BleepingComputer.com: Critical Update Windows XP SP2 Firewall

Critical Update for Windows XP Service Pack 2
December 14, 2004

After you set up Microsoft Windows Firewall in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may discover that your computer can be accessed by anyone on the Internet when you use a dial-up connection to connect to the Internet.

This problem occurs because of the way that Windows Firewall interprets local subnets when the “My network (subnet) only” option is used. Windows Firewall is included with Windows XP SP2.

Details: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/886185

To resolve this problem, you must download and install the Critical Update for Windows XP (KB886185). To do this, visit the following Windows Update Web page:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
DownloadDownload the Critical Update for Windows XP (KB886185) package now. Release Date: P1

Don't forget to get the three additional security updates while you're at it, if you run WinXP.
Dec 14th, 2004

From a similar article:

The update was not included—or mentioned—in the five "important" advisories Microsoft released earlier this week. Two of those bulletins applied to XP SP2, but the severity rating was reduced to "moderate" for those customers.

Microsoft officials could not be reached to discuss why the SP2 update was left out of the scheduled monthly advisories.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...16/tc_zd/141102


The MSKB article is:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/886185

Cheers,
John