# "Windows Genuine Advantage" infects my computer - Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997 "2009-10-16T05:03:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/21 "2009-10-16T22:17:26Z")
> [@BorgHunter](#): > > You trust them enough to make the operating system which you evidently use; what is it about updates to said operating system requires a greater level of trust? That trust level would seem, to me, to be precisely equal. Nope. Not the same. When I bought my version of Windows, WGA wasn’t part of the deal. I’ve lived by the agreement I made at the time of purchase. But Microsoft has decided that they need to be able to look at my software and decide that I’m not running a “genuine” version. I mean really, they are doing it all for my own good. To be sure that I’m getting the full Windows experience. Right. Nope, they are trying to fight piracy (and I’m ok with that idea) but by deciding that we are all guilty until proven innocent. Over and over and over. If they decide that my copy isn’t genuine, then they stop supporting it, except for critical patches, and they hijack my wallpaper, every 60 minutes. Per [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Genuine_Advantage) [Arstechnica.com](http://Arstechnica.com) found there to be about a 20% false positive (positive being found to not be a legally licensed version) while Microsoft claims a 1% rate. That’s still 5 million machines. So for me, the main issue is, I didn’t agree to this spying by Microsoft when I bought my license. But I really have no option now. Yes, I trust them to manufacture the OS I run (but I wish I had other options). No, I don’t trust them to spy on me and decide if I’m being a good computer owner. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/22 "2009-10-16T22:22:04Z")
This same curse has vexed me for about 2 years, now. I bought the 007 Windows Office thing from Target, and after installing it, I not only found out that I would have to go online to activate it, which I did, but each time I needed to use one of the features that Office has, I would have to go online again and download it. I also started the Genuine validation genie. I actually clicked thru and it took me, finally, to some dead end which ended up saying to call Microsoft. I bet! Just keep clicking on ‘cancel’ is my advice. hh ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/23 "2009-10-16T23:13:22Z")
If you look in some illicit sources there’s a tool that’ll make windows realize it’s all legal. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/24 "2009-10-16T23:18:34Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why wasn’t hard to guess: the bastards at Redmond changed the name of the update so that it seemed to be an ordinary patch, and put it with identically-named patches so that people wouldn’t be able to tell which was which. No they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/25 "2009-10-16T23:45:41Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Nope. Not the same. > > When I bought my version of Windows, WGA wasn’t part of the deal. I’ve lived by the agreement I made at the time of purchase. But Microsoft has decided that they need to be able to look at my software and decide that I’m not running a “genuine” version. I mean really, they are doing it all for my own good. To be sure that I’m getting the full Windows experience. > > Right. Nope, they are trying to fight piracy (and I’m ok with that idea) but by deciding that we are all guilty until proven innocent. Over and over and over. If they decide that my copy isn’t genuine, then they stop supporting it, except for critical patches, and they hijack my wallpaper, every 60 minutes. > > … > > So for me, the main issue is, I didn’t agree to this spying by Microsoft when I bought my license. But I really have no option now. Yes, I trust them to manufacture the OS I run (but I wish I had other options). No, I don’t trust them to spy on me and decide if I’m being a good computer owner. AMEN, **Tastes of Chocolate**. This sums up my feelings on this issue. I actually feel quite violated. I bought this computer and OS 3 years ago, and now it’s basically hijacked, and I am not optimistic that “just calling Microsoft” will do anything for me. The infected machine is my main work machine (I am a web developer) and has all my necessary software (Adobe CS, Photoshop, Flash, etc.) which is very expensive, plus dozens of other pieces of software I have collected over the years and use regularly. This is a huge inconvenience, especially since it is my WORK machine!! I would be so ready to wipe windows and install Linux, EXCEPT that I need certain software for work which I would have to re-acquire. > [@handsomeharry](#): > > This same curse has vexed me for about 2 years, now… \ Just keep clicking on ‘cancel’ is my advice. I have been clicking on “cancel” on every reboot for many months now, and I have no idea how it snuck past me this time. This is probably the most infuriating part - they changed SOMETHING, so that it installed itself WITHOUT my permission. I AM SO ANGRY!! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/26 "2009-10-16T23:49:55Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > No they didn’t. Like I said in my post above, they did SOMETHING. It was installed surreptitiously, without my permission. They changed the way they do it - before the other day, a box would pop up asking me if I wanted to install, and I clicked “cancel.” This time, it was miraculously installed and I had NOT given my permission. I want this crap OFF my machine. What I am toying with in my mind is whether I should try some of the fixes that I am finding online? I am still trying to decide the best course to take. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/27 "2009-10-17T00:10:56Z")
