Paul Thurott bitten by WGA

[Josh]

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/21/1252221

I've found Microsoft's recent forays into customer relations with Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) to be somewhat amusing. I mean, after all, Microsoft is a huge company just brimming with really smart people. How could they do something so silly?

If you're not up on the WGA saga, here's a recap. Microsoft announced its Genuine Advantage software initiative in March 2006. It's designed as part of the company's wider assault on software piracy (another infamous part of this fight, Product Activation, won fame and fortune for Microsoft went XP was released in late 2001). The Genuine Advantage initiative is comprised of three parts: Education (customers should understand the risks of pirated software), Engineering (Microsoft's ongoing investment in anti-counterfeiting technologies and product features), and Enforcement (Microsoft is helping law enforcement agencies go after the world's worst software pirates).

WGA is a component of the Engineering part of that unholy triumvirate. It's a bit of software that gets installed on Windows XP (it's part of Windows Vista right out of the gate, naturally) and is comprised of two components. The first, dubbed WGA Validation, determines whether the version of Windows on which its running is legitimate. The second component, WGA Notifications, displays annoying alerts on pirated Windows copies and provides a way for the user to pay for a legitimate copy of Windows.

[f0dder]

WGA is wrong, it's as simple as that.

[Josh]

The only thing I consider wrong about it is that if you are verified as legit once, it shouldnt be needed or enabled anymore. If, however, you arent verified as legit, then it should be left there and notify the user that they arent running a legit copy. Microsoft, however, should have also put more time into deciding who is and isnt legit. Other than that, I think its fine.

[f0dder]

The only thing I consider wrong about it is that if you are verified as legit once, it shouldnt be needed or enabled anymore. If, however, you arent verified as legit, then it should be left there and notify the user that they arent running a legit copy. Microsoft, however, should have also put more time into deciding who is and isnt legit. Other than that, I think its fine.

-Josh (July 22, 2006, 08:42 AM)

That verification is done at install time, so it shouldn't be necessary having shit like WGA running in the background all the time. (Ok, I don't think it's done at install time for corporate versions with Volume License Keys, but really - they *could* have done that).

[Weedonald]

Maybe WGA is a good thing to stop software piracy but I have a registered and legit XP pro OS on my computer and now I can't access any updates, get various add-ons installed or even access any regular MS site. When I recently tried to re-install my MS Office CD, it said the license key was invalid!!! It wasn't when I installed both the OS and Office on my computer. Does anyone know what I can do to get the morons at MS to re-validate my OS and other MS software???

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated,

Thanks!!

Weedonald

[Carol Haynes]

Telephone them? There should be a contact number with the WGA warning messages. Failing that there are MS Offices in most countries.

[Edvard]

I've had two machines blow up on me and a disk lose its master file table and have had to re-activate XP (on my wife's computer) each time, but it has been surprisingly trouble-free. Have you tried simply calling Microsoft and reciting your (previously) valid license codes? I'd be surprised if they refused you a new activation code, especially since you have the originals...