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Complaints began more than three years ago when it was revealed that beta versions of WGA phoned home on a daily basis. Microsoft clarified that this was only going to be part of the beta, with future versions contacting the company once every 14 days and later extending that to approximately once every three months. However, when Redmond began pushing WGA to Windows XP users via Windows Update as a "high priority" security update, the suit was filed seeking compensatory damages and class action status.
Last month, a federal judge refused to certify the lawsuit as a class action, which would have meant anyone who could prove they were affected could join the case without having to hire an attorney, and just recently the same judge dismissed the case completely after the plaintiffs and Microsoft agreed to drop the lawsuit. It's unclear if the involved parties came to any settlement agreement outside of court.
Microsoft uses WGA to detect PCs that are not using a properly licensed version of Windows and inform users that they have been victims of counterfeiting with numerous nagging messages. Eventually, the copy of Windows is locked down. Among the many things WGA was criticized for is the ridiculously high false positive rate of the software which affected millions of legitimate buyers.
Microsoft has since rebranded WGA to Windows Activation Technologies (WAT) in Windows 7, and reportedly tweaked the software to be less intrusive and more "informative", letting users know in greater detail if and why their software is counterfeit.
User Comments: 4
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As you said in the end that MS is now using lot less intrusive techniques/tools to remind users about legality of their software; I think the message has been driven home already; and hope MS will be more prudent in their approach in future as well.
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If Microsoft did not out source their jobs to India, then WGA would work in favor of Microsoft. Instead, i can call an activation center here in US that redirects my call to India, and nice chap will activate my copy of windows over the phone, regardless where and how i got my copy of windows.
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how much MS payed the judges for this ?
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As you said in the end that MS is now using lot less intrusive techniques/tools to remind users about legality of their software; I think the message has been driven home already; and hope MS will be more prudent in their approach in future as well.This topic is one of the biggest conundrums in this industry, if not in the history of the world. A love/hate issue that can't be resolved.
I love WGA, I get updates, free software, and peace of mind with it in all my copies of Windows. I hate WGA and M$ for forcing me to have it installed, thereby shoving their corporate nose up the seat of my computer chair.
Love, hate it, love, hate it, love, hate it, love, hate it...... Listen can I get back to you with my opinion?
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