Office XP Service Pack Editor's Review

While the initial releases of Microsoft products such as Office and Windows are usually typically solid and secure releases, as time goes on there will be need for updates. You can, as many prefer, choose to update your software when each release comes out, but there are still major updates that will be released as a greater, repackaged bundle. This update bundle is called a Service Pack and Microsoft releases them periodically for Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) features, as the first two service packs for Microsoft Office XP did, major security flaws, bug fixes, and general vulnerabilities. It aims to improve performance and security simultaneously by ironing out errors that users have found since the release of SP2. Office XP SP3 also includes the updates that made up the SP1 and SP2 updates as well. This means that if you are running a fresh installation of Office XP and need to perform the latest updates, an SP3 update removes the need to update to SP1 and then SP2.

Pro's: Improves security and performance in the Microsoft Office XP suite.

Con's: Still inevitability has bugs and security flaws, as Microsoft has moved towards more recent versions of the Office suite.

Conclusion: If you are still using Microsoft Office XP, either by choice or through system specification limitation, then the SP3 is an essential installation. The difference between the standard, fresh installation of Office XP and SP3 update is great, and you will notice the differences straight away. As with all older versions of software, however, this still has its drawbacks. Updating to SP3 is not going to be the same as upgrading your entire Office suite to 2010. For those stuck with Office XP go for this update, but if you aren’t, then now is probably time for an upgrade.