p2pnet.net/,....and firewallleaktester.com/,....Disable Microsoft WGA

Posted	Message
ireland  Inactive 24 Jun 2006 12:38 PM	Disable Microsoft WGA, p2p news / p2pnet: Soon, Windows Genuine (Dis)Advantage will only phone home every two weeks instead of every time you boot up, promise Bill and the Boyz. But what if you don't want it top spy on you at all? What if you don't want it to phone home? Ever? Microsoft caught a lot of well-deserved flack with its Windows Not-So-Genuine Advantage created to allow Microsoft to poke around inside your system to make sure you're not running MS software you didn't buy. But, "Two UK dealers have already complained WGA had branded their software as an illegal copy" and, "The software checks what is installed on your machine and then reports back to Microsoft - it sends your IP number and information on your software set-up," reported The Register, whch also has Michaela Alexander, head of anti-piracy at Microsoft UK, protesting: go here to read it all http://p2pnet.net/story/9168 What is RemoveWGA? RemoveWGA enables you to remove the Microsoft "Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications" tool, which is calling home and connect to Microsoft servers every time you boot. Futures updates of this notification tool will (officialy) setup the connection rate to once every two weeks. Once the WGA Notification tool has checked your OS and has confirmed you had a legit copy, there is no decent point or reason to check it again and again every boot. Moreover, connecting to Microsoft brings security issue for corporate networks, and privacy issues for everyone. It is also unclear which information are transmitted (Microsoft published an official answer, but an individual study brought some questions). All of that, along the fact that Microsoft used deceptive ways to make you install this tool (it was told you it was an urgent security update, whereas it is a new installation giving you no extra security) makes me calling this tool a spyware. Also, Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications is different than Windows Genuine Advantage Validation. RemoveWGA only remove the notification part, phoning home, and does not touch the Validation part. As the time I'm writting this, the Validation part is mandatory for some not critical downloads from Microsoft, but the Notification part is not mandatory at all, and you are able to install all of the security updates without installing this one. This may change in the future thought, I don't know what are the Microsoft plans. http://www.firewallleaktester.com/removewga.htm
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