On November 4, Microsoft announced that so far it has distributed Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2--released in August) to more than 110 million customers worldwide. The new service pack introduces a new Windows Security Center to  XP desktops, which provides a centralized location to view and manage a system's security-related components. 

So far 29 antivirus vendors have integrated their products into the Security Center's interface, which can direct customers to a special Web site if their antivirus software needs updates. Microsoft said that so far 12.5 million users have visited that Web site and the company views the level of traffic as an indication of the success of  XP SP2.