RSSMicrosoft Launches Piracy Reminders
By Nate Mook | Published June 27, 2006, 1:14 PM
Microsoft on Tuesday said it had completed the pilot phase for WGA Notifications, officially rolling out the anti-piracy reminders to Windows XP users worldwide. The company has made minor changes to the program in response to customer concern regarding its "phone home" functionality.
WGA Notifications is a component of Windows Genuine Advantage, an anti-piracy program implemented to detect counterfeit copies of Windows XP. The first piece of this initiative, WGA Validation, was launched in July 2005.
Microsoft later expanded the program with WGA Notifications, which causes users running counterfeit versions of Windows to be notified directly on their desktop that their operating system is not legitimate. While WGA has been generally well received, reports surfaced earlier this month that WGA Notifications connects to Microsoft servers on a daily basis.
The new sparked an outcry from privacy advocates who noted that Microsoft would know the user's IP address and the time they connected. Microsoft responded quickly, explaining that the feature was designed as a "safety switch" that would let the company disable WGA Notifications during the pilot phase if need be.
Now that testing is completed, Microsoft is delivering a new version of the tool to customers. The update no longer checks a configuration file located on Microsoft's servers, but the program will still communicate with the company periodically.
When asked how often customers' computers will connect to Microsoft, the company told BetaNews, " The frequency varies depending upon license type, but typically takes place every 90 days or so. This enables Microsoft to update our list of bad keys, and ensure that newly discovered counterfeits are not proliferating."
Microsoft has also changed the End-User Licensing Agreement (EULA) to more clearly specify the purpose of WGA Notifications. Although users rarely read such agreements, the company says it provides details on what customers should consider before installing the tool, along with an updated privacy statement covering its behavior.
Users can choose not to install the new version of WGA Notifications, Microsoft says. The company is providing instructions on how to remove the previous version of the software for those who do not want to upgrade. However, it's not clear whether WGA Notifications will install automatically through Automatic Updates in Windows.
In addition, Customers who do not install WGA Notifications will have the same restrictions as those with a non-genuine copy of Windows. Critical security updates can still be obtained through Automatic Updates, but no other downloads can be made through the Microsoft download center or Windows Update.
All English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch and Brazilian Portuguese users of Windows XP running Automatic Updates will soon be offered an updated package with a new version of WGA Notifications, Microsoft said.
Users who may have unknowingly purchased counterfeit software are eligible for a free genuine copy at no cost as long as they fill out a piracy report as well as provide proof of purchase and surrender the counterfeit CDs. Microsoft says about 60% of users promoted to install WGA do so.
ET. Still phones home when it feels like.It's more like 90 minutes not 90 days..We would all take free stuff.Thats why locks are for honest people..
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|I see the Microsoft fanboys are out in full force here. Yet its just fine when Microsoft steals from customers. Hypocrites.
http://news.com.com/2100...1027598.html?tag=fd_top
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|Reminders!... Like we could actually forget with all the news articles added recently, to websites suchas Arcon5 offering Microsoft News.
http://www.arcon5.com
People only do as prompted because they are not wise enough to know otherwise.
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|Microsoft is just trying to control every thing...
DESABLE WGA:
http://zxo.blogspot.com/...osoft-piracy-alarm.html
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|Please stop spamming the forums with your blog.
Thank you.
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|The only link the tool gives to "pirated" users is an offer to buy at a discount.
I had a whole company here that paid for legit XP Pro and all systems fail to verify. We never found a "free" offer.
Got a link?
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|One thing I find a little ironic:
Earlier this month, my computer told me that I was using a pirated copy of Windows for about a week.
I've had this copy of Win XP Pro loaded on this exact same computer for 2 and a half years. The only upgrade its had is 1GB of added memory last year, and I didn't have to re-validate when I put it in. This machine has been WGA'd the heck out of and passed every time.
The notification was an extreme pain, popping up every 15 minutes, and it changed my logon screen.
It finally did go away, but needless to say, I'm not a big fan of this program anymore - not that I was before. It seems there are still some glitches...
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|if it worked great id be all for it phoning home every 10 minutes to catch pirates, but as it stands i think ole billy is better off not using it.
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|Agreed 100%. I would support it if it actually worked. =p
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|Haven't seen a problem with any computers so far, wincement. I'd say it works fine - you might want to check your own PC for connectivity issues, as that's the only real reason for it to have problems, from what I've seen.
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|lol...
