Victum of Counterfeit Software

[Ron Martell]

Recently I have been getting pop up windows and have a star icon in the lower
right of my window stating that I may be a victum of counterfeit software.
How do I resolve this and fix it please.
Help....damsel in distress!!!
thanks a ton

Hi.

The message means what it says. The next step should be to determine
if this is correct and if so, why and how did it happen.

Where and under what circumstances did you acquire the Windows XP that
is installed on the computer?
Did you purchase a new computer with Windows XP preinstalled? Some
computer vendors have been known to use counterfeit copies of Windows?
Did you purchase Windows XP separately from a retail store?
Did you purchase it online from eBay or a similar site?
Or did you acquire it from some other source?

Once we have identified how your computer got into this situation then
we can determine the easiest and least expensive method of fixing it.

Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Leythos]

And what recourse does a person have if this is not the case?

Remember on 4-11 their were 5 hotfixes released 3 of them have caused major
problems because they were poorly written/tested, one of them was so bad
that it required a fix for the fix, did the same person/team write the WGA
update?

Of the 1800 systems you talk about with no problems haw many of them are the
same?
the same make/model vid/sound cards, the same programs installed? you are
talking about a work enviorment are you not? Not a very good cross referance
to the home user who has many other installations installed that would not
be allowed in a work station.

If the 1800, I would say that 300 or so are the same, not the same as a
single unit, but 300 of them in groups of 10 or 20 are the same. Many of
the others are single units purchased by different companies at
different times.

I have about 80 residential computers, all forms, that we support, but
are not in that type of environment.

I ordered my computer from Dell 2 years ago,Dell is licensed by MS and given
key codes to install on their computers why do I need to verify that I'm not
pirating XP over and over again?

I've only had to "re-verify" the legitimacy of my licenses a couple
times during the 3 years we've been running XP (I think its been that
long)... Each time was painless, each time was simple, and each time
confirmed that each install was legit.

The only time I've seen it not validate was when the user had actually
been using a pirated copy of XP and didn't tell me - it properly
detected it.

now MS wants to put yet another running
service on my system,just so I can prove to them that I'm not doing
something illegal, I don't think so. Most third party security applications
address an issue long before MS issues a hotfix for it,I'll rely
on them for a time.

I know there were problems with the patch they put out, but, as we seem
to be smiled upon by BG, it didn't impact any of our systems or our
clients systems. I do not believe the same groups work on the same
patches, that would not make sense.

Using windows has a set of restrictions and licensing constraints - you
know what they are, it's your choice to continue to use Windows or not.

 

[Mr C]

My interpretation of what DaWalRus is getting at is if someone buys a
computer in good faith (paying for the OS in the price) and not
realising a dodgy version of Windows is installed (and it does happen
to those who are less knowledgable when it comes to computers), after
the Genuine Advantage tool does it's thing they then have to pay for
another licence. Hence they were duped by the vendor. Fair enough, the
user is paying for their own ignorance but to some old biddy who only
uses her PC to play Solitaire and email the Grandkids the whole Genuine
Advantage thing can be a little overwhelming, Geez, my Mother has a
breakdown if I ask her to press the Return key. To most of us it isn't
such a big deal, we buy a licence, we sort it out, but to some that's a
lot of pressure for buying something in innocence. To them it's kinda
like buying a car to find it's a ringer.

Mr C.

Leythos pretended :

 

[DaWalRus]

Today DaWalRus attempted to dazzle everyone with this
profound linguistic utterance

[sni]

The only ones that would suffer are the ones that HAVE been
duped and I would think that Microsoft would come up with a
scheme to be more simathetic to that individual and try
to get the illegal dealers out of business. I am sure there
are many authorized dealers that are not so clean but do they
get an 'inspection' at any time?

"Microsoft sympathetic" ...is that an oxymoron like "Microsoft
security"? Being a publicly held company, I would expect M$ to
be "sympathetic" first to the needs of their shareholders -
i.e., make more money - then, their creditors, then, Bill the
Gates, then their employees. Way, way, way down the list would
be the customers. Why the hell would they care about us, any
more than Toyota does or HP or <whatever company you like> does?

I agree and then say that Whining is somehow allowed. The ones that cry
about whining are not people that care either and should not bother to call
themselves helpful or even reply. Somehow the word troll seems to work it's
way in.

JMHO

 

[DaWalRus]

Hi.

The message means what it says. The next step should be to determine
if this is correct and if so, why and how did it happen.

Where and under what circumstances did you acquire the Windows XP that
is installed on the computer?
Did you purchase a new computer with Windows XP preinstalled? Some
computer vendors have been known to use counterfeit copies of Windows?
Did you purchase Windows XP separately from a retail store?
Did you purchase it online from eBay or a similar site?
Or did you acquire it from some other source?

