Windows Genuine Advantage

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Leythos said:
Don't know, but my firewall appliances show it released its
connection. Maybe you need to allow it to complete before you block
it. Try unblocking it for several hours (no, I don't think it takes
more than a couple seconds, but, lets just give it time based on your
machine already having issues with it).
Click to expand...

Try letting the spyware complete it spying before you block it! ROFL!

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."
 
Leythos said:
Alias, you don't understand and seem to want to make it some conspiracy
type thing - I don't care what WGA is doing as long as it doesn't impact
my ability to use XP - which it doesn't. WGA has not taken any use of my
computer away from me, not cost me any time, and my systems work fine. I
have no loyalty to MS, but I also don't care if they want to publish an
app that checks to see if my copy is legit or not, and that's the extent
of it to me.
Click to expand...

If you don't mind having to prove you're not a thief over and over
again, there's not much I can say.

Alias
 
Try letting the spyware complete it spying before you block it! ROFL!
Click to expand...

Calling it spyware is only an "Opinion", and just because you call it
spyware doesn't make it any more or less spyware.
 
It's something of a Cat & Mouse game between MS and the
"Pirated XP Users". WGN will never be finished code. WGN
may have the fastest/scaling version table in software history.
MS will update it, then the 'dubious' license users will come up
with a workaround/defeat mechanism. Personally, I have it
installed and it checks once then goes away. The Tray notify
app is set to a firewall prompt and I've not yet seen it wake up
and do a "Phone Home".

Just do a web search for "Windows Genuine" and note the ever
increasing number of sites offering workarounds, processes to
override/delete it.

As long as WGN is visible and does only what it's KB article
describes, then what's the big deal ? I have a number of clients
using XP and not one has called because of a bogus license
alert. Perhaps the pirated XP users should be glad it's only a
Nag. I'm sure it's technically feasible to use WGN as a tool
to actually de-activate "Pirated" copies of XP, but MS would
not take such an extreme measure.

Actually, if they ( MS ) tightened up VLK with some kind of
ancillary key/validation then piracy would go down significantly
by stopping the main source of pirated XP.
Let's hope this is the last add-on to XP for license control. I
don't need any more W--.... to keep up with.
 
R. McCarty:
As long as WGN is visible and does only what it's KB article
describes, then what's the big deal ? I have a number of clients
Click to expand...

The big deal is that there is a new version EVERY day (sometimes twice
a day) on Microsoft Update. I'm getting tired of downloading it :-)
 
I didn't say that the overhead with Automatic updates or
notifications isn't more work for the user.Microsoft risks
customer back-push/irritation by employing more forceful,
( and to a degree, intrusive ) approach to EULA compliance.
 
Leythos said:
And if you don't block it, if you ignore it, it doesn't take any time
away from your activities, so your point is lost.
Click to expand...

It also uses my bandwidth. It's spyware. Yuck. You supporting it: yuck.
Does it stop piracy? NO. Has it caused problems? YES. Does the end user
benefit from it? NO. Does MS benefit from it? NO. It's a classic
lose/lose situation.

Alias
 
Leythos said:
Calling it spyware is only an "Opinion", and just because you call it
spyware doesn't make it any more or less spyware.
Click to expand...

It's phoning home to tell MS *something*, something that we are no privy
to knowing. I call that insidious spy ware.

Alias
 
Leythos said:
Calling it spyware is only an "Opinion", and just because you call it
spyware doesn't make it any more or less spyware.
Click to expand...

If it quacks like spyware . . . .

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."
 
aka@ said:
Does it stop piracy? NO.
Click to expand...

Wrong, I've seen it stop people from getting updates for Pirated Win XP,
and due to that fact alone, they bought a legit copy. Seems like it
works to me.
 
Leythos said:
Wrong, I've seen it stop people from getting updates for Pirated Win XP,
and due to that fact alone, they bought a legit copy. Seems like it
works to me.
Click to expand...

And I've seen the cracks that come out one day after the newest WGA.
True pirates, not some naive user who doesn't know what they bought, are
not affected.

Alias
 
Leythos said:
Calling it spyware is only an "Opinion", and just because you call it
spyware doesn't make it any more or less spyware.
Click to expand...

That is the same thing with other software that phones home, such as the
Gator line of products. Calling that spyware is only an opinion too. I
guess that means that WGA is no more or less spyware than gator software is.
 
Gaoler said:
Leythos wrote:
Click to expand...
That is the same thing with other software that phones home, such as
the Gator line of products. Calling that spyware is only an opinion
too. I guess that means that WGA is no more or less spyware than
gator software is.
Click to expand...

A few threads down, someone posted a link to Microsoft's very detailed
criteria for spyware.

By /Microsoft's own definition/, and the definition of the industry in
general, WGA *is* spyware.

That takes it entirely out of the realm of "opinion" until such time as
spyware is redefined.

rl
--
Rhonda Lea Kirk

Insisting on perfect safety is for people
without the balls to live in the real world.
Mary Shafer Iliff
 
Rhonda said:
By /Microsoft's own definition/, and the definition of the industry in
general, WGA *is* spyware.
Click to expand...

BULLSHIT.

"Spyware" is resident software that tracks your URL visiting habits
and/or then attempts to steer you to sites where the spyware software
WANTS you to spend money, or where it think's that you're LIKELY to
spend money.

If you can't see that, you're a moron.
 
That is the same thing with other software that phones home, such as the
Gator line of products. Calling that spyware is only an opinion too. I
guess that means that WGA is no more or less spyware than gator software is.
Click to expand...

Except that Gator brings you many other things that you don't want.

In the case of WGA, since you asked for automatic updates, and since it
does not bring things to your machine, it's not even close to spyware.
 
A few threads down, someone posted a link to Microsoft's very detailed
criteria for spyware.

By /Microsoft's own definition/, and the definition of the industry in
general, WGA *is* spyware.

That takes it entirely out of the realm of "opinion" until such time as
spyware is redefined.
Click to expand...

Except that you don't understand what you read, which means you look at
it as spyware, which it is not.
 
Leythos, see the below link, and tell me again that WGA is not costing
this person any extra time. Look at that insane process that Carey
posted for the OP to go through!

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a602fbf2fce169e8?hl=en&
Click to expand...

I just read the two posts that you provided, and this is something you
might have missed (from the OP) "I am pretty sure that I have a legal
copy of Windows".

So, when it's all resolved, let me know if the copies of Windows XP were
legit or pirated, if they were pirated then the OP was not wasting any
time and is actually in a better position for learning about it.
 
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