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Interesting tad bit - MS Windows Genuine Advantage Phones Home Every day
thunder7:
Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage Phones Home Every day
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2766
I just do not like them on my PC
Josh:
I dont consider this a very big issue at all. The only information given is a hash of the key you are using, and your ip address, nothing personally identifiable. I see people all the time complain about an ip address being transmitted, yet they dont seem to realize that its given out EVERY DAY on EVERY SITE you visit on the web. Just by visiting a website, about a dozen or so (on the average) web servers get your ip address because you download ads from them. Did you accept an agreement to let them load the ads and get your ip? no. Isnt that considered the same behavior microsoft is using here? The only function it phones home for is to check to see if several failed attempts to validate have been detected from your ip address (since some businesses proxy out 1 IP) and gives microsoft a way to disable WGA on that pc so that the issue can be investigated by the sys admins.
Again, this is nothing major, but instead provides a way for microsoft to help a company if there becomes an issue with WGA inside their corporation.
f0dder:
I don't like WGA at all, and I don't like the call-home feature either. I think I'll set up some traffic blocking on the companys PIX501 router/firewall :)
mrainey:
I don't know much about all this. I was under the impression that my firewall (ZA Free) would notify me if an unauthorized program tried to phone home. I checked, ZA is set to ask permission first before allowing WGA to send information.
It's obviously not that simple, is it?
f0dder:
Sounds interesting, mrainey. I wonder if it goes through some nasty hoops to avoid firewalls, or if it only phones home under certain conditions.
Whatever it is, blocking at a hardware firewall network perimeter works :)
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