17 replies to this topic

[comper6]

Does anyone know why Windows Genuine Advantage has the 'Advantage' in it. To me it seems that if you have a non-genuine Windows, WGA makes your life miserable.

[Capman]

But then it is an advantage to Microsoft.

[Keithuk]

comper6, on Apr 19 2009, 04:43 PM, said:

To me it seems that if you have a non-genuine Windows, WGA makes your life miserable.

Its a load of s**t. I have a genuine hologramed CD which I've had for years and it says mine is counterfeit and you can't uninstall it using the normal method.

It doesn't make you life miserable you just don't trust M$, just have to do a system restore to get rid of it.

We have talked about this on here before, do a search.

[Andavari]

Keithuk, on Apr 19 2009, 04:36 PM, said:

Its a load of s**t. I have a genuine hologramed CD which I've had for years and it says mine is counterfeit and you can't uninstall it using the normal method.

That's why I've never trusted WGA Notifier that MS Update deems a "critical update." There have been several horror stories where people couldn't use their systems after installing it, even though they have legally purchased copies of Windows.

[comper6]

Keithuk, on Apr 19 2009, 05:36 PM, said:

Its a load of s**t. I have a genuine hologramed CD which I've had for years and it says mine is counterfeit and you can't uninstall it using the normal method.

It doesn't make you life miserable you just don't trust M$, just have to do a system restore to get rid of it.

We have talked about this on here before, do a search.

Keith, its your lucky day, check these instructions out here

[Keithuk]

comper6, on Apr 20 2009, 12:54 AM, said:

Keith, its your lucky day, check these instructions out here

I tried renaming and deleted WgaTray.exe but it wouldn't allow you because its in use. You disable it in Task Manager by the time you've closed Task Manager and gone to Windows\System32\WgaTray.exe to delete it had started up again. That new info from M$ wasn't available then.

http://support.micro....com/kb/921914/

[Augeas]

What's all the fuss? I have WGA installed by those kind MS people when I went to SP3, but there's no tray.exe, no notifications, no nothing, no anything running. I didn't have to disable anything. Mind you I don't have auto-update on so maybe that's the difference.

[DennisD]

I've been using this "tool" which was posted on here some time ago. Don't have any WGA on my system unless it's in disguise.

RemoveWGA:

Quote

Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications is different than Windows Genuine Advantage Validation. RemoveWGA only remove the notification part, phoning home, and does not touch the Validation part.

[Icedrake]

Augeas, on Apr 20 2009, 08:30 AM, said:

What's all the fuss? I have WGA installed by those kind MS people when I went to SP3, but there's no tray.exe, no notifications, no nothing, no anything running. I didn't have to disable anything. Mind you I don't have auto-update on so maybe that's the difference.

I think I'm the same as you, but I'm not even sure I have that WGA thing installed on my PC at all. Is there any way to know that you have it on your PC?

[hazelnut]

Have a look in add/remove programs list and have 'show updates' box ticked at the top.

[comper6]

Keithuk, on Apr 20 2009, 07:01 AM, said:

I tried renaming and deleted WgaTray.exe but it wouldn't allow you because its in use. You disable it in Task Manager by the time you've closed Task Manager and gone to Windows\System32\WgaTray.exe to delete it had started up again. That new info from M$ wasn't available then.

http://support.micro....com/kb/921914/

Did you unregister the dll?

[comper6]

hazelnut, on Apr 20 2009, 03:05 PM, said:

Have a look in add/remove programs list and have 'show updates' box ticked at the top.

It will say this update can't be removed

[DennisD]

Icedrake, on Apr 20 2009, 07:11 PM, said:

I think I'm the same as you, but I'm not even sure I have that WGA thing installed on my PC at all. Is there any way to know that you have it on your PC?

The tool I posted, which removed mine for me, also tells you if it's not there.



Not only is it not active, but I don't have Windows\System32\WgaTray.exe, so the tool did it's job, and my pc still functions fine with Automatic Updates set to inform only, and no problems actually installing updates.

[Icedrake]

I checked my updates, and I didn't find anything on the list that said Windows Genuine Advantage. Guess I don't have it installed after all. Plus, I haven't been prompted by Windows Update to install it either.
Checked it with your tool you posted too Dennis, and it said I didn't have it. Also, the website of the tool doesn't host the tool anymore because of this:

Quote

October 10 2006 : Microsoft taking control back of his WGA

RemoveWGA forbidden :

Microsoft complained to my webhoster about RemoveWGA.exe hosted in my tool folder, and put pressure to make me remove it. I'm obliged to comply and have no choice about it.

I don't quite understand them as RemoveWGA is only designed to help the users who have a legit Windows copy. Moreover, RemoveWGA is now widespread and is available from many mirrors and in various P2P networks, so removing it from my website won't do that much.

They probably want to send a message, but I'm unsure if it will be really beneficial at the end. I let everyone makes his own opinion.

So I downloaded the tool from somewhere else and I uploaded it. If anyone wants to download it, here's the link: Click here to download it!

[comper6]

Icedrake, on Apr 20 2009, 05:41 PM, said:

I checked my updates, and I didn't find anything on the list that said Windows Genuine Advantage. Guess I don't have it installed after all. Plus, I haven't been prompted by Windows Update to install it either.
Checked it with your tool you posted too Dennis, and it said I didn't have it. Also, the website of the tool doesn't host the tool anymore because of this:

So I downloaded the tool from somewhere else and I uploaded it. If anyone wants to download it, here's the link: Click here to download it!

My advice for you guys is to get yourself out of the legal- hot water and just add these entries to your HOSTS file.

# Copyright © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

127.0.0.1 localhost

#Prevents WGA from phoning home
127.0.0.1        mpa.one.microsoft.com     #for XP/2003
127.0.0.1        sls.microsoft.com     #for Vista

Also to Augeas:

Augeas, on Apr 20 2009, 07:30 AM, said:

What's all the fuss? I have WGA installed by those kind MS people when I went to SP3, but there's no tray.exe, no notifications, no nothing, no anything running. I didn't have to disable anything. Mind you I don't have auto-update on so maybe that's the difference.

This tool replicates spyware so there are some ethical issues behind it, and the tools main process is to check your hardware hash with product key that's activated with windows. So, if you do a hardware upgrade on certain elements of your system, the hardware hash changes and WGA complains. Usually, it depends on your luck



Also to Dennis:
Nice dock and backround!

[DennisD]

This tool is still widely available from legitimate sites, and I've no qualms about using it.

WGARemove: (Softpedia)

@Comper6. Thanks, it's my latest desktop which I haven't posted yet.

[comper6]

Honestly, I made my own program to keep WGA off and shut it up. I like the HOSTS element because it's very clean

[comper6]

I'm trying to use my program but it still is giving bugs... grrrrrrr. I'll work on it and release it later