The following was an email alert from one of my Technical Information sites!  If your PC has Windows XP and you receive a notice that Service Pack 3 or SP3 is ready to install – DO NOT DO IT!  Microsoft says it is not from them.  You can read the email below.

I know it has only been 24 hours since my last email but this news is just surfacing on the Internet and could be a timely warning for you.

It seems an "unofficial" Windows XP Service Pack has been made available on the Internet and anyone who installs it on their computers could be in trouble!

Here is one quote from Microsoft I have read:

"Anyone who installs this thinking they are getting SP3 (even as a preview) is being grossly mislead and is posing a significant potentially non-recoverable risk to their PC and data," wrote Mike Brannigan, an enterprise strategy and senior consultant at Microsoft.

SO BE WARNED!

...if you come across a link with a suggestion you download the software then AVOID it.

Microsoft has said that its priority is Windows Vista, the next major release of its operating system.

While the company does have plans to release XP SP3, it has not provided details on what the service pack will contain. Microsoft has issued a statement saying that the "content on the unofficial website(s) does not represent Microsoft's plans for Windows XP SP3."

Got a friend who uses Windows XP? Then why not send them a copy of this email...

Dennis H. Morales, AD6EZ<><

Goleta, CA 93117