It should also be noted that the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications Tool is different from the Windows Genuine Advantage Validation tool. The former is only used to exchange data with a Microsoft server while the latter will perform the validation itself.

Remove WGA will only remove the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications Tool if the tool is running on the computer system and only if the user selects so.

The Remove WGA software program scans the computer system and report its findings back to the user. It will tell the user if the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications Tool is active on the computer system. To be precise it will check if wgalogon.dll is loaded into the winlogon.exe process.

Remove WGA will provide the means to remove the Microsoft WGA Notification Tool from the system which will essentially remove wgatray.exe and wgalogon.dll. A click on yes will remove the wga notification tool.

The tool is only available for download on various download portals.

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.