Once we have identified how your computer got into this situation then
we can determine the easiest and least expensive method of fixing it.

If the EU has to agree to something than why should not the seller attach
his ID to it also. An automobile has to be registered and the dealer has to
get a license and so forth. They even have lemon laws. High tech is planning
ahead. Not being behind from the start then try to catch up to recoup
perceivable lost capitol.

 

[MAP]

If the 1800, I would say that 300 or so are the same, not the same as
a single unit, but 300 of them in groups of 10 or 20 are the same.
Many of the others are single units purchased by different companies
at different times.

I have about 80 residential computers, all forms, that we support, but
are not in that type of environment.

That's a pretty broad spectrum.

 

[Leythos]

My interpretation of what DaWalRus is getting at is if someone buys a
computer in good faith (paying for the OS in the price) and not
realising a dodgy version of Windows is installed (and it does happen
to those who are less knowledgable when it comes to computers), after
the Genuine Advantage tool does it's thing they then have to pay for
another licence. Hence they were duped by the vendor. Fair enough, the
user is paying for their own ignorance but to some old biddy who only
uses her PC to play Solitaire and email the Grandkids the whole Genuine
Advantage thing can be a little overwhelming, Geez, my Mother has a
breakdown if I ask her to press the Return key. To most of us it isn't
such a big deal, we buy a licence, we sort it out, but to some that's a
lot of pressure for buying something in innocence. To them it's kinda
like buying a car to find it's a ringer.

And it's a good thing that MS provided this great tool to show them, too
bad for many dupes they didn't provide is sooner.

There are some that suggest that since the dupe paid for the OS, even if
MS didn't see a dime of it, that they should be given a pass by MS and
permitted to keep the pirated OS in full functional state, since MS
should have a bigger heart... I say BS.

While I would feel sorry for any sheep that gets duped, and I've been
screwed in transactions in the past, I never blame anyone other than the
two parties.

In this case, WGA does as it's intended, works fine for the vast
majority and does not appear to cause any problems for legit license/key
holders. At least now people have a quicker method to determine if their
purchase is legit.

 

[Guest]

Just read through all these messages and frankly have my self overwhelmed.
Do you suspect that I have become a victum of a virus worm, or do you think
that it is more this:
(Remember on 4-11 their were 5 hotfixes released 3 of them have caused major
problems because they were poorly written/tested, one of them was so bad
that it required a fix for the fix, did the same person/team write the WGA
update?)
I found this as a part of another comment in a later post. I would like to
figure this out here and try to resolve this myself instead of paying someone
hundreds of dollars to do what I can do.
I would like not to have to reformat, but if I had to, I guess I would have
no choice.
Thank you for all your time.
Sandie

 

[NoStop]

Description of the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications application:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/905474

So what is the "advantage" other than harassing customers or making Bill
Gate$ even richer? It certainly won't propel MickeyMouse to being any more
innovative, as it is sadly lacking it that department.


--
When Microsoft stops treating its customers as thieves, I might consider
running Windoze again. Of course, I wouldn't allow it to access the
Internet. Windoze has no place on the Internet.

View Some Common Linux Desktops ...
http://linclips.crocusplains.com/index.php

 

[Curt Christianson]

Aren't you *itching at the wrong people. MVP's (or other helpful ones),
don't make policy at MS.

--
Curt

http://dundats.mvps.org/
http://dundats.proboards27.com/index.cgi
http://www.aumha.org/

 

[All Things Mopar]

Today DaWalRus attempted to dazzle everyone with this
profound linguistic utterance

I agree and then say that Whining is somehow allowed. The
ones that cry about whining are not people that care either
and should not bother to call themselves helpful or even
reply. Somehow the word troll seems to work it's way in.

I have always liked whine with my cheese. While I pity (and pray
for) those less fortunate, I do not try to help them if they
cannot form even a single coherent sentence to describe what
ails them.

One of the very best MS KBs I have ever read is the one oft
posted to describe how to and how not to post to a NG, on any
subject, with any hope of getting real help whilst not getting
flamed or made fun of, oh wise one mit der big teeth in front.

 

[Leythos]

So what is the "advantage" other than harassing customers or making Bill
Gate$ even richer? It certainly won't propel MickeyMouse to being any more
innovative, as it is sadly lacking it that department.

I know of no legit users that have been impacted by it, and I know of
one user that was knowingly running a pirated copy of XP that just
purchased a OEM copy to replace their pirated copy, so it seems that WGA
worked, at least in one case. It also seems that WGA doesn't cause, at
least to my knowledge, any false positives on known legit machines.

 

[Bill]

I know of no legit users that have been impacted by it, and I know of
one user that was knowingly running a pirated copy of XP that just
purchased a OEM copy to replace their pirated copy, so it seems that WGA
worked, at least in one case. It also seems that WGA doesn't cause, at
least to my knowledge, any false positives on known legit machines.

