Second Service Pack for Windows 2000

Microsoft has released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows 2000. It includes a series of regression-tested fixes for security and other operating system-related bugs as well as including the fixes released in SP1, so that both service packs do not need to be applied to new installations. Microsoft recommends SP2 for Windows 2000 Professional, Server, Advanced Server and the Windows 2000 Server Appliance Kit. SP2 will not install on Windows 2000 Datacenter servers-Datacenter service packs are only available from OEMs.

New Features Implemented

Although Microsoft has said it will not ship new features for the operating system in service packs, applying this service pack does make two changes that some might consider as implementing new features.

First, it sets the default level of encryption for Windows 2000 to 128 bits. The U.S. government has relaxed its export restrictions for strong encryption, and this service pack can be shipped to all but a few countries (such as Libya and Cuba). The 128-bit encryption affects all encryption-based services, including Kerberos, the encrypting file system (EPS), remote access services (RAS), remote procedure calls (RPC), secure sockets layer/transport layer security (SSL/TLS), CryptoAPI, Terminal Services remote desktop protocol (RDP), and IPSec/virtual private networks (VPN). On systems that have not yet been upgraded to 128-bit encryption, the service pack will automatically perform the upgrade. Once the service pack has been installed, there is no way to go back to previous levels of encryption.