Microsoft: Disable or Remove the Pilot of WGA Notifications
Microsoft is providing end users with the instructions necessary to disable or remove altogether the WGA Notifications anti-piracy mechanism from Windows XP.
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1.9.2008 About WGA, WGA Notifiction and WGA Patcher
Thanks to Matt for this article in our forum. Current WGA version- 1.5.723.1 As Of 12/18/06. Current WGA Patcher version-WGA Patcher Permanent Kit v1.0!
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19.2.2007 Remove Windows Vista Validation update (KB929391)
channi011 write this Solution to Windows Vista Validation update (KB929391) - READ CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS.
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2.1.2006 Safely Remove Hardware fix for Windows Vista
When you click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the notification area on a Windows Vista based computer, and then you click Safely remove Device_name, the device may not be removed as expected.
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5.9.2007 Remove or Restore New Briefcase At Right Click Menu of Windows 7 and Vista
Briefcase is an ancient feature in Windows operating system, existed since Windows 95. Briefcase works as a special folder that supports two-way file synchronization with another folder on local disk or external USB/FireWire drive and network drive.
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13.6.2009 Uninstall or Remove Windows Vista Validation Update (KB929391) and Workarounds
Windows Vista Validation Update (
KB929391) has just been
released and deployed to Vista computer that are what called by Microsoft as “
frankenbuild” system that use the workaround of mixing files from RC and RTM build to activate the Windows Vista.
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20.12.2006 Disable and Remove Half-Open TCP Connections Limit (to Unlimited) in Windows 7 and Vista SP2 with EnableConnectionRateLimitin Registry Key
Officially, the incomplete half-open outbound TCP connection attempts allowed at any one time is now unlimited by default in Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP2 (Service Pack 2), and Windows 7. Actually, the ability to limit or restrict number of half-open outgoing TCP connections system can create or establish is built into Windows Vista SP2 and Windows 7, however its disabled by default.
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8.6.2009 WGA to be baked into Vista
My blogging colleague Ed Bott has seen the future, re: Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA). And its not pretty.
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26.9.2006 Paradox Vista activator + WGA crack
Mrx report this activator in
our forum by words: "This is the newest Activation+WGA crack, you can download all updates for now from Windows Update."
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5.3.2007 Paradox activate + WGA for 32bit Vista
Thanks to shudogg for this post in our forum. shudogg wrote: This is the best Windows Vista Crack I have found. It is by Paradox, and some of you may have seen it in Pantheon's Vista Ultimate release.
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23.4.2007 Forget about the WGA! 20+ Windows Vista
Forget about the WGA! 20+ Windows Vista Features and Services Harvest User Data for Microsoft - From your machine! Thanks to odeeee for this post.
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1.7.2007 Vista RTM x86 & x64 WGA Cracker v1.0
One of our users report this crack. It work with all versions of RTM Windows Vista x86 & x64. Your windows will be 100% genuine and you will be able to install all updates.
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17.2.2007 Top Rated Windows Vista Cracks - When WGA Fails
inuyasha62....Is now Famous (Softpedia). There is little tangible proof of the success of the Windows Genuine Advantage mechanism. Microsoft itself has only statistics as the palpable sign of the fact that the WGA is hard at work.
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30.5.2007 Microsoft Confirms Over 50% Windows Vista Price Cut and WGA Failure
Microsoft confirmed independent reports revealing that Windows Vista prices will be cut in half. On August 1, Zan Xiaoqin, representing 8844.com, a Beijing Federal Software online software distributor, indicated that the Redmond company will take drastic measures in China in order to boost Windows Vista in the competition with local pirated copies of the operating system.
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3.8.2007 New WGA Update to Detect and Nuke Windows Vista SoftMod Activation Crack
Microsoft has decided to tighten the grip on ability for pirates and crackers to crack and bypass Windows Vista activation scheme, by releasing an WGA update to Windows Vista Ultimate Edition based system that will detect the presence of SoftMod hack activation exploit, which is currently been pioneered by Vista Loader. However, its unclear if the WGA technology update will indeed detect both SoftMod and Vista Loader, or just SoftMod activation crack, which is the predecessor version to much enhanced Vista Loader.
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26.2.2009 States rush to remove data on residents from websites
States across the USA are furiously removing sensitive data from official websites.
The task highlights challenges facing states with sites full of personal information on residents, from Social Security numbers to bank account numbers.
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24.4.2006 How To Remove and Disable Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool
Windows 7 and Windows Vista comes with a memory diagnostic utility named as Windows Memory Diagnostic. Windows Memory Diagnostic is an utility that capable of scan, check and diagnose computers memory subsystem including physical RAM modules or sticks.
