook with the subject, “Hello,” and featuring the text below, don’t bother clicking on the link included. Doing so takes you to a site called fbaction.net that mimics the look of the main Facebook login page, hoping to get you to sign in. Naturally, if you do that, the site will have access to your account and can send out more of these messages to your friends.
Well, this amounts to a lack of progress report. Downloaded IE8 for Vista and attempted to install on my XPS but it has failed twice. Everything appeared to be OK after the restart, but then the configuration screens came up and said: "Updates were not configured correctly...reverting changes. Don not turn off your computer" After this came a black screen with a very coarse white font near the top of the screen scrolling quickly through about 15K worth of files. If I remember correctly the desk top came up this time, but I could not find hide nor hair of the new version...neither in BelArc Advisor or in the Programs and Features in the Control Panel. Went to Windows Update and sure enough, IE 8 for Vista was still waiting to be installed.
Tried again with essentially the same result, except this time it got hung up on "Shutting Down". After about an hour I was going to do a restart, but could not pull up the Task Manager and had to resort a manual shutoff. I took a look at the suggested page about this.... http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?p=213367#p213367 Not sure what to do since it apparently did not install at all. Suffice it to say, I want nothing to do with this "improvement" and wish I was able to hide the update, since I don't want it to install. The saga continues.....:emotion-8:
Bugbatter
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April 28th, 2009 10:00
2007 Microsoft Office Suite Service Pack 2 (SP2)
Service Pack 2 provides the latest updates to the 2007 Microsoft Office suite.
This download includes two types of fixes:
* Previously unreleased fixes that were made specifically for this service pack.
o In addition to general product fixes, this includes improvements in stability, performance, and security.
o You can find out more information in Knowledge Base Article 953195, where product-specific changes are described.
* All of the Public Updates, Security Updates, Cumulative Updates, and Hotfixes released through February 2009.
Before installing this service pack, you are strongly encouraged to read 953195, which describes some big improvements introduced by SP2, and also calls out some important information that you should be aware of before installing.
More info/details here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b444bf18-79ea-46c6-8a81-9db49b4ab6e5&displaylang=en
dalem29
2 Intern
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2.2K Posts
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April 28th, 2009 12:00
Today's offering for me on this computer is for "Internet Explorer 8 For Windows XP". Apparently it is finished and not a beta release. I am not sure of how it might be different as regards my Favorites and/or previous settings. I do have the Accelerator feature on IE7 but that might be coming for MSN Explorer. I would appreciate any pros or cons on this update before I do the deed. Thanks as usual.....Dale
ky331
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15.6K Posts
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April 28th, 2009 13:00
Dale,
as far as I know, this should be the IE8 we were discussing a few weeks ago here:
http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19264568/19264568.aspx#19264568
That was a "final" release (neither a beta nor a release "candidate").
the difference between then and now is that then, you had to intentionally seek out and download the program; whereas now, apparently Microsoft is ready to automatically "push" it out to users.
I am using IE8 on one of my machines (on which my primary browser is firefox). I am keeping IE7, for the foreseeable future, on my other systems.
dalem29
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
April 28th, 2009 14:00
Hello David:
Sure glad I have this set up to notify me first rather than just start downloading! After reading that thread through I think I will go ahead and stick with the IE7 on this XP machine for the time being. I assume that IE8 would install over IE7 and that the latter would be gone, unless it is still available . Not sure if a System Restore would get me back to 7 if 8 didn't pan out...in the event that I did go ahead and allow the update. However...in Red Dawn's post I noticed:
"Starting on or about the third week of April, users still running IE6 or IE7 on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 will get will get a notification through Automatic Update about IE8. This rollout will start with a narrow audience and expand over time to the entire user base. On Windows XP and Server 2003, the update will be High-Priority. On Windows Vista and Server 2008 it will be Important."
According to the above quote an IE8 version for Windows Vista is expected to follow a bit later on and I would be willing to test it out on my Vista machine then, since I have not added much to that computer yet. In the meantime I could learn to live and ignore the update notifications for this new version.
ky331
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15.6K Posts
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April 28th, 2009 14:00
Installation of IE is done with a "rollback" feature... if you have ie7 installed, and then "upgrade" to ie8... you will then have ONLY ie8 on your system... but should you choose to UNinstall ie8 at a later date, it will do so, "rolling back" to ie7 in the process. You will never be left without some version of IE.
[likewise, for someone who still has ie6 and advances to ie7, it will include a "roll back" feature to ie6, should the person subsequently choose to uninstall ie7.
there is a potential complication here, if the user upgrades from xp sp2 to sp3 after upgrading from ie6 to ie7. in such a case, should the user wish to rollback to ie6, they will have to rollback from sp3 to sp2 first, and then from ie7 to ie6 --- a convoluted, messy way to have to do things ]
dalem29
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2.2K Posts
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April 28th, 2009 15:00
Automatic rollback feature! Never would have known that if I didn't hang around here on a regular basis! :emotion-15:
Thanks David
joe53
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5.8K Posts
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April 28th, 2009 16:00
I think IE8 a useful security upgrade, but it certainly is a big download and a lengthy install. At times, I thought the install had frozen.
