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[News] [Rival] Windows Lost Its 'Genuine' Advantage, Not It's Just Deactivated, Kill Switched Abound

  • Subject: [News] [Rival] Windows Lost Its 'Genuine' Advantage, Not It's Just Deactivated, Kill Switched Abound
  • From: Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 09 May 2009 01:34:51 +0000
  • Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • User-agent: KNode/0.10.9
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Microsoft 'fixes' its malware problem 

,----[ Quote ]
| Computerworld has an Microsoft WGA/WAT spokesman quoted as saying: "When we 
| went out and talked to customers, we found that activation was the concept 
| that resonated most strongly with them".  
| 
| The quote ends there, but may have ended: "...Like memories of the first time 
| they were kicked in the groin." 
| 
| In any case, Microsoft's draconian licensing enforcement 'technology' is 
| malware by its own definition. And it's forced on the user through EULAs of 
| questionable legality.  
| 
| There is no advantage to it for the user, only advantages for Microsoft. And 
| renaming it won't make it more attractive to users or any more palatable. 
| 
| Maybe someday, smart users will stop buying software products that have a 
| built-in remote off switch.  
`----

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1137145/microsoft-fixes-malware


Recent:

WGA: Won’t Go Away anytime soon

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15680/1105/


Microsoft "learning" from WGA failures, but the lesson should be: kill it

,----[ Quote ]
| The other problem with WGA is that its very name is oxymoronic: there is no 
| advantage for users who pass WGA's tests. Microsoft attempted to add a carrot 
| to go with its WGA stick by tying it to certain products (such as the first 
| releases of Internet Explorer 7—subsequent versions have had their WGA 
| requirement removed), but for all intents and purposes, passing a WGA check 
| brought no additional benefits to the end user. Fixing WGA's flaws may not be 
| enough here: Microsoft should really take a long, hard look at whether or not 
| WGA is really necessary at all.       
`----

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071126-microsoft-learning-from-wga-failures-but-the-lesson-should-be-kill-it.html
http://tinyurl.com/2vevrs


Related:

Microsoft WGA validation servers down 

,----[ Quote ]
| It just goes to show that MS DRM infections and inbuilt malware are 
| unacceptable. If you buy anything with activation, you are simply wasting 
| money. Avoid Vista like the plague, it simply isn't worth it. If today is not 
| a warning sign in big red letters, I don't know what is.   
`----

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=41924


Windows users: Get Ready for a Long Weekend

,----[ Quote ]
| The discussion on the Microsoft forums has not been kind. As you might 
| expect, the “U-word” Ubuntu has been bandied about.  
`---- 

http://www.askreamaor.com/microsoft-and-windows/windows-users-get-ready-for-a-long-weekend/


Cancelling WGA Installation sends a report to Microsoft

,----[ Quote ]
| They decided to cancel the installation and immediately after doing
| so the firewall reported that update.exe tried to connect to the
| internet. This caught their attention of course and they decided
| to analyze the data that was send after the connection was established.
| 
| They used Wireshark to analyze the traffic and found out that
| update.exe sends data to genuine.microsoft.com. Some of the data
| seems to be encrypted while some could be identified. It sends
| registry information, namely the SusClientID as well as information
| about the version of the WGA tool, the windows version and the
| language of the operating system. It also sets a cookie whichc
| ontains a GUID which could possibly be used to identify the computer.
`----

http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=38614


I've had it up to HERE with the likes of Microsoft

,----[ Quote ]
| When WGA was first implemented, certain free downloads from MS
| were unavailable unless you installed something to "verify" you
| didn't "pirate" your OS. Then comes the WGA "tool" that phones home
| several times a day/week/month "verifying" your installation, and
| now most interesting downloads from MS are blocked unless you
| validate your OS. Add to this the certainty that Vista is going
| to up the ante on WGA and MS found one less customer.
| 
| Speaking of Vista, I tried out RC1 and found it slow, ill-conceived
| and just plain ugly. You cannot change basic interface elements like
| menus without warning. Things are moved all over the place, never got
| a sense of uniformity, etc, etc. Bottom line - I hated it. Add this
| to the unrest in my stomach over WGA and I found myself at the
| crossroads.
`----

