Are you ready for it? I suspect guys like myself, Matt, and Jeff are going to be very busy for the next little while… “Microsoft took the final major online step in distributing Windows XP Service Pack 2 on Wednesday by posting the service pack to Windows Update and starting the distribution to Windows XP Professional customers via Automatic Update.

Windows XP SP2 is a major security overhaul of Microsoft’s flagship client operating system. In addition to the usual bug and security fixes, the service pack features a new Windows Firewall, a Windows Security Center dashboard, pop-up blocking, spyware protections and improvements to the security of Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.

Although the automatic updating is beginning for Windows XP Professional, not all systems will get the service pack today. Microsoft executives say the timing will vary based on location, network traffic and other factors.”