If and when you decide to install it, be sure to read the following first:
IE8: Tips, Caveats and Helpful Links
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?p=213367#p213367
Bugbatter
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April 28th, 2009 17:00
http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=6283&rss
ky331
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April 28th, 2009 19:00
"IE8 [is] a useful security upgrade..."
are you referring to its smart screen filter? if so, any first-hand experiences you can cite?
or its domain highlighting? cross-site scripting filter? data execution prevention (DEP)?
or some other security aspect(s)?
or are you referring to other innovative features included, but not necessarily a security nature, like accelerators or InPrivate Browsing?
It would be appreciated if you could comment/evaluate/criticize/elaborate for the benefit of the community here --- including caveats about any first-hand negative experiences you might have encountered (e.g., any add-ons / toolbars you had to disable, any conflicts such as the known one with SpyBot's/IESpyAd's Immunization, &etc).
joe53
2 Intern
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5.8K Posts
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April 28th, 2009 21:00
No, I have had no circumstances where IE8 saved my bacon (that I know of). I was speaking in general terms:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/features/stay-safer-online.aspx
All the features you mention just make sense to me though, although I haven't fully explored them all. The InPrivate filtering seems to make particularly good sense, when doing general searches. And the Domain highlighting in the URL bar is helpful.
I have the SmartScreen filter enabled, and it has yet to alert me. Possibly because my Hosts file or WOT prevents me from visiting bad sites, or more likely because of my safe-surfing practices.
The DEP appears to only apply to Vista SP1, which I don't use, so I can't comment there.
As for problems, I have had very few. The only conflict (with SpywareBlaster populating the restricted sites) isn't that big a slowdown for me, and as you know I don't use Spybot's resident modules. I uninstalled iespyad some time ago. All my other resident defenses and on-demand scanners work well with IE8, as do WOT and OpenDNS.
I also had to uncheck the cleaning of IE's Index.dat files by CCleaner, since this resulted in the removal of all my login cookies.
Other than that, IE8 has been problem-free, at least as fast as IE7 (if not faster) and I use it as my default browser. Quite apart from its alleged security improvements, I like the instant search suggestions, and the ability to expand the search box by dragging its left border. The Compatability View button has proved useful at a few sites. I'm also better able to organize my Favorites.
I suppose I'm taking it on faith that IE8 is a "safer" browser, but I trust the experts that say so, and I don't regret installing it.
As always, YMMV.
ky331
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15.6K Posts
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April 29th, 2009 07:00
Joe,
FYI :
CCleaner v2.19 (4/29/09)
... if you're willing to "gamble" and test it.
Bugbatter
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20.5K Posts
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April 29th, 2009 11:00
IE 8's Smart Screen Filter protects against evolving threats. Cross Site Scripting (XSS) is the most common class of software vulnerability and IE 8 protects you against type 1 “reflective” XSS attacks. Phishing and malware protection is enhanced to be more effective over IE 7. IE 8 protects the user against click-jacking vulnerabilities.
In-Private Filtering gives an added level of control and choice about the information 3rd- party websites can potentially use to track browsing activity.
Per-Site and Per-User Active X controls allows the lockdown of individual Active-X controls to a specific site or user(s), therefore significantly reducing the attack surface for Active-X controls, minimizing your risk.
Domain Highlighting automatically highlights the owning domain of whatever site you are currently viewing. This aids users in identifying the real site that they are on when a website attempts to deceive them.
Bugbatter
3 Apprentice
•
20.5K Posts
0
April 29th, 2009 17:00
Speaking of IE 8, it blocks the new Facebook Phish.
(Don’t Sign In To Fbaction.net)
If you get an email message that looks to be from Facebook with the subject, “Hello,” and featuring the text below, don’t bother clicking on the link included. Doing so takes you to a site called fbaction.net that mimics the look of the main Facebook login page, hoping to get you to sign in. Naturally, if you do that, the site will have access to your account and can send out more of these messages to your friends.
Details on this new phish HERE
dalem29
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
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May 3rd, 2009 18:00
Well, this amounts to a lack of progress report. Downloaded IE8 for Vista and attempted to install on my XPS but it has failed twice. Everything appeared to be OK after the restart, but then the configuration screens came up and said: "Updates were not configured correctly...reverting changes. Don not turn off your computer" After this came a black screen with a very coarse white font near the top of the screen scrolling quickly through about 15K worth of files. If I remember correctly the desk top came up this time, but I could not find hide nor hair of the new version...neither in BelArc Advisor or in the Programs and Features in the Control Panel. Went to Windows Update and sure enough, IE 8 for Vista was still waiting to be installed.
Tried again with essentially the same result, except this time it got hung up on "Shutting Down". After about an hour I was going to do a restart, but could not pull up the Task Manager and had to resort a manual shutoff. I took a look at the suggested page about this.... http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?p=213367#p213367 Not sure what to do since it apparently did not install at all. Suffice it to say, I want nothing to do with this "improvement" and wish I was able to hide the update, since I don't want it to install. The saga continues.....:emotion-8: