WGA: Is it spyware?

Is it just me or does it sometimes seem that Microsoft is really trying to chase people away. I just went through the WGA thing, and after getting past it, I ended up with its equivalent in Office. I have a computer here that I upgraded from Windows 98 to XP when XP came out. It had a licensed copy of Office on it and I purchased a completely legitimate upgrade from Microsoft for that, too. It was a PII/800 and was still used as a secondary box. During a lightning storm, it took a hit (it has a UPS, and I still haven't figured out how the hit got there, but that's a different story). I had to replace the motherboard, putting in an AMD upgrade. Once I got the machine running again, I started Office and was informed that I needed the original disk to reactivate it because my hardware had changed. It was installed when Windows and Office first came out and I really don't know where it is. My wife couldn't wait to get to her documents on that machine, so I installed OpenOffice. Works fine. She's quite pleased with what she's got and I'm not looking very hard for that disk anymore. Now, if I had a pirated copy, I'm sure I could have found a way to reactivate it. So what they're doing is really ticking off the good guys while the bad guys hack away.

I purchased a second hand pc running windows xp pro. With it, a laptop and another pc I started a wireless network. unfortunately the second hand pc's xp pro didn't have the correct update to use WPA encryption so I ran the update program. It informed me that I had to run WGA which I did. This informed me that the copy of XP pro was pirated and that I could fix it for a sum (less than the retail price of a new copy). Cool. Then I tried to use hotmail. Suddenly, I couldn't log in to hotmail on any of the pc's although I could from a friends and could before I ran WGA. May be I have done something else to upset the delicate machine that is windows but with 25 years of computer experience and being a c++ programmer amongst other things I smell a big hairy microsoft rat.

Not sure if WGA is spyware or not, but it sure wasn't a critical update! Microsoft almost got off the hook for abusing Windows update like this. It would of been different if they would of listed the update as optional. I have more wisdom http://the-natron-blog.blogspot.com/2006/07/you-can-stop-spyware.html . thanks!

I'm not computer smart. But I believe in the old saying, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... it's probably a duck." WGA looks, walks and quacks like spyware to me. What possible reason could Microsoft have to monitor my computer usage? If General Motors or Ford put a monitoring device in your car without your knowledge or consent (AFTER you bought that car), would you feel violated in any way?

But let's take this one step further. The 4th Amendment to the Constitution states in part, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,..." Now, before all you Constitutional scholars jump up and down saying the 4th amendment applies to GOVERNMENT searches and seizures, I know that. But what makes Microsoft better than the entire government? And how do government computers running Microsoft products keep their data safe from WGA spying? Or does Microsoft make special concessions and receive tacit government approval for spying on average Americans? Does Homeland Security have anything to do with this?

Remember, a person is NOT paranoid if people really are watching him!

WGA is clearly spyware, it meets the standard definition of spyware. Even if Microsoft had the best of intentions, it has shown that it doesn't trust its customers. Misusing Automatic Updates (which is meant only for "critical" security updates) to install WGA on people's computers is sneaky and undermines the credibility of Automatic Updates. Just because there are criminals doesn't mean the government gets to treat everyone as a criminal (see e.g., 4th Amendment). Just because there are people who pirate Windows doesn't mean Microsoft gets to treat everyone who uses Windows as a pirate.

BTW, I read about whether Automatic Updates should be on or off. This is a false choice, because it leaves people with the impression that they either allow Microsoft complete control over critical updates (the Automatic setting) or that they must search for the updates they need to patch security holes. There are 4 settings for Automatic Updates. These settings are Automatic (AU automatically downloads and installs critical updates without user input unless a reboot or an EULA is involved), Download (automatic download, then user must consent to installation), Notification (user is informed when new critical updates are available, must consent before download can occur and must consent before installation can occur), and Off (Automatic Updates is disabled). Even if you choose the Off setting, simply go to Windows Update or Microsoft Update on the second Tuesday of every month to get the critical updates to which Microsoft would have sent you or of which Microsoft would notify you. For years I have had AU set to Notification mode. Twice AU notified me of WGA and each time I rejected WGA. You can have Automatic Updates on without giving Microsoft complete control over the critical updating process.

I have the same problem that James Miller has. I got the WGA kit for the $150, installed it, had to download many fixes for it, and still I cannot login to hotmail or yahoo mail, and most windows support pages won't down load. How the hell do I fix this?

I'm using and learning the latest "Ubuntu" distribution of Linux. Quick and easy!
My Windows is now disconnected from the net, and I keep it only to run a couple of programs I need which only run in Windows (until the day they release a Linux version!)
Who needs Microsoft's WGA peeking over their shoulder?

after using windows update it teold me that i have not the original version of windows !!!
and i need to purchase a key ???
it s a second hand compact evo310 and i cant get all the updates ! only few of them are installed by winupdate !
do i have to buy a new key ? or just buy a new windows pro ?
any way !
it s a good website ! continu ...
regards .
APACHON from tunisia .

windows is the psyware !

I understand the impetus behind WGA in that it's designed to thwart piracy. BUT, once it is determined by WGA that the operating system is perfectly legitimate, why isn't that enough for Microsoft?

Tell me why that bloated software (WGA) has to connect to the Microsoft servers on every start-up in order to constantly validate the operating system, especially after it has already been validated/passed inspection?

This slows my system down to a crawl as well...making me one very unhappy customer. Grr.