[jsalsb]

I think the best tech tip you can say about service pack 2 is if you have the option, don't install it! It purports to address windows security issues, but it doesn't actually do it through any technical means; it does it by setting defaults that prevent you, the user, from making decisions that might let down your guard.

And this has all sorts of consequences: like giving your computer a rather paranoid opinion of what a malicious program is, and thus preventing you from running many unsigned 3rd party products that make calls on unknown dll’s, macros or other sub-programs. This has particular consequences for older software (like W&W) that was made before the advent of driver signing and other such Microsoft-hegemonic-market-devices-disguised-as-tech-advances.

If you already have it installed, and don't want to completely uninstall it, the second best tech tip for SP2 is "turn off all its features that you can part with - i.e., next to all of them!" This means going to the "security center" in control panel and judiciously turning off everything that stops you from acting in a free yet informed way.

Granted, if you are new to computers, the internet and security issues (and let's face it, that's Microsoft's main market), then you may wish to learn more about these things before deactivating security stuff.