All I use this computer for makes use of my Internet connection. It's connected to a business fiber line with a publicly accessible static IP address.
I don't know how much more connected I can get. And no, my firewall was not blocking it.
If there were connectivity issues, it was the fault of the program itself, and nothing else.
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|I think this a good idea. There are alot of people who do have pirated copies, I'm not one of them but I'm glad microsoft is making this an option and not mandatory.
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|I've got no problem with this. Don't prirate software and you don't have to worry about a thing.
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|I've got no problem with pirating Windblows (aka Vista).
Don't create a monopoly and you don't have to worry about a thing.
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|Yeah, that's why you pirated Windows:
Because you want to make a statement against the big bad monopoly (that someone else told you about). I doubt it. Seriously.
I also doubt that you've even explored your other options: Mac, Linux, BSD, etc.
You are just a greedy thief. Nothing more. You pirated Windows because you simply don't want to pay for something. Everything should be free, right?
If I am in error, I sincerely apologize, but I doubt that I am.
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|if it sucks so much why are you using it at all?
and since your so dumb, let me outline it for you. IT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL TO BE A MONOPOLY!
it is only when you use your position to keep others out that it becomes illegal, so maybe you should read up on things before you give in to the media and start quoting things like "micro$oft is a monopoly boo hoo"
if you were anything other than an immature 12 year old that hopped on the local bandwagon you would know these things.
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|I am using a legit key and the earlier WGA passed my system as legal, which it is. Now this new one says it is counterfeit. This is more trouble than it is worth, soon I think I will switch to a new operating system such as Linux. I have the receipt from my computer purchase and my OEM licence, I am not a criminal but MS seems to think so.
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|lol...
Did you read my comment just a little bit further up on this page? I had the same thing. I guess I should tell you how I got rid of it:
I went to download something from Microsoft.com, which, as usual, needed me to pass a WGA check in order to download. I passed the check, rebooted, and now it's gone. It's that easy. It's a bit of a shame that I didn't think of it earlier, but I wasn't using this box much during that time anyway.
Yes, it is a nuisance, and it shouldn't have happened, but that's all it is: a nuisance. I didn't loose any performance or features as a result, and the problem was corrected.
Have fun on Linux. I would recommend Ubuntu if you're really serious about the switch. It's a fantastic OS and would probably be the easiest for a Windows user to get used to.
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|Thanks for the tip, I apologise for not reading the posts properly, I will look into the OS you mentioned.
Thanks again.
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|Another freedom fighter, eh?
Bulls***.
You're no better than the rest. No, actually, you're worse. Some pirates admit they just want it *free* and don't try to justify it with old, tired, and wildly ignorant justifications.
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|No problem. I just found it funny that you described the exact same problem. =p
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|have you tried slackware at all?
i downloaded and installed it but havent had much time to play, been to busy looking at the new release of solaris and all, just wondering if you or anyone else has experiance with it.
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|Haven't tried it here yet. Too many OSes. Not enough test machines. =)
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|It worked,thanks very much.
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|Get VMWare server (free Version) from VMware site and you got all the testing machine you need.
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|Now that's an ignorant viewpoint, and it's one that false authorities have always played on. "If you're innocent, you've got nothing to fear." Rubbish.
Even if you don't care a jot for privacy for its own sake, that's only true if no one
a) abuses the extra power they have been allowed to have or
b) makes a mistake.
Trust me: both *always* happen. There's plenty of evidence of b) in this thread alone.
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|*rolls eyes*
Microsoft has been done time and time again for abusing monopolistic power. So indeed, YOU should read up on things before defending a company in this manner.
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|I am just a greedy thief. I pirated windows simply because I didn't want to pay for it. Then my computer started telling me my version of windows was illegal... I booted up in safe mode, found the offending file, and deleted it... took about 15 min. of my time, and now I don't have to bother with it.
P.S. - Windows has been ruled an abusive monopoly on multiple occasions
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|P.S. - Windows has been ruled an abusive monopoly on multiple occasions
You may have noticed I didn't even comment on that.
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|He can't be bothered to pay for software. You think he's actually going to take the time to read, much less comprehend your entire post?
I mean, it had more than like, 3 words in it. We're talking about something *way* beyong his ken.
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|"Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and .." - http://www.stolaf.edu/pe...t/statutes/sherman.html
Nope, wrong there bubba. (how many times do I have to post this information before people "get it")
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|VMWare workstation has many more features and costs less than a test lab. ;-)
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