Microsoft's WGA changes today

[Wojnarowski]

Microsoft's WGA changes today
Genuine Advantage not proven
By John Oates ? More by this author
Published Tuesday 20th February 2007 10:42 GMT
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happen.
Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage is being updated today, in what the
company claims is response to customer feedback.

The original WGA was hugely unpopular, especially when it emerged the
software was secretly "phoning home" - sending information about users'
computers back to Redmond.

It also caused problems for some network managers faced with dozens of
"false positives" - users told they were running fake software when in fact
they were not. The original WGA found 22 per cent of systems scanned failed
the test.

Microsoft has taken a page out of the Scottish legal system and added an
extra verdict of "not proven" - WGA for XP will now label your software
genuine, non-genuine, or not sure. Last time round some users found minor
hardware changes like installing a new video card meant they had to
re-activate their software through WGA.

The opt-in software is available for download from
www.microsoft.com/genuine/. It will then be rolled out in Automatic Updates
over "the next several weeks or months". The software will be updated every
90 to 120 days. More....

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/20/wga_changes_today/

 

[Noncompliant]

Last 2 versions of wgatray.exe were indicated attempting to modify physical
memory per Zone Alarm Pro version 6.5.737.000 at windows boot time after
entering windows desktop presentation. Why is that a requirement to do its
job?

 

[Stan]

The software will be updated every
90 to 120 days. More....

That's what I don't understand. Besides all the hidden little illicit
code they hide in their WGA, why is it that I have to update and
update and keep on updating WGA to keep proving over and over and over
yet again that I didn't steal their stupid software off of myself?
Isn't proving it the first time enough? Or is it that WGA has some
other agenda that must be fed via constant updates.... ie. raising its
ugly head after being shelved for a while after the last WGA fiasco
was exposed. I mean, If I've already proven to Bill, via his own WGA,
that I didn't steal his software off of myself, then have his WGA put
a frigging flag on my system to leave me the hell alone and agree that
if I didn't steal his software off myself yesterday and the day before
and the day before that then it is evident that I didn't steal his
software off of myself today and probably won't be stealing it off of
myself tomorrow or the day after that. Unless WGA has some
alternative purpose like.... ummmm..... phoning home? Nah, Bill
wouldn't do that.