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Microsoft sued over Windows Genuine Advantage "spyware"
We've spent quite a few keystrokes covering the development of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage from fairly passive anti-piracy software to something a little more aggressive, and clearly we're not the only ones. This week Microsoft got hit with a lawsuit from LA resident Brian Johnson, who alleges that it violates anti-spyware laws by "phoning home" to Redmond without the user's knowledge or consent. Microsoft, of course, doesn't agree. The suit also alleges that because WGA can mistakenly identify a licensed copy of Windows as pirated if its owner transfers it to a new PC or swaps out his old hardware, it impinges on users' fair use right. More details can be found in coverage by the Seattle PI and Download Squad favorite Groklaw.[Via Slashdot]
Comments
3
Subscribe to commentsFredJun 30th 2006 5:07PM
in fact, this tool is stealing some of my bandwith to phone home, can I charge Bill for it ?
benJun 30th 2006 6:59PM
Like I said before... It's spyware, and it seems others agree with me.
MikeJul 16th 2006 2:24AM
I would have to agree of being accused for having a countefeit copy of Windows XP. I just bought the license the other day, installed it, and then realized that something was wrong, so re-installed it, and after that, it tells me that my hardware has significantly changed and that I have exceeded the number of times that I can use it. WTF??? the only hardware change on the computer was that a USB drive was connected, and this was the 2nd time to install it. Moreover, why does Microsoft even care if I install and re-install Windows? especially to the exact computer???