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As part of a company-wide effort to increase the security of its software, Microsoft Wednesday shipped a package of its latest security fixes for users of the Windows 2000 desktop and server operating system.

Called the Security Rollup Package, this bundle of fixes is the first to come from the Redmond, Washington, software maker as part of a new strategy to improve the security of Microsoft products and thus protect users. Until now, the company has typically released software fixes in what are called service packs. In May 2001, Microsoft released the second service pack for Windows 2000, consisting of roughly 500 bug fixes for the desktop and server software.

The decision to offer interim security-focused packs between service pack releases reflects a recent push from the company's top executives to improve its often tarnished security track record. In a memo that was leaked to the press earlier this month, Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, detailed the company's new focus on what he called "trustworthy computing." The effort has since officially been dubbed the Strategic Technology Protection Program.

"Microsoft is going to be doing more of this since it raised the bar on security," says Rob Enderle, research fellow with Giga Information Group in San Jose. "Everything it does in security from now on will have to do somehow with the new strategy."

Latest and Greatest

The rollup package includes more than 40 security fixes for Windows 2000 systems that were discovered after Microsoft shipped its second service pack for the operating system in May 2001.

Some of the fixes in the rollup package have yet to be released publicly, but most are already available via Microsoft security bulletins, the company says.

Some fixes are designed to seal holes that leave the software open to denial-of-service attacks, while others are intended to plug gaps that could allow a hacker to access and manipulate data in a system.

The new security rollup package is available only to users of Windows 2000 Professional, Server, and Advanced Server editions who have previously installed Windows 2000 Service Pack 2. The packaging of the fixes allows a user to install all the recommended updates with one download and a single reboot, Microsoft says.

The security pack is available on Microsoft's Web site.

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