After you run Microsoft Windows Update, you may see previously non-existent MSXML 4.0 and Microsoft XML 4.0 Parser Software Development Kit (SDK) menu items under Programs on your Start menu.
This behavior occurs because Windows Update installs the security patch for MSXML 4.0 that is described in the
MS02-008 security bulletin
(http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS02-008.mspx)
.
This security update installs the fixed version of MSXML 4.0 by using the MSXML 4.0 Windows Installer setup package that installs both the MSXML 4.0 version that has the security fix and the SDK, which causes the menu item for the Microsoft XML 4.0 Parser SDK to appear on the Start menu under Programs.
You do not have to do anything if this behavior occurs on your system. Microsoft apologizes for any inconvenience or distraction that the appearance of the new program menu items may cause to you. See the "More Information" section of this article for information about how Windows Update determines whether to install this patch.
You can safely delete the MSXML 4.0 SDK files (which are typically located in the C:\Program Files\MSXML 4.0\doc folder) and any shortcuts that were added by this update to your Desktop or to your Start menu.
This behavior is by design.
Windows Update installs this patch only on computers that already have an older, unfixed version of the MSXML 4.0 parser. This occurs to update the component to a more secure version.
A program that was previously installed on your computer that uses MSXML 4.0, or a Web page that you visited that requires MSXML 4.0 to be installed on the computer to run a client side script, may have installed the parser before redistribution options that do not include the SDK became available. As a result, the related menu items would not have been created.
When Windows Update installs this patch, Windows Update completely removes the unfixed version of the parser, and then uses the full MSXML 4.0 Windows Installer setup package to install the fixed version.
You can remove MSXML 4.0 and its SDK from your computer by using Add/Remove Programs. This removes the parser, the SDK, and the related menu items. However, by doing this, you might also break other existing programs that are installed on your computer and that use MSXML 4.0.