WGA – Did they really think it through?
Looks like Microsoft didn’t really think through their Windows Genuine Advantage programme before implementing it. Individuals are now suing Microsoft over WGA in the US. This has all the hallmarks of being another “Sony Rootkit” type fiasco and just about anyone should have seen it coming, especially some Redmond lawyers.
WGA should have changed the way people think about Microsoft products and piracy and indeed it has done just that! People are now thinking about how they can escape from Microsoft products to other software that doesn’t compromise their privacy or security. There have been many mistakes in the rollout of WGA, not least the fact it was pre-production code, the EULA did not disclose its full nature or purpose, it was pushed out as a critical security update when it clearly wasn’t, and it phoned home on every reboot. Some of these issues have since be addressed but not before leaving a bitter after-taste with most of the users throughout the world.
A knowledgebase article has been published by Microsoft that informs users how to remove the pilot version of WGA from their system. Sony did the same type of things when their rootkit technology was discovered on user systems. The lawyers are going to draw very strong similiarities between these two cases.
It is being alleged that future versions of WGA will have a big KILL switch within it. People running pirate copies of Microsoft software will be warned and given some time to fix the piracy issue. When the deadline expires so does the software, and if that happens to be Windows then you’ll have one expensive piece of useless electronics. At that point many users may well make the switch to Linux.
In other news, the first virus to pretend that it is WGA has been found in the wild. Let us reiterate this isn’t Microsoft’s WGA software, it is a virus that disguises itself to look like it.