Edited: Sorry, there’s no point in posting in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/28 "2009-10-17T01:40:21Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > AMEN, **Tastes of Chocolate**. This sums up my feelings on this issue. I actually feel quite violated. I bought this computer and OS 3 years ago, and now it’s basically hijacked, and I am not optimistic that “just calling Microsoft” will do anything for me. Your concerns are misplaced, activation related support is free. I have yet, as a computer shop owner, having had to call in hundreds of activations over the years, spent more than 10 min on the phone for an activation issue where there was not another issue with the PC. You can manually trigger the activation wizard and try reactivating with your key. Start \> Run and type “oobe/msoobe /a" without the quotes ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/29 "2009-10-17T03:47:21Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Like I said in my post above, they did SOMETHING. It was installed surreptitiously, without my permission. They changed the way they do it - before the other day, a box would pop up asking me if I wanted to install, and I clicked “cancel.” This time, it was miraculously installed and I had NOT given my permission. I want this crap OFF my machine. Your post is your cite? Is there some reason you kept unchecking the update instead of just hiding it? ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/30 "2009-10-17T05:08:30Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > If you look in some illicit sources there’s a tool that’ll make windows realize it’s all legal. Or the not so illicit “activation wizard” surreptitiously concealed in the deepest darkest corners of windows. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/31 "2009-10-17T05:35:36Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > …Yes, I trust them to manufacture the OS I run (but I wish I had other options)… Actually, you do have other options. It is a fallacy that Microsoft has a monopoly on the desktop OS market. There are many variations of Linux available at no cost. Personally I have no problem with WGA. MS need to protect their intellectual copyright just as any other business does. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/32 "2009-10-17T05:45:17Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > Your post is your cite? Is there some reason you kept unchecking the update instead of just hiding it? I’m not quite sure what you mean… I didn’t “uncheck” it, and I didn’t know I could “hide” it, I just clicked cancel every time it asked to install WGA, which worked until now - it just went ahead and installed itself without my tacit permission. That sounds quite like something I have heard about before…a program that installs itself and sends information about you back to its maker… a virus? Yes that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/33 "2009-10-17T06:29:26Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > That sounds quite like something I have heard about before…a program that installs itself and sends information about you back to its maker… a virus? Yes that’s it. It sends NOTHING to MS about you, makes no effort to harvest any information beyond its own licencing data. Most likely, the default OEM preinstall image key for that model has been flagged due to its keys being leaked/pirated. Nobody seems to consider this kind of stuff when they scream _EVIL MICROSOFT_ and it happens all the time. Large companies have the same problem with VLK’s This whole thread is the metaphorical equivalent of claiming all you web devs put cookies on my machine…eeeevil, bad cookies, bad…following me, using them to pry into my computer, who said you could put them there!?! Then you unleash your ACTIVE X CONTROL OF DOOM! Some times you even embed something called flash, that can’t be good, its illegal to flash people in most states. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/34 "2009-10-17T10:10:04Z")
As evil and sinister as WGA might seem, the question remains: if your copy is legit, what do you have to worry about? Do you actually think Microsoft is spying on you, trying to trip you up and force you to do something you don’t want to do? Do you really think that? It’s just as well that you don’t want to call them. I’d hate to be the support sub-contractor who has to listen to you rant and rave about how Microsoft is “violating” you. Just remember that you’re talking to another human being who is making a very crap wage and having to listen to people cuss him out all day every day because a VLK key belonging to Dell was compromised by pirates. But I bet you’ll tell him off six ways from Sunday anyway because you’ve been violated and Microsoft is out to get you. Tell him you hate MS and their evil spying ways. Tell him Windows is crap and you’re switching to Linux. And then take a deep breath to replace the several you just wasted on someone whose day you just ruined who has absolutely **no** ability to pass