Microsoft heavy handed?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Des
  • Start date Start date
D

Des

I booted up my PC this morning to receive a request to download

Windows Genuine Advantage notification.

This is new. WHY?

Desmond.
 
Des said:
I booted up my PC this morning to receive a request to download

Windows Genuine Advantage notification.

This is new. WHY?
Click to expand...

You using legitimate WinXP?

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 8.04.2) Linux 2.6.28.9
^ ^ 20:22:01 up 7 days 10:34 2 users load average: 1.02 1.04 1.00
???! ???! ???! ???! ???! ???! ????? (CSSA):
http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_addressesa
 
You using legitimate WinXP?

--
   @~@   Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
  / v \  Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 8.04.2)  Linux 2.6.28.9
   ^ ^   20:22:01 up 7 days 10:34 2 users load average: 1.02 1.04 1..00
???! ???! ???! ???! ???! ???! ????? (CSSA):http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_addressesa
Click to expand...

Yes it is and has been for years. so why now. It is fully registered
and unlocked.
 
Yes it is and has been for years. so why now. It is fully registered
and unlocked.
Click to expand...
Because they've changed how they scan for dodgy copies, pre-activated
illegal ones and ones using keygens.
 
Des said:
I booted up my PC this morning to receive a request to download

Windows Genuine Advantage notification.

This is new. WHY?
Click to expand...

Greed. Now that MS has been found guilty by three different courts
of illegally maintaining a monopoly, there's nothing left to do but keep
tightening the screws on their victims, er I mean "customers".

The fix is a utility called "c't Offline Update 5.1". It's one of the best
written, most useful utilities I've ever come across. It allows you to
generate what are essentially your own custom service packs for
Windows and Office, based on the updates and patches you need
on your particular system(s). It does this without going through
Windows Update, or requiring users to subject themselves to
regular body cavity checks.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Signatures-Updates/ct-Offline-Update.shtml
 
Des said:
I booted up my PC this morning to receive a request to download

Windows Genuine Advantage notification.

This is new. WHY?

Desmond.
Click to expand...
Because there is a new version.
And I think you need it if you want to keep up on updates.
 
Because there is a new version.
And I think you need it if you want to keep up on updates.
Click to expand...

I DON'T think so!

You may need WGA for updates, but so far they work perfectly fine without WGA
_NOTIFICATION_!

That patch was a continuous annoyance at best when it first came out, and serves
NO useful purpose to the user!
 
paul_0090 said:
And an article at anantech says that m$ want someone to allow
"open access" for m$ & that m$ claim to support "open access".
Click to expand...

They probably do, it would mean a lot of money for them. I recently
downloaded a linix application that was released in October and was version
1.5 over 1.2, with nothing i between. Nobody has written anything that
explains how to run it. They advertize it as a GUI front end and that it
takes 30 minutes to install.
The previouse release was indeed easy to install and did have some
documentation and did give a GUI front end.
But the new one has a different distribution packae and a new GUI front end.

Bottom line. Microsoft will write a manual and the Linix community still has
not got past what 'nix community has always been. Ask a question and most of
teh time you will be called an idiot for asking such a simple question.
 
[email protected] said:
Greed. Now that MS has been found guilty by three different courts
of illegally maintaining a monopoly, there's nothing left to do but keep
tightening the screws on their victims, er I mean "customers".

The fix is a utility called "c't Offline Update 5.1". It's one of the best
written, most useful utilities I've ever come across. It allows you to
generate what are essentially your own custom service packs for
Windows and Office, based on the updates and patches you need
on your particular system(s). It does this without going through
Windows Update, or requiring users to subject themselves to
regular body cavity checks.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Signatures-Updates/ct-Offline-Update.shtml
Click to expand...
But can't you do the same using windows update? You don't have to
download the WGA update and you can tell windows update not to ask if
you want to download it in the future. And you can still download all
updates you require - even without WGA - and selectively choose which
updates you want to download.
 
But can't you do the same using windows update? You don't have to
download the WGA update and you can tell windows update not to ask if
you want to download it in the future. And you can still download all
updates you require - even without WGA - and selectively choose which
updates you want to download.
Click to expand...

Theoretically you could. Until it is listed as simply a security update.
Then you have to click on it to read it to see that it is WGA. And when it
is just one of a list of hundreds of security updates, are you going to
click on every one to see which one is WGA??? -Dave
 
Theoretically you could. Until it is listed as simply a security update.
Then you have to click on it to read it to see that it is WGA. And when it
is just one of a list of hundreds of security updates, are you going to
click on every one to see which one is WGA??? -Dave
Click to expand...
Dont you check each and every one to see what you are even applying to your
PC? I DO!!!
 
They probably do, it would mean a lot of money for them. I recently
downloaded a linix application that was released in October and was version
1.5 over 1.2, with nothing i between. Nobody has written anything that
explains how to run it. They advertize it as a GUI front end and that it
takes 30 minutes to install.
The previouse release was indeed easy to install and did have some
documentation and did give a GUI front end.
But the new one has a different distribution packae and a new GUI front end.

Bottom line. Microsoft will write a manual and the Linix community still has
not got past what 'nix community has always been. Ask a question and most of
teh time you will be called an idiot for asking such a simple question.
Click to expand...
Real Bottom line. micro$shit can't even write a good installation app
for their own products. Got the ultimate package from m$ & it wouldn't
install on my desktop; m$ support could not help & the only thing they
told me to do was to download the suite again & try that to see if the
"missing" file (which was not missing) could be found by the install
app. m$ support wasn't able to provide any good help for a week.

