Microsoft releases Windows XP update with tougher security

Rich Kaplan, Microsoft Vice President of Security Business and Technology Unit, is shown using the new Windows Security Center, a key feature of Windows XP Service Pack 2, at Microsoft corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington 05 August, 2004. The free security update will be available at www.microsoft.com/protect. PHOTO: AFP

The update, dubbed Service Pack 2, had originally been expected as early as June. The world's biggest software firm began providing the update to computer makers on Friday and will begin sending it to its large corporate customers this week.

Individual users will be able to download the free update over the Internet, either through Microsoft's website or by the system's automatic update feature.

The update will be available in 25 languages other than English over the next two months, the company said in a statement.

Since its release three years ago, security flaws have opened Windows XP to several attacks by computer viruses.

"Service Pack 2 is a significant step in delivering on our goal to help customers make their PCs better isolated and more resilient in the face of increasingly sophisticated attacks," Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said in a statement.

Microsoft expects to distribute the update to some 100 million personal computers through automatic updates over the next two months, it said.