http://www.applexnet.com/node/549


Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries

,----[ Quote ]
| Mark Rasch looks at the license agreement for Windows Vista and how its 
| product activation component, which can disable operation of the computer, 
| may be like walking on thin ice.
| 
| [...]
| 
| "Does the Microsoft EULA adequately tell you what will happen if you
| don't activate the product or if you can't establish that it is
| genuine? Well, not exactly. It does tell you that some parts of the
| product won't work - but it also ambiguously says that the product
| itself won't work. Moreover, it allows Microsoft, through fine print
| in a generally unread and non negotiable agreement, to create an
| opportunity for economic extortion."
`----

http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/423


Dvorak: 'Something To Avoid at All Costs'

,----[ Quote ]
| Many in Health IT are moving to all over-the-web 'asp', software-as-service 
| Electronic Medical Records services with total centralized control of data. 
| John C. Dvorak sounds off a note of caution for such a trend with the recent 
| Windows Genuine Advantage server outage...
`----

http://www.linuxmednews.com/1188267152


Still no word on cause of WGA outage or Microsoft’s future prevention plans

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft officials say they are continuing to investigate how the outage 
| occurred, as well as why someone on the support team inappropriately told 
| users the outage wouldn’t be resolved until August 28. If the team already 
| knows what happened, so far, it’s not saying.   
`----

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=677


WGA Meltdown Casts Doubt on Microsoft Reliability

,----[ Quote ]
| Gartner Inc. analyst Michael Silver also dinged Microsoft on the reliability 
| issue. "A system that's not totally reliable really should not be so 
| punitive," he said. "This issue is not really how long it take for Microsoft 
| to fix the problem, but also how when the user can get back on the network to 
| revalidate. What happens when someone's about to get on a plane and won't be 
| able to revalidate for three days?"     
`----

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136451-c,companynews/article.html


Microsoft set to push out updated antipiracy tool

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft will soon start pushing out a new version of its controversial 
| Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications antipiracy tool to Windows XP 
| users.
`----

http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6139161.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news


Analyst: Microsoft's revamped WGA puts burden on users

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft announced Tuesday that it would use Automatic Updates to
| roll out changes to the component of its anti-piracy scheme that
| nags users when their copy of Windows is tagged as counterfeit. An
| analyst criticises the changes as more work for customers.
`----

http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=42894


Windows Trojan masquerades as Vista hack

,----[ Quote ]
| A supposed Windows Vista crack called Windows Vista All Versions
| Activation 21.11.06 is reportedly doing the rounds, offering those
| tempted by the chance of sticking it to Microsoft the ability to
| install illegal versions of Windows Vista.
| 
| However, the software is not a Windows Vista crack and pirates get
| something they didn't expect - installation of a Trojan called
| PSW.Win32.LdPinch.aze - something with a "high" threat level.
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/06/windows_vista_trojan/


Windows Genuine Advantage Validation v1.5.722.0 Cracked

,----[ Quote ]
| Just press any key, and it's done cracking! All popup nag screens
| gone and you're now able to download updates from Windows Update.
`----

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2006/12/11/windows-genuine-advantage-validation-v157220-cracked/


Windows Genuine Advantage - what a pain

,----[ Quote ]
| One of the Trojans appears to have corrupted the registry of the
| PC to such an extent that Windows Genuine Advantage thinks the
| version of Windows on his machine is pirated.
| 
| It's not, but perhaps worse, a number of other applications,
| including AVG Anti-Virus are also blocking updates until the
| copy of Windows is made legitimate.
| 
| I think a complete re-install of the operating system is
| called for, as patching around the problem seems to be impossible.
`----

http://securityblog.itproportal.com/?p=655


Latest Windows Genuine Advantage Validation v1.7.17.0 Cracked

,----[ Quote ]
| Team ETH0 again very quickly cracked the latest Windows Genuine
| Advantage Validation v1.7.17.0 and released it to public after a week.
| So far they're the only one that cracked the latest WGA.
`----

