Office 2003 users can expect to be force-fed the third service pack for the office suite when Microsoft deploys the latest SP via its automatic update service beginning Feb. 27.  If they don't want the update, users will have to completely opt out of Microsoft Update's automatic update service, as Microsoft is not providing a way to block Office 2003 SP3 exclusively, a spokesperson told eWEEK.

But Microsoft is encouraging customers to install the service pack. "Microsoft Update continues to be an opt-in service and any customers wishing to remove themselves from the service can do so at any time, although we do not recommend that users do so. That said, because of the impact this service pack has on end-user security, we highly recommend that any customer who has not downloaded it does so," Reed Shaffner, product manager for Office, told eWEEK Jan. 28.

For more on Office 2003 SP 3, see the article by Peter Galli on eWeek.com.