September 2004

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XP Service Pack 2 is getting good reviews, with some cautions. I recommend installing it on one workstation, testing, and then installing on all your XP computers. Create a restore point before doing the install, and back up any important files on your local machine, such as email (outlook .pst, or outlook express files), and ‘my documents’ if there are any.  If you have a network firewall, you can probably turn off internet security. Otherwise you may need to configure it to allow your applications to work. If you are already using an internet firewall (Norton, Trend internet security, Zonealarm, etc.) use it rather than the built in XP firewall. Most third party products block traffic in both directions and are more configurable. XP SP2 security blocks only incoming ports. The XP SP2 site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/winxpsp2.mspx

Microsoft has posted a list of applications with known compatibility issues here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=884130&product=windowsxpsp2

In depth technical information:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/winxpsp2.mspx

Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 has been released. New features include support for mobile devices, more online download choices, and more formats for music and video.  Soon to come is a new version of Windows XP Media Center Edition.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/

http://www.winsupersite.com/xpreloaded/

Symantec has announced Norton Internet Security 2005. If you are using Norton, be sure to upgrade: http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/nis_pe

EBay now offers consumers a free web browser toolbar that includes technology to detect and block fraudulent web sites. http://www.esj.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=1087

Winamp Flaw Allows Spyware Onto Computers. If you are using Winamp, uninstall for now. http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/security/printfriendly.htm?AT=39191393-39000005c

FreeCRM.com/ and Salesforce.com offer free online CRM applications that can help you improve your company's overall efficiency without adversely affecting the bottom line. Both are web based, and come with limitations. CRM is short for Customer Relationship Management, which includes lead tracking, and tools to better interact with customers.

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/biztools/article.php/3389101

Tim Torian

Torian, Group, Inc.

http://www.toriangroup.com