Remember when Windows Genuine Advantage
became nagware, notifying you over and over again when it thought your copy of Windows wasn't legitimate? And remember when it started
"checking in" with Microsoft every day? All's fair in the name of anti-piracy, Microsoft seems to be saying, and the latest rumor is that this fall Microsoft will make WGA mandatory on all Windows PCs, and what's more,
will introduce a "kill switch" for Windows that will cause the operating system to stop working if the currently optional anti-piracy 'feature" isn't installed. Sounds peachy, huh? ZDNet blogger
Ed Bott has more details. (P.S. If you're currently in WGA notification hell, My Digital Life has
15 ways to kill the WGA nag screen.)
Tags: Ed Bott, EdBott, genuineadvantage, Microsoft, piracy, privacy, security, wga, winddows
Facebook Plunges Again
Tumblr 101: Tips And Tricks To Get Started
Comments
15
Subscribe to commentsArminJun 27th 2006 11:05PM
Say what? Linux is calling?
ubeJun 28th 2006 3:10AM
WGA - rise of the penguins
boneyardJun 28th 2006 3:45AM
i wonder if it's true, they release tools to turn the system off and then make it mandatory, i don't see that happening.
DMDJun 28th 2006 6:28AM
First thing that came to my mind after reading this: Linux!
AJJun 28th 2006 9:14AM
Well read the Windows EULA - You agreed to let M$ do this way back when you installed windows
SeanJun 28th 2006 9:53AM
How long until that gets p0wn3d and all these windows b0x3n go down...
KYLACJun 28th 2006 10:03AM
its funny i think.... there just gonnadrive all there business away... :D ... tho there just a pack of idiots...
i mean the buyers an the distributers... :D ... as for a message to microsoft... tux says "hi to ya mum" :F :P
AJJun 28th 2006 10:19AM
KYLAC, they wont lose there business due to the the amount of FUD they spread and very few compannies and home users want to switch to linux/mac becuase its different and alien.
MattJun 28th 2006 10:21AM
This is one killswitch I wouldn't want to engage
turing_machineJun 28th 2006 10:30AM
If this "feature" gets hijacked or exploited, this would be catastrophic. I'll start blocking traffic to their update and validation sites on the firewall if this actually gets implemented. I'd prefer to load up a decent network firewall and antivirus than risk updating into a dead machine. We're fully licensed here, but I'm not risking MY job over it. There is a small group of Mac people and I'm an oldtime linux user. Maybe I'll encourage people to consider moving now, so as to have the issue being solved before an exploit hits.
HuwJun 28th 2006 11:09AM
Strangely the free version of Windows 2003 and Vista B2 both pass the WGA tests with flying colours, even well after there expiry dates, which is more than I can say for my XP oem, which bugs me everytime with are you sure this is real when i can see the nice shiney label telling me it is. Someone there does not check these things out fully.
jamesJun 28th 2006 5:24PM
Hope Al Qaeda has not infiltrated MS yet, I wonder how many critical systems run Windows.
JoelJun 29th 2006 12:14PM
A Kill Switch? Shouldn't we have these things for slow fast-food lanes or Don't walk signs. I would defintely take full advantage. But all joking aside I find to be "smart" to take extra enfocing measures on piracy issues. At the same time I am also glad that I switched over to Apple a year and a half ago. I do understand the motivaiton behind the "switch," but I'm sure it will be alarming for those who are not up-to-date.
MaxJul 3rd 2006 12:14AM
Good stuff,kill the free loaders
daniel SJul 10th 2006 7:32AM
I have been hit by the Nagware from Microsoft regarding my supposed Illegitimate copy of Windows. It has limited my functions on all the office applications - I.E on Word, I cannot save or open new documents - I can only view the ones currently on my PC. This, as you can imagine, is infuriating as I purchased my PC from a supposedly legit shop.
Anyone with any ideas how I can return my office software to its original state?
Thanks
Dan