Windows XP users who update their system through automatic updates or the Windows update service might be in for a surprise. Microsoft has upgraded their Windows Genuine Advantage software for Windows XP and started its deployment since the beginning of this week.
The new WGA for Windows XP mimics the annoyances that Windows Vista users had to endure if their version of Windows Vista did not pass the WGA check. That system is also called nagging the user to death so that he reacts on the situation.
The black desktop will be introduced to systems that fail the WGA check which is a simple black desktop that was set in place by the system that removed the original wallpaper. The user is free to change back to his initial wallpaper but the system will revert back to the black desktop every 60 minutes.
The second annoyance is a persistent desktop notification in the lower right corner that displays the sentences “You may be a victim of software counterfeiting. This copy of Windows did not pass genuine Windows validation” and an image with the text “ask for genuine Microsoft software”.
The third and final way of nagging the user will be system tray notifications which will pop up regularly. There will also be a pre-logon message and a logon interrupt message.
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Like a famous French journalist and ex casino addict put it, “You can try to cheat on your income taxes, but the profit ain’t worth the nightmares you endure”. Guess it’s the same thing with WGA, now on XP as well !
Hum, sweet dreams are worth more than a few hundred bucks, if they’re worth more than a few thousand ;)
So if I get a false positive I can’t use my computer? That sucks.
I guess that Ubuntu install is getting nearer!
Welcome to Microsoft’s new success plan for Vista, make XP suck as bad as Vista does so there’s no reason no to upgrade.
Funny you should mention Ubuntu Yogi,
As a Vista user, Im learning about how to use Ubuntu now.
Gonna switch soon.
I switched from XP to Ubuntu two years ago, and am I glad! I now laugh at situations like this.
I always turn off auto updates ,if any probs i back up to one of 4 ghost images saved on another HD —
running again inside 6 mins
This is funny.Same for me Rickxs,only i use Paragon.And if u know where to search a solution for this will appear soon.I guess the security engineers at m$,have to do something to earn their bread.
This is kind of like when companies are at war with their customers (or not, in the case of those with non-genuine copies of Windows).
Looks like Microsoft is using social engineering to annoy their consumers, instead of using it in a strategic way to actually increase their popularity with modern-day users.
Face it, Microsoft is the default candidate for those who don’t care as much about their computers as people like us. If they continue this sort of stuff, maybe the general public will open their eyes to their unintuitive ways.
as long as you run a Corporate Edition of XP, WGA is never an issue…
Free OS alternatives are no private business, hence they are not inclined to promote themselves. Nevertheless, I think it would be nice if some sort of communication campaign was led by Ubuntu, Linux users in order to explain what these universes are, and that (if) they are accessible to non-techies, informing the general audience that Microsoft and Apple are no gods, and that it is not only possible but an advantage (if) to switch to their world. I am a plain Windows user, and starting to really wonder if I will not move on to the next step.
I never update. So no problem for me.
But I am thinking of getting the original XP soon, even though it’s way old. Yes Windows is crap and all that, but I did use it since I was a kid, and it has provide me with so much knowledge. It *deserves* my money.
Ubuntu is nice, but not until I got a stable Internet connection at home.
Only reason I still use XP is for gaming, maybe we could petition game companies to make games for linux instead? I’d gladly switch to linux if that was the case.
I just manually install updates. So I unchecked WGA and asked them not to notify me again. And I also don’t install useless updates like outlook related.
Anyway it seems that it’s more XP Pro than Home users whome will be concerned by Microsoft’s kindness towards its customers.
^.^ this is epic, most of the guys complaining used keygens and patches on XP (or precracked) and are posing as genuine buyers. Before you guys panic though check on your local warez site and you will find a new patch (for free)
how to solve this one?
“garbanzo says:
August 27, 2008 at 7:05 am
as long as you run a Corporate Edition of XP, WGA is never an issue…”
What planet are you on??
Sorry, folks. Its back!!!