You probably already read the story I posted a few days ago, about the woman whose computer was taken over by some piece of spyware and then was further damaged by the software that was supposed to get rid of the infection.
I exchanged a few e-mails with her, and in one I asked whether she had installed Windows XP Service Pack 2. No, she said. She had heard there were problems with it.
Oh boy. If she had had SP2 installed, I can say with a high degree of confidence that she would not have been bitten by the spyware bug. But a few rumors were enough to scare her away from the one thing that would probably have been her best protection.
Are you running Windows XP? Are you still waiting to install SP2? If so, why? Installing any piece of software has risks attached to it, but this one is exceptionally well tested, and the likelihood that you will have problems is very small compared to the positive changes in security you’ll see.
Of course, you should back up your data first. But you should have a current backup of your important data at all times; it shouldn’t just be something you do every 18 months or so when a service pack comes out.
Seriously, if you’re still waiting for SP2, send me a note and tell me why. I don’t get it.
Oh, and I’ll be re-enabling comments soon.
Ed Bott 