What is new in Windows XP SP3

Click here to download SP3 of Windows XP
Some of the new features found in Windows XP SP3 are:
Network Access Protection compatibility (NAP). Announced a while back, this feature enables Windows XP computers to leverage the NAP feature in Windows Server 2008. This is also found in Windows Vista. From a compliance perspective this is a big win, as this element enables users to better protect their network by evaluating the connected system’s heath status, for example, the antivirus pattern level and the patch level of the respective machine. If the computer at time of connection complies with the prerequisite policy element then the machine is allowed network access, if the policy is not met then the machine is quarantined to a network segment, which has limited access to resources. This limited access allows for the machine to be updated to an acceptable level before being scanned again and approved to be used on the production network.From a remote access perspective this feature is useful as travelling users are known to be in “promiscuous mode”, meaning they will connect to any network or computer that they may come across during their time away from the office. This in turn may leave the computer exposed and the vulnerability could be exploited or malware could slip past the antivirus defences. This would potentially lead to a compromise and result in unauthorised access or the malicious software could propagate once the remote user connects. The quarantine option scans and verifies that the computer is protected and set to an acceptable level before being allowed access through to the remote environment. This is a long awaited feature and is welcome in many circles.
Product Key-less install option. As with Windows Vista, XP SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product key during setup. But keep your product key handy as thirty days later you will have to enter the key in or your operating system will be reduced to a limited mode version.
Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module. This feature is a kernel module that "encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms," not quite sure what that entails but I am sure this feature is going to be used to better enhance how XP handles crypto requests at the application layer. More encryption, more protection, as long as the keys are secure. I look forward to this feature and am interested in how vendors will leverage this.
"Black hole" router detection algorithm. This feature enables the XP client to identify routers that drop packets. This is a backported feature found in Windows Vista.
Simple Policy Update for Windows XP: A welcome feature that helps make things easier when it comes to the mysterious topic of XP IPSec; the creation and maintenance of IPSec filters. The simplification of this feature makes it a lot easier to rollout IPSec for domain and network communication.
Digital Identity Management Service (DIMS): This feature enables the users logged into any domain based computer to seamlessly access their certificates and private keys for applications and services.
Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2): This feature adds support for WPA2, or IEEE 802.11i standard. More security for wireless communication is a true relief as natively XP lacked the ability to do this without a third party component. From a security perspective this is a welcome change. I am not sure how many organizations will implement this technology just yet as previously it has suffered from complex design.
1,073 fixes are part of this update. These updates upgrade Windows XP to the very latest version including all the hardware support and software upgrades that are not included in Windows update. A common question is: do I need to install service pack 1 and 2 before installing service pack 3; the simple answer is no, service pack 3 already contains the updates and features of service pack 1 and 2.
Performance After installing it was found that the performances on the laptop improved by 16%. Figures have been reported in the industry of up-to 25% but this still needs to be clarified. The official figures are closer to 10%.