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5.10.2009 Microsoft AntiSpy program will remove Sony's DRM Rootkit
From antimalware blog:
I've been getting a lot of questions in the last week about Microsoft's position on the Sony DRM and rootkit discussions, so I thought I'd share a little info on what we're doing here. We are concerned about any malware and its impact on our customers' machines. Rootkits have a clearly negative impact on not only the security, but also the reliability and performance of their systems.
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14.11.2005 Remove Unnecessary Startup Entries To Boot Windows Faster
Sometimes it's very frustrating when your computer is booting up Windows very slowly especially when someone calls you up to check something on your computer, and you need to call back because your computer takes ages to boot.
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5.5.2007 How-To: Remove the Windows BSOD icon in Leopard, make OS X a little less smug
It's pretty clear that Apple left no stone unturned in Leopard, making changes and fixes throughout the new operating system.
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31.10.2007 How To Reset, Remove, Clear or Reveal CMOS BIOS Security Password
There are times that we need to reset the computers BIOS security password. Yesterday I was at the local government technical school facility and the person who is in charge of the computer told me that they are not able to reinstall Windows because they are not able to get in the BIOS to set the boot order as it is password protected. The lecturers do not know the password as it is not set by them, but by some unknown student.
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6.7.2008 WinUpdateList - View, Uninstall or Remove Windows Updates & Hot Fixes
In past we have covered Windows Update Remover tool to uninstall and remove windows update and hot fixes from windows xp.
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29.9.2009 Disable and Remove OGA Office Not Genuine Notifications Uninstall KB949810
After installing Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) Notifications (KB949810) from Windows Update, OGA Validation will perform genuine test on installed Microsoft Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007 and Office 2010 software. If Office product is validated as not genuine, This copy of Microsoft Office is not genuine notification message will be displayed on notification area (system tray), at splash screen during Office program (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) startup, and at Offices toolbar or ribbon with extra Get Genuine Office tab or element.
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18.10.2009 Disable and Remove URGE Online Store in Windows Media Player 11 (WMP11)
Windows Media Player 11 (WMP11) for Windows XP is the latest Windows Media Player (WMP) for Windows Vista, and available as free standalone program downloadable from Micrsoft for genuine Windows XP SP2 users. WMP 11 features Windows Vista-like feel and touch user interface, plus several other improvements and enhancements.
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20.11.2006 Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience - Part VIII: Add or Remove Programs
In part eight of the our tweaking series well go through a few Control Panel optimizations for Windows XP power users that may not interest most people using their operating system for basic tasks.
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26.12.2008 Download Hard Drive Powerwash to Remove Unused Clutter Files in Windows System
Previously we mentioned about BitFinder that can scan for duplicated files to conserve your hard disk space, but if you are looking for some freeware that can do more than that, then this tiny utility may fit your need.
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29.9.2009 New WGA Tool on it's way
An updated version of Microsoft's WGA Tool for Windows XP, is on it's way out thru Windows Update.
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1.12.2006 Watermark Removal Script - Remove Watermark From Windows 7 RC Build 7100
Windows 7 RC WatermarkLike Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 Watermark, Windows 7 RC Build 7100 also has watermark which many users dont like to have on their desktop.
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16.5.2009 Windows Update Remover - Uninstall and Remove Windows XP Updates
Many users tend to set their Windows XP Automatic Updates on so that the OS will routinely check the Windows Updates Web site for new high-priority Windows security patches, critical updates, hot fixes, service packs, etc to protect the computer from the latest security threats.
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3.5.2009 Remove and Uninstall Microsoft Office Activation Assistant - Fix Office Must Be Installed Error
On most OEM computers running Microsoft Windows operating system, regardless of its a desktop, notebook or laptop PC, now comes with pre-loaded trial version of Microsoft Office 2007, primarily Home and Student Edition, which is a time-limited product for evaluation if use without proper activation.
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17.8.2008XP Pro to receive WGA similar to Vista SP1
Remember how everyone was excited about how Vista SP1 received a WGA update to not block you from your computer?
Well, the same is coming
to Windows XP. (Professional only, though. Who would want to pirate XP Home?)
From the WGA Blog:
With this update to
WGA Notifications in Windows XP, we've implemented a couple of related features that draw on the notifications experience we designed for Windows
Vista SP1. After installing this version of WGA Notifications on a copy of Windows XP that fails the validation, most users will discover on their
next logon that their desktop has changed to a plain black background from whatever was there previously (see below).
