Remember when Windows Genuine Advantage became nagware, notifying you over and over again when it thought your copy of Windows wasn't legitimate? And remember when it started "checking in" with Microsoft every day? All's fair in the name of anti-piracy, Microsoft seems to be saying, and the latest rumor is that this fall Microsoft will make WGA mandatory on all Windows PCs, and what's more, will introduce a "kill switch" for Windows that will cause the operating system to stop working if the currently optional anti-piracy 'feature" isn't installed. Sounds peachy, huh? ZDNet blogger Ed Bott has more details. (P.S. If you're currently in WGA notification hell, My Digital Life has 15 ways to kill the WGA nag screen.)Microsoft to introduce Windows "kill switch"?
Remember when Windows Genuine Advantage became nagware, notifying you over and over again when it thought your copy of Windows wasn't legitimate? And remember when it started "checking in" with Microsoft every day? All's fair in the name of anti-piracy, Microsoft seems to be saying, and the latest rumor is that this fall Microsoft will make WGA mandatory on all Windows PCs, and what's more, will introduce a "kill switch" for Windows that will cause the operating system to stop working if the currently optional anti-piracy 'feature" isn't installed. Sounds peachy, huh? ZDNet blogger Ed Bott has more details. (P.S. If you're currently in WGA notification hell, My Digital Life has 15 ways to kill the WGA nag screen.)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-27-2006 @ 11:05PM
Armin said...
Say what? Linux is calling?
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6-28-2006 @ 3:10AM
ube said...
WGA - rise of the penguins
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6-28-2006 @ 3:45AM
boneyard said...
i wonder if it's true, they release tools to turn the system off and then make it mandatory, i don't see that happening.
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6-28-2006 @ 6:28AM
DMD said...
First thing that came to my mind after reading this: Linux!
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6-28-2006 @ 9:14AM
AJ said...
Well read the Windows EULA - You agreed to let M$ do this way back when you installed windows
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6-28-2006 @ 9:53AM
Sean said...
How long until that gets p0wn3d and all these windows b0x3n go down...
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6-28-2006 @ 10:03AM
KYLAC said...
its funny i think.... there just gonnadrive all there business away... :D ... tho there just a pack of idiots...
i mean the buyers an the distributers... :D ... as for a message to microsoft... tux says "hi to ya mum" :F :P
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6-28-2006 @ 10:19AM
AJ said...
KYLAC, they wont lose there business due to the the amount of FUD they spread and very few compannies and home users want to switch to linux/mac becuase its different and alien.
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6-28-2006 @ 10:21AM
Matt said...
This is one killswitch I wouldn't want to engage
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6-28-2006 @ 10:30AM
turing_machine said...
If this "feature" gets hijacked or exploited, this would be catastrophic. I'll start blocking traffic to their update and validation sites on the firewall if this actually gets implemented. I'd prefer to load up a decent network firewall and antivirus than risk updating into a dead machine. We're fully licensed here, but I'm not risking MY job over it. There is a small group of Mac people and I'm an oldtime linux user. Maybe I'll encourage people to consider moving now, so as to have the issue being solved before an exploit hits.
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6-28-2006 @ 11:09AM
Huw said...
Strangely the free version of Windows 2003 and Vista B2 both pass the WGA tests with flying colours, even well after there expiry dates, which is more than I can say for my XP oem, which bugs me everytime with are you sure this is real when i can see the nice shiney label telling me it is. Someone there does not check these things out fully.
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6-28-2006 @ 5:24PM
james said...
Hope Al Qaeda has not infiltrated MS yet, I wonder how many critical systems run Windows.
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6-29-2006 @ 12:14PM
Joel said...
A Kill Switch? Shouldn't we have these things for slow fast-food lanes or Don't walk signs. I would defintely take full advantage. But all joking aside I find to be "smart" to take extra enfocing measures on piracy issues. At the same time I am also glad that I switched over to Apple a year and a half ago. I do understand the motivaiton behind the "switch," but I'm sure it will be alarming for those who are not up-to-date.
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7-03-2006 @ 12:14AM
Max said...
Good stuff,kill the free loaders
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7-10-2006 @ 7:32AM
daniel S said...
I have been hit by the Nagware from Microsoft regarding my supposed Illegitimate copy of Windows. It has limited my functions on all the office applications - I.E on Word, I cannot save or open new documents - I can only view the ones currently on my PC. This, as you can imagine, is infuriating as I purchased my PC from a supposedly legit shop.
Anyone with any ideas how I can return my office software to its original state?
Thanks
Dan
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