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May 2006 |
Windows Genuine Advantage Notification |
|
Richard Lund, Escape Key Computing
Microsoft recently introduced a new system to keep tabs on software piracy. Windows Genuine Advantage Notification (WGA for short ) is designed to detect illegal copies of Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Media Center Edition. Microsoft assures via its website that WGA will never tell on people with illegal software, but is meant to let the user know that they might have become the victim of piracy, which could mean that they paid good money for a bad copy.
Furthermore, WGA will not prevent an illegal installation of Windows XP from running, but it will limit the updates available via the automatic Windows Update tool to critical updates only.
The big question of course is: What if my software is found to be non-genuine by WGA? Answer: You will be given options to receive a legal version of your operating system. You will still be able to use your copy of Windows, but you will probably receive notifications hourly that your copy of Windows may be pirated.
WGA is not automatically installed with Automatic Windows Updates, but will show in the lower right corner by the clock as a yellow badge (or green globe if you are missing the important Service Pack 2 update). So if you are set up for automatic updates and are wondering why this icon does not go away as usual, this is because it will not install until the user accepts the agreement. If you received your copy of Windows (with or without your computer) from a retailer you trust, then you can safely install WGA.
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