Hi!

Well looks like mine was a false positive. I think it happened when I
switched user from a Admin. Acct. to the Limited Acct. At that point
I had the 'illegal copy' stuff. Customer Support walked me through a
permissions on the data.dat file and I set it to 'Everybody' full
control. Now the reactivate / illegal stuff is gone. I have the
complete MSHome Upgrade bought locally retail at a large supplier and
really knew I was falsely accused, but basically the machine was
unusable for the better part of a week. If I were not simi-conputer
literate it would have been difficult to fix.

Bill
Atlanta

 

[ssoler]

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A WAY TO UNINSTALL THE WINDOWS GENUINE ADVANTAGE
NOTIFICATION UPDATE?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A WAY TO UNINSTALL THE WINDOWS GENUINE ADVANTAGE
NOTIFICATION UPDATE?

Do you know how to turn off your caps-lock key once it is depressed?
(Answer: Press it again - look for the 'indicator light' for it to go OFF on
your keyboard.)

Search using Google!
http://www.google.com/
(How-to: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html )

I don't recommend doing this (nor do I know if it works) - but I *can* use
Google and find things - so I thought I would share - since it was asked.

Disable and Remove Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications Nag Screen
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2006/...s-genuine-advantage-notifications-nag-screen/

 

[Leythos]

Hi!

Well looks like mine was a false positive. I think it happened when I
switched user from a Admin. Acct. to the Limited Acct. At that point
I had the 'illegal copy' stuff. Customer Support walked me through a
permissions on the data.dat file and I set it to 'Everybody' full
control. Now the reactivate / illegal stuff is gone. I have the
complete MSHome Upgrade bought locally retail at a large supplier and
really knew I was falsely accused, but basically the machine was
unusable for the better part of a week. If I were not simi-conputer
literate it would have been difficult to fix.

Strange, we installed it as a domain or local admin, then rebooted, then
let users, which are limited accounts, use the machines without any
issues.

 

[George]

The Leythos stated this????

Which is it Leythos? You just stated in one thread that you have never seen
it on 1800 machines
and then one post later you state that you have seen it???

George

 

[George]

At least now people have a quicker method to determine if their
purchase is legit.

Where in the heck does that make sense to you? Buy something then take it
home and find out that it is bad and you will not get your money back but
you will have to dish out more money....how does that make any sense to you?
Grow up and join the real world!

George

 

[DaWalRus]

Where in the heck does that make sense to you? Buy something then
take it home and find out that it is bad and you will not get your
money back but you will have to dish out more money....how does that
make any sense to you? Grow up and join the real world!

George

I guess you are expected to return it and get a refund or fight it out with
the guy that says it IS authentic. Nice place to put the public but as we
all see not even the legit dealers gives a shit.

Can anyone spell PIRATE as it looks more and more like my practice and
name might become "Justice Pirate". Why should I give a shit either?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Where in the heck does that make sense to you? Buy something then
take it home and find out that it is bad and you will not get your
money back but you will have to dish out more money....how does
that make any sense to you? Grow up and join the real world!

If you go out and get taken on the street - buying a "Rolex" that turns out
to be a modified "Fossil" watch - do you get your money back from Rolex?
Can you call up Rolex and expect them to compensate you?

Still want that "Rolex"? The real thing? Guess you'll have to buy it.
Sure - you can hunt down the guy that sold you the bum watch - but they may
be LONG gone - with your money.

How many times - in the real world - do you think people buy something;
thinking it is a legitimate deal, the real thing, exactly what they wanted,
made by whom they were told it was made by, etc; and it turns out *not* to
be any of that?

How many times - in those cases - do you think the actual manufacturer of
said product the consumer thought they were getting when they bought it
comes out and says, "Oh.. I am sorry you bought a illegitimate duplicate of
our product. I will now give you this legitimate copy for your trouble and
since you already paid (someone who is out there selling illegitimate
duplicates of our product - not us) for it."

If you created a product - no matter what it was - and started selling it..
Then someone came to you with a receipt showing they had purchased your
product but it turned out to not be your product after all - and those they
purchased it from were gone - would you give them the actual product for
free? After the first hundred people? After the first thousand? When do
you decide you can no longer support the crooks who duplicated your product
and sold it without permission?

We are not talking about honest mistakes on the resellers part. We are
talking outright thieves who deceived their customers. While it is sad that
the deceit of one person can damage another's lives (or computer at least) -
it's nothing new in the real world. It is also not new that compensation
for being deceived is not usually received - nor should it be expected. To
say that a company that produces and sells legitimate products is
responsible if someone purchasing what they THOUGHT was a product made by
said company was actually being deceived by someone other than said company
is ludicrous.

Go back to the deceiver - after that - be more careful in the future.

Sympathy - sure.
Beyond that - business sense.