There have been many users that have installed it and had no problems. Others have installed it and ended up uninstalling or in some of the worst cases, had to format and start over to get out of the problem. Most of the worst-case situations were probably caused by a system that had problems before the service pack was installed. I say this because all of these systems that we have started clean on have had the service pack installed after the clean install and have not had any problems.

The question that is being asked is whether or not the update should be installed and why. Some of the users are hesitant to install the update in case they are one of the few that might have a problem. As with most other safety procedures, there is always the chance that you could have a problem. I think that the positive aspects of the service pack outweigh the risks associated with it. You need to back up your data, clean the junk off your system and install the service pack, even if it is only to do your part to clean up the Internet for the rest of us.

Now lets move on to what you get from installing the service pack. Along with the usual security updates that are needed for the operating system, there are a number of new items that will help you to stay safe on the Internet.

Microsoft has seen fit to add the Windows Security Center. It can be accessed from within the Control Panel. The Security Center checks your system to make sure you have a software firewall, an up-to-date antivirus program and that Automatic Updates is set to download and install updates automatically. If a problem is detected you will receive an alert to the right of the taskbar, above the clock every time you log on, until the problem is corrected. I am sure that someone has a way to turn the alert off, but you will not hear about it here because I would prefer that you just fix the problem. If you click on the alert the Security Center will open. From there, you will need to click on Recommendations to get more information about correcting the problem.

There are also a couple of items of interest that have been added to Internet Explorer to make our surfing life go a little smoother. The first is a very good pop up blocker that is built in. If you click on a link that tries to open a pop up window you will be notified with a bar below the menu. You can click on the bar to allow pop ups from this site for this visit only or always. There are some sites that by design use a pop up window. If you find that a site does not seem to be working correctly, look for the bar to see if the pop up blocker has been activated.

Another nice addition is the Add-ons manager. This option can be accessed from the tools menu in Internet Explorer. It shows you what has been added to Internet Explorer and allows you to disable the Add-ons. There is a list of the currently enabled Add-ons as well as a list of the Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer. I would recommend that if you find that an item has been added that you do not approve of, investigate the program to find out if it is something that you need or an extra that you did not know you agreed to. Most of the programs that have any type of need to connect to the Internet will have an Add-on so be sure to do a little research. You can disable any of the Add-ons and if you have a problem come back and turn them back on.

There are many more reasons to install the service pack than there are excuses why you should not. Take the time to help the rest of us out and install it now. Those of us that like to be safe on the Internet will give you a big thank you for your effort.