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Microsoft has released a toolkit to temporarily block the delivery of Windows XP SP2 to a PC through automatic updates and Windows Update



While recognizing the security benefits of Windows XP SP2, some organizations have requested the ability to temporarily disable delivery of this update via Automatic Updates (AU) and Windows Update (WU). These organizations have populations of PCs, upon which they have enabled AU. This is done to ensure that these PCs receive all critical security updates. Since SP2 will start to be delivered to PCs running Windows XP or Windows XP with SP1 via AU starting on August 16, these customers would like to temporarily block the delivery of SP2 in order to provide additional time for validation and testing of the update. In response to these requests, Microsoft is providing this set of tools.

Please note that the mechanism to temporarily disable delivery of Windows XP SP2 will be available for a period of 120 days (4 months) from August 16. At the end of this period, Windows XP SP2 will be delivered to all Windows XP and Windows XP Service Pack 1 systems.
This toolkit contains 5 components:

1. A Microsoft signed executable
2. A script
3. An ADM template
4. Sample email text with included link to block delivery of Windows XP SP2
5. Sample email text with included link to unblock delivery of Windows XP SP2
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