Microsoft took yet another step on Thursday to beef up security of Windows XP, announcing it is adding support for Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) to Windows XP Service Pack 2.Available as a free download now, the new update is intended to provide both enterprises and mobile users with higher levels of protection for wireless threats. Support for the Wi-Fi Alliance standard also means a raft of different government agencies and healthcare providers can now deploy wireless networks for the first time, Microsoft officials noted.Another advantage to the update is its added support for Wireless Provisioning Services Element (WPS IE), which allows wireless Internet service providers to easily migrate to more secure Wi-Fi hot spots. It does this by enabling support for both secured and unsecured Wi-Fi networks on a single network infrastructure during a migration, company officials explained. “For wireless computing to continue growing, consumers and enterprises need to trust that their information is safe and secure when accessed on these networks,” said Jawad Khaki, corporate vice president of Windows Networking & Device Technologies at Microsoft.The WPA2 technology ensures that a PC’s wireless software is compatible with IEEE 802.11i, which is the security standard developed specifically for Wi-Fi networks, Microsoft officials noted. By building on the protections of the earlier Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) specification, the Wi-Fi Alliance standard offers the level of data encryption mandated by the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 specification, they said. The WPA2 also helps healthcare organizations meet the privacy requirements for personal medical information required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).The new upgrade can be downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=662bb74d-e7c1-48d6-95ee-1459234f4483&displaylang=en Technology Industry