Microsoft Is Taking WGA To The Next Level

[RadishTM Veteran]

I laugh at all of the people bitching. Its Microsoft's software -- take it or leave it, its all up to you. And that's all there is to it. You can bitch as much as you want, but unless your a shareholder with substantial clout; who has a voice in these things, or you are actually employed by Microsoft (and I don't mean just a contractor), you just have to realize that Microsoft is trying to protect its property -- nothing wrong there. And for those of you who are pirating, my god, if you can pony up the cash to pick up Athlon X2s and Quad-SLI systems, please, oh please, don't tell me you're not willing to spend, at most, ~200 USD on your operating system; the core of which your software will depend on, not to mention a core that recognizes a vast array of hardware and what not.

Damn well said (Y)

When I look at this thread, most of the posts are made by people who have an illegal key :whistle:

Radish?

[+M2Ys4U Subscriber¹]

Excellent news. I think even this is too weak. It should render the install unbootable if it detects a bad product ID IMO. I am tired of communist/terrorist software pirates ripping off honest corporations. It's been going on for too long and it's high time a stop is put to it.

I hope Microsoft will strengthen the Windows Genuine Advantage program even further in the coming months. Nag screens? Not enough, try disabling the install and displaying a screen making them call a 1-800 number to buy a VALID license to continue booting.

Support the corporations that have worked hard to give you, the consumer, the things you want. I hear people complain of having multiple PCs.. well then purchase a VLK if you find activation to be trouble. Sure it is expensive but it is well worth it for this solid product.

Kudos to Microsoft.

oh please.

1) WGA is (was) supposed to be an educational tool, INFORMING people that they have an illegal copy.

2) Don't believe the bull**** about terrorists running the piracy rings, and comunists?! Can I have some of whatever the hell you're smoking, it must be hella good.

[PL_ Veteran]

Ugh, WGA...I once heard someone say "Why do MS constantly punish their audience with pile upon pile of methods and accusations, rather than rewarding them?"

And I totally agree. Windows Genuine Advantage, tell me, what advantages does this bring to us? And don't reply with "MS get more money for creating software" because even with WGA in place, the hackers are working away to crack it.

The obvious answer to the above question?

None. No advantage. In fact, a disadvantage.

[Titanium_NX]

Legal, nonlegal, all bull$HIT Microsoft needs to find better ways, personally id say motherboard companies should hardware the OS into a second bios and then you can pay for upgrades to the bios.

[Xab]

Hah, I went into Windows Update and unchecked WGA Notifications, and then checked the box for "Never show me this update", and it went away. Wonder how much time that will buy :p

[NEVER85]

My legit copy of XP has never had any problems with WGA, so I don't find this to be too much of a problem.

[metallithrax]

Updated one of the machines at work today, it now tells me it is not a legal copy.

It is an eMachines PC bought from PCWorld :blink:

[Blackice]

Well I've installed it, and I've noticed nothing (on a legit. VLK). So, for genuine XP users, it seems to be pretty much invisible :)

But I do hate the way MS does activation generally. I have various OEM versions of Windows (like MCE) that won't activate on any other machines than those they were bought with. OK, that's expected behaviour - but why the hell do that anyway? That's the biggest example of genuine Windows users being ripped off that I can think of. They should just check if its a legal key, and leave it at that. Make it validate so that only one machine can be activated by one key at any one time (and make Automatic Updates check that). So that its irrespective of the physical hardware you run it on, and dependent only on the number of machines using a key. Maybe if there are repeated reactivations of a single key on different machines within a short space of time, blacklist that key from activating at all until MS have been called and the issue resolved.

[Julius Caro]

Excellent news. I think even this is too weak. It should render the install unbootable if it detects a bad product ID IMO. I am tired of communist/terrorist software pirates ripping off honest corporations. It's been going on for too long and it's high time a stop is put to it.

I hope Microsoft will strengthen the Windows Genuine Advantage program even further in the coming months. Nag screens? Not enough, try disabling the install and displaying a screen making them call a 1-800 number to buy a VALID license to continue booting.

Support the corporations that have worked hard to give you, the consumer, the things you want. I hear people complain of having multiple PCs.. well then purchase a VLK if you find activation to be trouble. Sure it is expensive but it is well worth it for this solid product.

Kudos to Microsoft.

1. I just assume that those damn terrorist have enough money to buy the damn copy of XP.

2. Communists? What to they have to do with this?

3. Microsoft an honest corporation? After the whole "monopolism" thing, I wouldn't say that.

4. Too weak? Too weak was that activation thing, but then again, it was easy for hackers to crack it, and annoying for HONEST users.

[Sammyinnit]

Except the Mac can now run Mac OS X, XP and Vista. :laugh:

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WGA Blows.

I think I might do what you suggest and get a Mac

[Noveed]

lol terrorist and XP just does not mix..... where do people get ideas like that loool.... its people's choice if they want a "cheap dodgy copy".

[L3thal Veteran]

In my country xp costs around 1/3 of montly salary (to some persons even 1/2)...

Why the heck would I give that amount of money for a buggy and old piece of software, especialy now because I am a student, and when only some colledges in our country have special contracts with m$?

Is it Microsoft's fault your salary isn't enough to purchase Windows? If you can't afford it, then buy a cheaper OS such as Windows 98/2000 or use an open source OS.

XP is a buggy OS? Sorry my friend, bugs in XP are pretty much non-existant, unless you meant security holes, which by the way, every software in the world has.

[obsolete_power]

Is it Microsoft's fault your salary isn't enough to purchase Windows? If you can't afford it, then buy a cheaper OS such as Windows 98/2000 or use an open source OS.

XP is a buggy OS? Sorry my friend, bugs in XP are pretty much non-existant, unless you meant security holes, which by the way, every software in the world has.

The problem, however, is that windows 98 or 2000 are no longer on the market so it is pretty hard to find them anymore. Linux would be a better option unless you want gaming. It is free and it is open source, enough said...