Seems to be mandatory when I tried updates today on new installs.
I’ve noticed it installing on a few new installs. Hasn’t affected me since I use legitimate licenses.
Odd: I put the WGA under the ‘hidden’ updates category, so I wouldn’t have to keep telling Windows Update that no, I don’t want it, and I’ve been updating with no problems.
KB905474 is the update you’re talking about, no?
<< Manual? We’ve just been pushing buttons until it works. >>
Have you tried downloading anything else from MS like DirectX or Windows Defender lately? They now require that update be in place.
WGA may be inconvenient but the person who it helps the most is not MS, its the small legit shops. There are alot of flybynight types in the independent onsite repair world. I report about 3 obvious windows/office pirates a month from craigslist.
AFAIK, there are - and have been for some time now - updates that you can only get downstream of installing the WGA Validation Tool.
However, there’s another thing - Windows Genuine Advantage Notification Tool - that is optional (even if it appears in the ‘critical updates’ category) and is - IMO - a complete waste of time and resources.
Yup, I have the validation tool installed, but not the notification tool. And oddly enough, last time I checked not all versions of DirectX require validation. Not too sure what good that does them. There’s no way I’m going to install the notification tool if I can at all avoid doing so. I don’t need something else cluttering up my computer.
Does anyone know if the WGA notification tool has actually resulted in any legal actions against stores/shops/people who are installing illegal copies?
What gets validated on a business PC that didn’t require a serial number to reinstall?
:smack: notification/validation separate…I knew that…
A shop owner here was just recently released from prison after 2 years for several hundred counts of software piracy. He was busted by other shops installing those updates and finding WGA failures and getting confirmation from MS that they would not activate.
I have already come across several people who have machines from one particular local shop, they all have pirated copies of corp. I haven’t reported him although I do regularly report craigslist ads claiming to be able to install XP pro for $60 or office 2007 ultimate for $99.
They need a key, just not activation. You still need to validate for many updates. Even a repair install requires a key.
So at least it seems to be generating some good: I’ll bet all of their customers thought that they were getting the real thing were glad to see him get busted.
Maybe. I’ve known a couple people who got screwed this way and both of them were just as pissed off at Microsoft for shutting down their computers as they were at the shady dealers who sold them pirated software. They felt victimized twice: once by the dealer and once by Microsoft. Whether or not this attitude is justified, I imagine it’s fairly widespread.
Personally, I despise WGA for entirely selfish reasons. Not that I pirate software or believe that others should (I don’t), but because it makes the internet a much more dangerous place for everybody, including me. Because of WGA, software pirates aren’t able to update their systems with the latest security patches. As a result, they’ll continue to run insecure machines with a multitude of known vulnerabilities. Such out-of-date systems are perfect fodder for hackers to run DDoS attacks, send spam, etc. WGA decreases computer security for everyone, not just software pirates.
Did Microsoft take away the ability to download the patches via automatic updates even if WGA failed? (As in, not by visiting windowsupdate.microsoft.com, but by turning on the ‘automatic updates’ service.) I know they were doing this, but I haven’t checked to see if they’re still doing that since I haven’t had a reason to.