Tech: Windows Genuine Advantage notification?

Subject: RE: Tech: Windows Genuine Advantage notification?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 09:55 AM

Bonnie,

Windows Genuine Advantage is the 800 pound gorilla. You want to use your software in any meaningful fashion, or ever install an update or correction patch, you have to have it these days.

(This is the short version of what JiK said.)

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Windows Genuine Advantage notification?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 09:17 AM

Thanks so much for all that, John. I really appreciate your generosity with your knowledge and info. Guess I better install it, I suppose... at least now I know it's not a Bad Guy. I'll wait till Patch Tuesday anyway.

Thanks again -

Subject: RE: Tech: Windows Genuine Advantage notification?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 09:05 AM

The "official" place where you'll find out the most potentially useful stuff for WGA (a.k.a. MGA) is at probably the page at:

Microsoft Genuine Advantage Support Center

One of the major annoyances with Microsoft, MSN, hotmail etc., is a continual stream of "stuff" with grandiose cute names, verbose ADVERTISEMENTS that tell you that it's WONDERFUL but with absolutely no clues to what it is, what it does (to you) or why you really would want it cluttering up your machine.

So far as I've been able to determine, WGA is just another "buzzword" name for the process of automatically validating your copy of Windows as "genuine" so that you can get automatic updates.

Once the working validation method is on your macine, your Windows license is checked each time new updates arrive; but as long as you have a current (or reasonably recent) validation you shouldn't see it happen. If you don't have the current tool installed, you may either a.) not get updates you need or b.) have to jump through additional hoops to validate and get them.

The "widget" to take care of it all will download automatically with automatic updates, but requires your permission to install it. The request for permission may or may not tell you that it's WGA, and occasionally other stuff asks for similar permissions (also often without telling you what you're giving permission for).

IF YOU GIVE PERMISSION, you usually will be asked to agree to a EULA, which is the main reason for asking permission. With a bit of cleverness on your part, the EULA may reveal what the "utility" in question is, but often it's just a "boiler plate" legaleze POS.

Since you do want updates, and "validation" is necessary to get them, using the "current method" probably gets you the least hassle with keeping Windows up to date, so you probably do want to install WGA. It's the latest validation method (at least this week).

The link offers several places where you can poke about to try to figure out the details, if you're so inclined. There may be a "higher level" (more generic) WGA/MGA page but it's likely to be 100% sales-speak.

Good luck at finding any really useful info. It's still Microsoft.

John

Subject: Tech: Windows Genuine Advantage notification?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 07:04 AM

What exactly is Windows Genuine Advantage? It popped up for the first time - as far as I can remember - in my Zone Alarm firewall, which asked me for permission to let it in. It's an Exe file: WgaTray.exe

With Exe's and Dll's I tend to follow the policy of When In Doubt, Don't, so I denied access. But - I don't normally use my Windows computer for the internet (prefer my Mac which is less invadable) and still less often do I employ the IE browser, so maybe I'm just out of touch, or paranoid, or both.

I was using IE because it's the only browser I have which will talk to the !!$£#?!! new "improved" BBC iPlayer for certain radio programmes (some play, but many of them don't in the other browsers). I run Windows XP, SP3, and have Zone Alarm and AVG antivirus in their freeware versions. Everything has been kept updated, but I understand there's a mega-security patch due out tomorrow.

Should I have let it in? Will Windows come and Get me because I didn't?