Windows 2000 SP 4 - should I risk it?

I'm a little confused. SP2 is a service pack for XP, not for 2000...so I'm confused why that is mentioned in your post.

The title of your question states windows 2000 SP 4- should I risk it?

The only risk with 2000 sp4 is if you do NOT have it installed on your machine. Sp4 for 2000 has been out for a LONG time and you should DEFINATELY have it on your system because if you don't then your system is vulnerable to security attacks. SP4 for 2000 is much different than SP2 for XP.

Nope I mean Sp2 for 2000. I know it's been out for a long long long  time.

Easy for you to say you should. It took me 2 weeks to sort out the problems before. 2 weeks with no money.

I've got a good firewall and anti virus and spyware running - I was hoping that would be enough.

This is not to say that you won't have to update some drivers, but without a doubt, install sp4 for 2000.

The latest service pack for 2000 is SP4....this incorporates all previous Service Packs for 2000 and you should be installing SP4 for 2000.

If your system is vulnerable due to security holes in windows then no firewall, antivirus, or anti spwyare programs will help you....the first line of defence in security is to keep your systems up to date on PATCHES.

You should go to:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

and install ALL patches listed under "critical updates".  After you install all the critical updates then setup windows automatic updates to alert you when new updates are available.

You are correct in theory. In practice however if I lose my connection to the internet on this PC I have no way of conecting to the internet to get any updates to drivers I might need.
Which means I have no PC.

This may be a stupid belief but I understood that a firewall will 99.999 compensate for any security patches not applied?

It is highly unlikely that installing SP4 will completely kick you off the internet....the only thing I can think of is if your modem's drivers are incompatiable with it...but this is highly unlikely and if you have any doubts, just make sure the driver is up to date before installing sp4. Plus you can always uninstall sp4 or other methods to get your computer back to the state it was before you installed it.

To say that firewall is 99.99 effective EVEN WITH ALL PATCHES is a MAJOR false sense of security. Vendors may lead you to believe there "their" firewall will completely protect your system, but this simply is NOT true.

Do not think that it is ok to have an unpatched system just because you have a firewall and do not ever think you are completely safe just because you have a firewall.

When I installed the service pack for Windows which messed up my system before the uninstall would not work. What do I need to do to make absolutely sure the uninstall will work?

NB: the old dial up modem still doesn't work  - neither me nor someone else who helped to look (I ended up trying to use a PC bought in 1995 with a 14400 modem to look for one) ever found one.

Please review this:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp4/default.asp

Make sure your system meets the system requirements for 2000 sp4.

Go the the website of the manufacturer of your modem and check to make sure you have the latest driver updates.

I don't know if you problems may have occurred because you were trying to install sp2 when sp4 has been out for a LONG time. Did you try "last known good configuration"?

Windows critical updates are your friend believe it or not. They very seldom will cause you problems especially for home users who don't usually run highly customized software.

The IT standard for home users is to install all critical windows updates when they become available. It of course is always advisable to make sure your system is clean of viruses and malware before installing the updates.

I am having a lot of problems with pop up warnings for various IP addresses on the firewall some one has suggested that getting the lastest SP and patches might help. I beginning to come round to the  idea

I didn't try "last known good configuration". I didn't know this option was available on 2000 - where is it?

The problems I'm referring to occured last summer - I don't know the dates but that might make it easier for you to understand why it was SP2 I applied.

NB: my current (new and working)  Modem is a BT Voyager 100

Losing 2 weeks earnings didn't make me very friendly towards the SP's. I had always stayed up to date before that and made sure everyone else I was responsible for did - after taking advice.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but not having a patched system may mean losing more than 2 weeks income in the future.

Well Sp2 for 2000 came out in 2001....Last june...sp4 was released so as of last June...you should have been installing sp4 on your 2000 machine.

When you start your computer up and press F8 like you want to boot into safe mode...there is an option for "last known good configuration". This is a method of troubleshooting for when you install a program or a driver that has caused some problem in your system.

More than likely your old modem wasn't compatiable with sp2 or the driver wasn't up to date or it had some other problem.

Well I'll think about it

Thanks for your help.

You're welcome. I hope you realize that it is a MUST to patch your system and any risk of any complications from patching the system will far out weight your current risk of attack. You talk about lost income....what is the impact if someone gets all your passwords and any information that is typed into your computer? Think about that because that is the risk you are running right now...