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WinXP SP1 leaked, then unleaked again – or not?

Spoilsports...

Windows XP Service Pack 1 seems to have been out for the past few hours and, contrary to our earlier report, remains out as of 4pm GMT. Sort of.

As is now traditional with Microsoft service packs, a download URL for SP1 leaked out onto the web, although ordinary people aren't supposed to get access to the code until next Monday.

The leak seems to have been a security goof on Microsoft's part. SP1 was being offered via Microsoft's Premier Support site, but whoever did this forgot to put any security in, so it was available to anyone who had the link. This was the case for both the English language and German versions. Activewin.com, seems to have spotted it first, and although one of the Activewin users claims it's been pulled, Byron Hinson tells us it's still there, just being hammered.

You can understand our earlier mistake - when the meter had sat at 358 hours and 20 seconds for an hour, and still showed zero downloaded, we jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Whatever, on our repeat try the meter is now showing 38 hours and nine minutes**, with zero downloaded. You bcan get the links to it over at Activewin, but from the look of it you'll still be downloading it when it's out for real, in around 168 hours.

We at The Register are however confident that Microsoft will not break with tradition, and that a new, more durable SP1 leak link will appear soon. In fact we're pretty sure it's already out there somewhere. ®

* NB, we know illicit downloads of the RTM SP1 from last Friday have been bleeding gently across the web, but if we knew a host that wasn't currently bombed, which we don't, and if we told you where it was, which we won't, then that server in its turn would be bombed. So it's all a bit pointless, OK?

** 52 hours and 53 minutes.

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