Anilrgowda

Microsoft set to push out updated antipiracy tool
By Joris Evers
November 28, 2006, 5:45 PM PST

Microsoft will soon start pushing out a new version of its controversial Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications antipiracy tool to Windows XP users. The updated WGA Notifications package includes additional changes in response to continued criticism Microsoft has faced over the software, the company said Tuesday.

Microsoft in June also updated the tool after critics likened it to spyware because it checked in with Microsoft after each Windows restart. In the latest update, Microsoft has changed the installation procedure of the tool so it's clearer to people what it does, said David Lazar, director of the Windows Genuine program at Microsoft. In the original version, WGA Notifications displayed only a wordy user license, which people don't typically read.

"We received a lot of feedback that people wanted more information when the package came down through Automatic Updates and was offered to them," Lazar said. The first screen of the new version gives an introduction to WGA Notifications in plain English, explains the benefit and the possible consequences if the XP copy is pirated, he said. WGA Notifications, part of Microsoft's effort to combat software piracy, displays alerts on systems running illegitimately acquired copies of Windows.

Users get the tool the same way they receive security updates, via Automatic Updates or Windows Update. Microsoft plans to push out a new version about every three to four months, Lazar said. "It is necessary because we continue to discover new, compromised product keys," Lazar said. "We want to update our notifications and validation tool from time to time to also check for those compromised keys.