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2007/02/28/latest-windows-genuine-advantage-validation-v17170-cracked/


Microsoft offers small-business promotions

,----[ Quote ]
| At its Small Business Summit Monday, Microsoft said that small
| businesses that take part in the WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage)
| program can receive a seven-day free trial of business credit-report 
| checks and a six-month trial of Microsoft Office OneNote 2003.
`----

http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070319/tc_infoworld/86978


Windows Genuine Annoyance

,----[ Quote ]
| My windows Genuine Advantage experience, which doesn't provide
| any discernible advantage to anyone but Microsoft, hit a new
| low today.
`----

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2007/04/windows_genuine.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_techbeat
http://tinyurl.com/3dy86d


MS to OEMs: Get legit on Vista, or the OS is toast

,----[ Quote ]
| It gets worse. Microsoft offers OEMs a chance to "win a cool PC" by 
| taking a quiz testing their knowledge of Windows Vista and WGA. But 
| it doesn't exactly instill confidence when you type the URL into your 
| browser and find out the page doesn't exist.
`----

http://weblog.infoworld.com/robertxcringely/archives/2007/06/microsoft_to_oe.html


Microsoft to offer code protection, validation to other software developers

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is encouraging developers to take the next step, and do not just 
| activation, but also Genuine Advantage-style validation. But the new SLP 
| offerings are not “Genuine Advantage” for third parties, Lindeman said.  
| 
| “We are encouraging ISVs to think about doing validation like we do with 
| Genuine Advantage. They can do that or their own thing,” Lindeman said. 
`----

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=575


Seeking market share, Microsoft removes WGA anti-piracy check from IE7

,----[ Quote ]
| The move is remarkable because it is the first time that Microsoft has 
| removed WGA checks from a product in order to increase the attractiveness of 
| that product. It's difficult to see this as any but an attempt to get as many 
| users as possible to install IE7, even those who have pirated Windows.     
`----

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071004-seeking-market-share-microsoft-removes-wga-anti-piracy-check-from-ie7.html


Microsoft WGA validation servers down 

,----[ Quote ]
| It just goes to show that MS DRM infections and inbuilt malware are 
| unacceptable. If you buy anything with activation, you are simply wasting 
| money. Avoid Vista like the plague, it simply isn't worth it. If today is not 
| a warning sign in big red letters, I don't know what is.   
`----

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=41924


Dvorak: 'Something To Avoid at All Costs'

,----[ Quote ]
| Many in Health IT are moving to all over-the-web 'asp', software-as-service 
| Electronic Medical Records services with total centralized control of data. 
| John C. Dvorak sounds off a note of caution for such a trend with the recent 
| Windows Genuine Advantage server outage...
`----

http://www.linuxmednews.com/1188267152


Microsoft "learning" from WGA failures, but the lesson should be: kill it

,----[ Quote ]
| The other problem with WGA is that its very name is oxymoronic: there is no 
| advantage for users who pass WGA's tests. Microsoft attempted to add a carrot 
| to go with its WGA stick by tying it to certain products (such as the first 
| releases of Internet Explorer 7—subsequent versions have had their WGA 
| requirement removed), but for all intents and purposes, passing a WGA check 
| brought no additional benefits to the end user. Fixing WGA's flaws may not be 
| enough here: Microsoft should really take a long, hard look at whether or not 
| WGA is really necessary at all.       
`----

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071126-microsoft-learning-from-wga-failures-but-the-lesson-should-be-kill-it.html
http://tinyurl.com/2vevrs
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