Microsoft Pulls Web-Blocking XP Patch

A s if you needed another reason to love OS X, or at least wonder why Big Redmondis products are so popular: Wired News is reporting that some users of Windows XP found that they could no longer ply the digital ocean that is the Internet after installing the latest Microsoft patch. This forced the company to remove the XP patch from circulation. The problem, according to the Wired story, is that Microsoftis patch conflicted with other software. From the Wired News article, titled "Windows Users Knocked Off Net:"

Microsoft withdrew a security improvement for its flagship Windows XP software after it crippled Internet connections for some of the 600,000 users who installed it. Microsoft officials said Tuesday the update -- which had been available as an option since Friday on its "Windows Update" Web site -- apparently was incompatible with popular security software from other companies, such as Symantec.

Microsoft said Internet connections failed immediately for an unspecified number of more than 600,000 computers using Windows XP who downloaded and installed the update. Consumers could reconnect only by removing the update, which promised to improve reliability for types of secure Internet connections commonly used by corporations.

The article then goes on to talk about concerns in Washington over the reliability of patches in general. Read the full story at Wired News.