I was able to install onto my laptop; copied the "missing" file onto
desktop & the install finally worked.

When I got the logitech harmony, the logitech had a faq that explained
a problem for installs. The install apps is buggy in that it can't
find the extracted files when the windows temp directory is moved to
another partition or drive. The only solution was to reconfig the
temp back to the c:, install, then relocate the temp directory to
what the user want.

Oh yes, had came across a couple of m$ power tools that didn't have
any docs....
 
Doesn't Microsoft have nothing but the end users's best interests at
heart?

You might be wasting 10~20 minutes of valuable time each month checking
up on those always helpful updates.

Rumors that some of Microsoft's previous updates have bricked machines
are highly overrated and spread by malcontents and ne'erdowells.



sr
Click to expand...
Which is why i said that I check every one of them before applying to my
machine.
Click to expand...
 
Des said:
I booted up my PC this morning to receive a request to download

Windows Genuine Advantage notification.

This is new. WHY?
Click to expand...

WGA has been part of XP since at least 2005.

Odds are you've probably already downloaded a previous version of it at
least once. New versions of WGA are pushed out by Micro$oft every few
months.

Besides downloading and installing each update yourself, one at a time,
there are 2 automated methods:

1) Windows Update website. You use IE and activex to interact with
Microsoft and download only the updates you need for your system.

2) Windows Security Center. This is the gold shield icon in the system
tray (if you have it enabled). This will periodically check for new
updates and depending on it's settings it will either tell you updates
are available, or it will download and install them without informing
you or asking for your consent.

WGA is not a security patch and it conveys no benefit to the user. But
it can cause system instability and unusability if it's instructed by
Microsoft that your installation is non-genuine, hacked, or otherwise
using an illegal product key.

When you use method 1 (Windows Update website) and if you select Custom
updates (instead of Express) you will normally have the option of
de-selecting WGA and downloading everything else that's offered.
However, periodically Micro$haft will force you to download WGA first or
you won't get any deeper into the Update site.

When you use method 2 (security center), you can tell it to only inform
you of new updates, and then get a list, and then de-select WGA. This
works even when the website method is forcing you to download WGA.

So if you normally use the WU website to update XP, and you find that
you're being forced to download WGA before you're allowed to do anything
else, the close the WU site and try the Security Center method - and set
it to "notify only" and then go from there.
 
Theoretically you could. Until it is listed as simply a security update.
Then you have to click on it to read it to see that it is WGA. And when it
is just one of a list of hundreds of security updates, are you going to
click on every one to see which one is WGA??? -Dave
Click to expand...

Since when has it ever been listed simply as a security update? I have
4 XP machines and have also installed XP many times for others (applying
updates after the install) and in each case the update has been listed
quite clearly as WGA. Also, when it first runs it tells you what it is
and what it wants to do and allows you to cancel it if you have any
doubts.

Also the only time I could imagine seeing a 'list of hundreds of
security updates' would be after installing windows for the first time,
but if you apply all the service packs after the install (or have a
slipstreamed cd), then what's left is probably only about 20 updates at
most.
 
Peter said:
Since when has it ever been listed simply as a security update?
Click to expand...

If you update XP using the windows update website, the WGA is ALWAYS
listed as a security udpate, and it's only revealed as WGA when you
expand the details.

Further more, if you de-select the WGA update and then select to hide it
from future WU sessions, you'll always get a warning that you've "chosen
to hide a very important security update and your system may be at risk"
(or words to that effect).

And even if you choose to "hide" the WGA, it's quite common for it to
re-appear a few months later - apparently ignoring your desire to hide
it.

Finally, even if you consistently chose to not download any WGA update,
about once every 4 to 6 months you will reach a point where WU will not
continue show you any new updates until you download and run the current
WGA.

Again, all of the above pertains to the operation and functionality of
the windows update (WU) website.

If you use the security center (SC) update mechanism, it is *more*
possible to tell SC to ignore or bypass WGA offerings as they arise, and
as you say I believe that SC does more clearly indicate a WGA update as
WGA and not as a security update the way that WU does.
 
Since when has it ever been listed simply as a security update?
Click to expand...

I've run the Windows Update (web site version) many times. More often than
not, when the WGA is offered, it is not listed as WGA. Usually it comes up
as a Security Update. Sometimes it is called something else. In my
experience, Microsoft tries hard to sneak it in under the radar. -Dave
 
http://www.technize.com/2009/03/31/latest-windows-genuine-advantage-wga-19400-cracked/
Click to expand...

I've never understood why these cracks come out.

Someone that's using a hacked or black-listed key presumably knows not
to download WGA, so it seems easy to avoid the situation that gets you
into trouble.

And those cracks are loaded with trojans.

It should be possible to use the Security Center instead of Windows
Update (website) to download and install patches while evading WGA.
Using WU it is sometimes not possible to do anything without first
downloading and installing WGA.
 
PC Guy said:
I've never understood why these cracks come out.

Someone that's using a hacked or black-listed key presumably knows not
to download WGA, so it seems easy to avoid the situation that gets you
into trouble.
Click to expand...

Many people would rather not run Security Center, and/or waste
time checking every MS update to see if it's "the one". And in any
event, it's just a matter of time until Steve Ballmer's butt cheeks
squeeze together so tightly that WGA is mandatory to receive
any updates. So buy a copy of XP and crack it. MS wins, and
you win.
And those cracks are loaded with trojans.
Click to expand...

Not this one.
 
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