The desktop
background can be reset to anything else in the usual ways, but every 60 minutes it will change back to the plain black background. This will continue
to happen until that copy of Windows is genuine.
Also, the user will see the addition of what we call the "persistent desktop
notification." This notification is similar to a watermark but works a bit differently. The image (see below) appears over the system tray and is
non-interactive in the sense that you can't click on it or do anything to it.
As with previous releases, if a copy of Windows fails
validation, notifications will appear above the system tray regularly - and we will continue to have the pre-logon message, the logon interrupt
message and the messages that appear from the system tray. jcxp.net -
27.08.2008The real reason(s) behind Microsofts move to exorcise WGA from IE7
A day after Microsoft rolled out a refresh of Internet Explorer (IE) 7 that no longer requires Windows Genuine Validation (WGA) checks, industry
watchers are speculating as to why the company did so.
The IE team, for its part, will say nothing more than what it posted on
October 4 to the IE Team Blog:
Because Microsoft takes its commitment to help protect the entire Windows ecosystem seriously, were updating the
IE7 installation experience to make it available as broadly as possible to all Windows users
In other words: Microsoft was worried that
pirates might not be protected by all the security goodness the company has added to IE, so it decided to remove piracy checks from the IE 7
download process.
Not surprisingly, there are other theories as to why Microsoft removed WGA from the browser...
winbeta.org -
05.10.2007Microsoft removes another one of WGA's fangs
This morning Microsoft announced another noteworthy change to its flagship Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program - an update to be rolled out later
this month to all Vista users that will display a WGA warning dialog box when it detects either of two common Vista activation cracks. In the same
announcement, they also for the first time showed screen shots of how WGA changes debuting in SP1 will take some of the bite out of a longstanding
Windows product activation rule as well.
Now-departed Microsoft marketing chief Michael Sievert announced last December that Service Pack 1
would drop Vista’s “reduced functionality mode” (the notorious “kill switch”) in favor of a series of notifications and
nag screens. WGA senior product manager Alex Kochis posted the details of today’s changes, with screen shots, on Microsoft’s Windows
Genuine Advantage blog today.
Read
full story.....
neowin.net -
22.02.2008Even with Vista SP1, Hackers Still Crack WGA
The fact that Microsoft has relaxed its antipiracy mechanism built into Windows Vista concomitantly with the release of Service Pack 1 failed
to stop hackers from providing a crack for the latest version of Windows Genuine Advantage Validation. Various reports point out that Genuine
Advantage Validation and Notifications versions 1.7.69.1 (1.7.0069.1) and 1.7.69.2 released in March 2008, following the March 18 availability of
Windows Vista SP1 through Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center, have been cracked.
The workaround is designed to be integrated
with pirated copies of Windows XP and Windows Vista in order to render useless the WGA Validation mechanism. According to the reports, applying the
WGA crack will permit users of counterfeit versions of Windows to access and download items from Windows Update, Microsoft Download Center and
Microsoft Update. The pirated operating systems with the cracked WGA will pass all validations on Microsoft's websites and offer anything from
updates to applications that are restricted to users of genuine operating systems only.
neowin.net - 02.04.2008
Microsoft to release update to detect Vista activation exploits
Alex Kochis: <...> Later this month Microsoft will release an update to Windows Vista through Windows Update that will enable Gold and SP1-installed
systems to detect the presence of the Grace Timer and OEM BIOS exploits then alert the customer of their presence. The dialog box (shown below) also
provides customers with guidance about what they can do to fix it and provides a Web link for more details, so that customers can learn about the
particular exploit and learn how to disable and remove it. If they are a victim of software piracy, the linked Web pages will provide information on
how to get genuine software.
winbeta.org - 22.02.2008
Microsoft Responds to WGA
Concerns
Microsoft late Friday publicly
responded to widespread
reports that a recent change
to its Windows Genuine
Advantage program caused the
software to contact Microsoft
servers on a daily basis. The
company says it will soon
release an update to make WGA
only call home every 14 days...
betanews.com - 10.06.2006
Vista, Acronis TrueImage 11 and GRUB Error 22
Jonathan Schlaffer: Those of you with Vista know that there can be boot problems after you have cloned your existing installation to a faster or
larger hard drive (it works best when its both). And, sometimes after cloning, there can be activation issues as well
which I have encountered in the past.
Some say those issues are gone due to updates to the way WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage)
works in Vista but Microsoft should rename their DRM protection system to Windows Genuine Annoyance.
