Windows Genuine Advantage gets update

Microsoft has updated its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) Notifications anti-piracy component.

The WGA software validates Windows and notifies users if the software is not properly licensed. The WGA component is included with Windows XP.

While the notifications can be temporarily disabled, the WGA software can not, and the notifications will reappear every time the software is updated.

The updated notifications software adds an option for customer feedback as well as a new installation wizard. Microsoft hopes that this will provide users with more insight as to what components could not be validated and why.

The Windows Genuine Advantage software is part of Microsoft's broader effort to crack down on the sale of counterfeit copies of Windows.

Earlier this month, the company filed 55 lawsuits in 11 countries against individuals accused of selling counterfeited copies of Microsoft products online to users who were often completely unaware that the software was not legitimate. In September of 2005, Microsoft sued eight US software vendors for selling counterfeited software.
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The WGA software was largely credited with helping Microsoft track down offenders in both of those cases.