Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2008, and to the public via both the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update on May 6, 2008.
A total of 1,174 fixes have been included in SP3. Service Pack 3 can be installed on systems with Internet Explorer versions 6, 7, or 8. Internet Explorer 7 and 8 are not included as part of SP3. Service Pack 3 is not available for the 64 bit version of Windows XP, which is based on Windows Server 2003 kernel.
New features in Service Pack 3
- NX APIs for application developers to enable Data Execution Prevention for their code, independent of system-wide compatibility enforcement settings
- Turns black hole router detection on by default
- Support for SHA-2 signatures in X.509 certificates
- Network Access Protection client
- Group Policy support for IEEE 802.1X authentication for wired network adapters.
- Credential Security Support Provider
- Descriptive Security options in Group Policy/Local Security Policy user interface
- An updated version of the Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider Module (RSAENH) that is FIPS 140-2 certified (SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 algorithms)
- Installing without requiring a product key during setup for retail and OEM versions