These problems did not exist
under XP but it appears that Vista places undue importance on the hard drive when deciding whether or not to deactivate itself. I am aware that SP1
changes the way WGA works slightly but that cannot change what has happened in the past.
winbeta.org - 25.12.2007
Microsoft finally earns a passing grade (barely) for WGA
Microsoft launched its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) anti-piracy program in early summer 2006. Its first year was, to put it charitably, a disaster.
An epic fail. A big fat F on the years report card.
A certain amount of error is inevitable in any activation and registration
system, but those numbers were clearly too high when WGA first rolled out. In an interview last week, Microsoft WGA director Alex Kochis tacitly
acknowledged that fact, pointing out that weve made major strides in the accuracy of the program in the past two years.
winbeta.org - 05.09.2008
Microsoft to beef up anti-piracy checks in Vista SP1
Microsoft will change the user experience of its automatic anti-piracy checks in Windows Vista and also make it harder for hackers to bypass the
system in the first service pack for the OS due out early next year. Once Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is installed on a PC, that computer will
no longer go into limited functionality mode if a user or administrator fails to activate Vista on that system in 30 days, or if the system fails
Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation, which checks to see if a version of Vista is pirated or counterfeit. In Vista, WGA is
called the Software Protection Program feature.
In limited functionality mode, a computer will shut down after 60 minutes and then allow
only browser use. Now, instead of going into that mode, a version of Vista that has not been activated in 30 days will start up with a black screen
and a dialogue box that gives users the choice of activating Vista now or later, said Alex Kochis, a group product manager at Microsoft.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 04.12.2007
Microsoft Pledge: No More WGA Funny Business
Microsoft has been painstakingly reviewing the operations and procedures behind its Windows Genuine Advantage license validation tool, with a view to
ironing out glitches that have cause problems for legitimate Windows users. Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) is designed to combat piracy by installing
software on users' PC that periodically checks to see if their version of Windows is authentic before allowing them to download updates.
In a Tuesday Weblog entry, Alex Kochis, senior product manager in the Windows Genuine Advantage group, said the WGA team has been studying its WGA
operations and processes and will handle future WGA issues more efficiently than it has in the past. WGA has been a source of much frustration for
users since it was launched in 2005, and recent incidents have fanned the flames of WGA loathing among Microsoft's customers and partners.
The WGA team has changed the way it rolls out updates to the back-end servers and has also been shoring up the infrastructure on which WGA is
based. In addition to revamping its monitoring of WGA servers, Microsoft is also implementing 24x7 customer support and phone based technical support
to its North American customers, Kochis wrote.
neowin.net - 22.11.2007
Addressing WGA validation issues
From what I personally noticed while reading about the WGA issue around the web, it was much more than just a "very few customers were affected".
Perhaps Microsoft should rethink their validation strategy after this near-disaster?
Earlier today (25 August) we began
receiving reports of Windows Vista customers running genuine systems but experiencing failures when attempting a Windows Genuine Advantage validation.
This situation has since been resolved and validations are now being processed successfully.
We've since learned that very
few customers were affected. Sr. Product Manager Alex Kochis and a team of engineers have been working on the issue and has blogged about it to keep customers
up-to-date. Customers who received an incorrect validation response can fix their system by revalidating. I'd encourage anyone who received a validation failure since Friday evening to visit this site now; after
successfully revalidating, any affected system should be rebooted to ensure that genuine-only features are restored.
Alex will be
updating his blog with information as more information comes to light.
winbeta.org - 26.08.2007
Windows Genuine Advantage: Learning and Improving
WGA Team: While some time has passed since the WGA temporary service outage we had back in August, I wanted to share some more about what we've
learned since then and the steps we've been taking to prevent this sort of thing from happening again.
First off, we've been
taking another hard look at our operations and the tools and processes we use to run the validation service for WGA, and we've made some changes
including to how we roll out updates to the back-end servers (it was a specific upgrade to our system that analyzes product keys that caused the issue
in August) and we've been adding to and improving the tools used to make sure our infrastructure is solid. As part of that, we've revamped the
monitoring that is used to track what's happening within our server infrastructure so that we can identify potential problems faster - ideally before
any customer gets impacted. But also as part of that, we've been making changes in how we can help our customers when an issue does arise that
impacts them.
winbeta.org - 22.11.2007
Microsoft Adds Firefox Support
to WGA
Firefox users may still be out
of the luck when it comes to
Windows Update, but they can
now download files from
Microsoft that require Windows
Genuine Advantage validation
thanks to a new plug-in. WGA
checks to make sure the
Windows license is legit and
is now a requirement on the
Microsoft Download Center...
betanews.com - 17.11.2005
SP1 brings with it a softer, gentler, naggier WGA
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Windows Vista SP1 brings with it a new tweaked version of the WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) anti-piracy scheme. How does
this look to the end user?
