Symantec: Windows XP SP2 successfully reduces bots
WinInfo | at | by Mike
The security experts at Symantec have verified what Windows watchers have known for some time: Microsoft's third-quarter 2004 release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) dramatically improved security for XP users and, as a result, the entire Internet. According to Symantec, the August 2004 release of XP SP2 was immediately followed by a dramatic drop-off in the number of PC-based bots, compromised PCs that hackers use to spread malware around the Internet. "The timing of this drop corresponds closely with the availability of Windows XP Service Pack 2," a Symantec report reads. "It's reasonable to assume that this service pack is responsible, along with other mitigation measures, for the decline in identified bot network computers." Amazingly, this drop-off in bots occurred during a time period in which the number of worms and Trojan attacks on Windows machines almost doubled. We all know that XP SP2, like any software product, isn't perfect. But this data suggests that XP SP2 was a highly successful release that was sorely needed.