Windows Updates WGA Notifications for XP Pro
Posted 08/28/08 at 12:29:13 PM | by Paul Lilly
Starting this week, Microsoft will update the way its Windows Genuine Advantage behaves. The first change will come in how WGA keeps itself updated, with MS saying "in this release we've also added the ability for future updates to WGA Notifications to have both the validation logic, as well as new forms of notifications, installed without additional steps."
But the biggest change comes to how WGA handles installations that fail to pass validation. Taking somewhat of a cue from Vista, users sporting a copy of Windows flagged as non-genuine will be greeted to a plain black background. Users will still be given the ability to change the background to whatever it was before, but every 60 minutes the desktop will go back to black until Windows passes validation.
In addition, Microsoft plans to add a "persistent desktop notification." Similar to a watermark, the non-interactive notification will appear permanently over the system tray as a reminder that the copy didn't pass validation. Users won't be able to click, move, or otherwise manipulate the notification, but it will be translucent over desktop items, and stay hidden under open windows.
Will this latest effort curb software piracy, or is WGA a bad idea to begin with?
Image Credit: Microsoft
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Well this is pretty funny,
Submitted by sdcat on Fri, 2008-08-29 11:04
Well this is pretty funny, I guess this is M$ approach to get even with people world wide who prefer xp than vista.
An OS that has so many holes, and with birth defects shouldn't cost more than 50 bucks at all for a full version. Some would argue we shouldn't even pay for a defective product, but my view would be we pay to get later hotfix and service packs.
We as consumers need to remember, we are their "parents" we provide their food on the table and their cloths to wear.
Futile
Submitted by M1K3Z0R on Fri, 2008-08-29 00:52
here goes MS with another failed attempt. Although it might stop the unknowledgable user, it doesnt take much to find a working workaround. Its a game Microsoft can't win at, they will always get checkmated by the determined
Submitted by Asterixx on Thu, 2008-08-28 12:59
Nunc est bibendum!
I wonder how many minutes it'll be before the hackers overcome this latest stupidity, while in the meantime legitimate users encounter problems. Oh, wait, I'd bet they already have.
Anti-piracy measures do nothing to stop piracy, they just make it inconvenient for paying customers. Even though I've got legit Windows (OEM, came with the laptop) I've begun the switch to Ubuntu (running dual-boot, and going to the Windows side ever less frequently as I learn Ubuntu). Micro$haft will never get my money again.
Why can't M$ just validate
Submitted by sirphunkee on Thu, 2008-08-28 12:35
Why can't M$ just validate my software once, at time of install, and then be done with it?? What is repeated checking supposed to catch once it's a valid install? It's not like my copy could lose its legitimacy over the course of time.
I had an easier time keeping them off my back when I was running a pirated copy of XP several years ago than I do now with my legit copies.
So. What if I just prefer
Submitted by Wildebeast on Thu, 2008-08-28 12:17
So. What if I just prefer not to be constantly running an extra MS app, 100% of the time on my legally licensed copy?
I've already been leveraged into turning "automatic updates," on, because of the bug that prevented SP2 and SP3 from installing (even after waiting 3 hours for d/L). [It's turned off, again --as it should be.]
The growing list of programs that are "incompatible," with XP just plain pisses me off.
Much like the Kubuntu Linux LiveCD which I bought, having a copyright on the disk --even though I'm supposed to be able to copy & distribute the opensource material, so that my ROM burning software refused to copy it.
Airport Sercurity is less paranoid than these software guys. I can believe that there are 100s of guys out there, stealing from them as fast as they can.
The question is, how many customers is it reasonable for them to give the "anal probe" to, in finding those guys??
Oh, and is there ever going to be a benefit for the legal customers, to make up for all the garbage? If there's NO priracy, this time 2010, does the price of all MS software drop by 30%??
Submitted by whitneymr on Thu, 2008-08-28 11:49
So how long before we start hearing about WGA messing up and flagging legit installs?
Submitted by dcrail on Thu, 2008-08-28 11:27
So if the user has a pirated copy of XP, the background is black. I'm not sure I see the deterence factor here. If you leave the background black, does it still refresh it once an hour? Unless it minimizes all windows when it does this I think I could live with a black background.
That being said, my copy of Ubuntu is running great.
Submitted by Khaled on Thu, 2008-08-28 10:51
persistent desktop notification... sounds like it will hurt the performance of the machine ...
Submitted by N25PHILLY on Thu, 2008-08-28 11:02
and if they are stealing the OS they should have reduced performance
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