Check out the complete SP1 WGA gallery here.
Currently Vista offers two different user experiences to those considered to be running non-genuine
installations of Vista <...> As of SP1, both these states are gone and if a system is considered to be non-genuine it will enter what I can call a nag
state. In this state users will see:
- A nag screen to activate at logon that cannot be dismissed for 15 seconds.
-
Every hour the desktop background is switched to black (it can be changed back, but after an hour its set to black again).
- Activation
dialogs and balloon dialogs appear regularly.
- Optional Windows Updates arent delivered.
So, instead of losing
functionality, the user is nagged to activate...
winbeta.org - 10.02.2008
Boost to anti-piracy check in Vista SP1
Microsoft will change the user experience of its automatic anti-piracy checks in Windows Vista and also make it harder for hackers to bypass the
system in the first service pack for the OS due out early next year.
Once Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is installed on a
PC, that computer will no longer go into limited functionality mode if a user or administrator fails to activate Vista on that system in 30 days or if
the system fails Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation, which checks to see if a version of Vista is pirated or counterfeit. In
Vista, WGA is called the Software Protection Program feature.
In limited functionality mode, a computer will shut down after 60
minutes and then allow only browser use. Now, instead of going into that mode, a version of Vista that has not been activated in 30 days will start up
with a black screen and a dialogue box that gives users the choice of activating Vista now or later, said Alex Kochis, a group product manager at
Microsoft.
winbeta.org - 04.12.2007
Microsoft clarifies WGA 'phoning home'
A post has
been made to the Windows
Genuine Advantage team blog,
explaining why the latest WGA
Notifications package sends
install telemetry when
installed or canceled.
Article continues
at source...
jcxp.net - 13.03.2007
Microsoft WGA phones home?
Analysts over at the German
web site Heise Online have uncovered a curious behavior with the
latest Windows Genuine
Advantage (WGA) update. The
update is intended to patch
the latest hole that hackers
have used to work around the
WGA utility, which checks to
see if the users' copy of
Windows is genuine or pirated.
According to tests conducted
with an Ethernet sniffer
program, if the user clicks
the close button to cancel the
installation of this WGA
update, Windows sends some
information back to Microsoft
over the wires.
This information
includes version numbers of
both Windows and WGA, the
language of the operating
system, some registry
information, and a cookie.
Some hackers are worried that
Microsoft is going to use this
information to identify
potential pirates, but
Microsoft claims that the data
is only used to try and
diagnose failures with the WGA
utility itself. The outgoing
data can be blocked, if
desired, by personal firewall
software or hardware router.
jcxp.net - 13.03.2007
Microsoft Denies Kill Switch
Earlier this week there were
reports flying about that
Microsoft was actually using
the WGA as a means to shut off
pirates or anyone who doesn?t
comply with the update. The
people at Redmond now have
made a statement to dispel
those rumors.
Microsoft Corp. today denied
speculation that it plans to
cripple copies of Windows XP
for users who refuse to
install its controversial
antipiracy tool, Windows
Genuine Advantage (WGA).
All the WGA has
netted Microsoft at this point
is bad press and even a
lawsuit or two.
jcxp.net - 02.07.2006
Microsoft: No PC-to-PC Sync in
Vista
In the seemingly never-ending
list of features to be
stripped from Windows Vista,
yet another has fallen by the
wayside. Microsoft made a
decision to remove PC-to-PC
synchronization from Windows
Vista, Microsoft Watch
reported...
betanews.com - 08.06.2006
Microsoft sends harsh reality check to OEMs
Last week, Microsoft sent
certified letters to its OEM
partners regarding Vista's
anti-piracy technology -- or,
more accurately, what happens
if they dare ship a system
with a "non-genuine" copy of
Vista.
The answer:
The system is crippled for 30
days, then hosed entirely
until you pony up for a
license. This is apparently
what Microsoft means when it
http://oem.microsoft.com/downl
oads/public/US/wgavista/genuin
e.pdf>warns of a "diminished
user experience."
This would be fine if
Microsoft were a reasonably
competent organization and
Windows Genuine Advantage
worked flawlessly. True
pirates deserve to be
punished. But Microsoft isn't
and WGA doesn't at least,
judging by the many letters I
got from Cringesters who
bought legit OEM copies of XP
from major manufacturers, only
to have WGA label them as
pirates. ..
winbeta.org - 04.06.2007