your anger up the line. Ask for a supervisor if you think it’ll make a difference. There’s at least four layers of low-level flunkies at the subcontractor before you get anywhere near the actual Microsoft. And once you get up to layer three you’ll just get bounced from person to person who will tell you that they are indeed a supervisor. And they’ll massage your ego and manage you with every customer service technique in the book. And when you’re finally tired of telling the same story to the sixteenth agent you’ll finally calm down enough that they can fix the problem for you. Of course, your other option would be to simply call them and calmly explain that your machine has generated a false positive for WGA and please tell me what I can do to resolve this. In which case, you’ll be all set in about 10 minutes or less. Also, to pre-emptively ruin your day before you ruin someone else’s: EVERY program nowadays sends “quality control” data back to HQ. Google? Updates every day, in the background _without asking your permission_. Quicktime? Itunes? Same thing. Adobe? Tons and tons of autoupdate features in every single program. And if you think WGA is harsh, trying running afoul of Adobe’s validation features- a false positive there will disable the program altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/35 "2009-10-17T10:42:36Z")
From what I have heard elsewhere (no cite) Microsoft are very good at resolving problems of this nature. Maybe a call to Dell, who must be aware of the problem, will also resolve it. ---
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/36 "2009-10-17T12:17:03Z")
[This](http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Uninstallers/RemoveWGA.shtml) is the freeware tool that I used some time ago when I accidentally allowed WGA to install. This was several years ago, and it worked great on my XP box then, but I couldn’t say if it works now. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/37 "2009-10-17T13:19:14Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > Actually, you do have other options. > > It is a fallacy that Microsoft has a monopoly on the desktop OS market. There are many variations of Linux available at no cost. This is a fallacy. [Monopoly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly) does _not_ mean 100% control. It means overwhelming dominance which MS undoubtedly has. It has been fined for abuse of it’s monopoly situation in both the US and in Europe. Equating monopoly with 100% market share is a PR gambit and people need to realize that. There have been cases where the FTC has stepped in to prevent mergers which came nowhere close to even 2/3 market share. One famous example was in 1997 with Office Depot and Staples. MS is not entitled to redefine what “monopoly” means. * * * As to trusting MS and WGA, it has been conclusively determined that MS is collecting more information about your machine (including other software you are running) than it claims it is. I.e., it is lying. Why should we trust liars? [Slashdot](http://slashdot.org/search.pl?tid=&query=wga&author=&sort=1&op=stories) has had several articles about this over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/38 "2009-10-17T14:11:28Z")
Slashdot is about as accurate as [cracked.com](http://cracked.com) when on about Microsoft. ---
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/39 "2009-10-17T14:41:18Z")
I just ran a test by manually downloading WGA (KB905474 “WindowsXP-KB905474-ENU-x86.exe”) to my Dell XP Home box. This computer has never had WGA installed. I verified that WGA Notification was installed and running (the removal tool reports this), and removed WGA using the tool that I linked to in my previous post. Nothing was harmed on my box - it boots normally, and Photoshop CS3 and Corel Graphics still work fine. I did create a Restore Point before doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997/40 "2009-10-17T17:41:32Z")
> [@BorgHunter](#): > > You trust them enough to make the operating system which you evidently use; what is it about updates to said operating system requires a greater level of trust? That trust level would seem, to me, to be precisely equal. Nope. When I did express updates, there were two separate occasions in which the updates goobered my system requiring me to go back to previous restore points; on the first occasion it took me hours to get everything fixed. I do the manual updates to make sure only the essential patches get put in. “Windows Genuine Advantage” is a misnomer, because it confers no advantage whatsodamnever to the user–not even the HONEST user. But it does, as Nyctea pointed out, cause many false positives, _inconveniencing_ the user and possibly costing him or her money if he’s already gone past the two free calls to MS tech support. [QUOTE=DWMarch] As evil and sinister as WGA might seem, the question remains: if your copy is legit, what do you have to worry about? Do you actually think Microsoft is spying on you, trying to trip you up and force you to do something you don’t want to do? Do you really think that? [/QUOTE] I care about the goddamned false positives. And I KNOW they are trying to force me to do something I don’t want to do: to download an update that benefits ONLY THEM and has a history of INCONVENIENCING their paying customers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-genuine-advantage-infects-my-computer-help/513997.md?page=3)