Someone Else

Robert's WGA FAQ

Why should I install this latest version of the infamous Microsoft program dubbed 'spyware' by various respected online publications such as PC Advisor and Softpedia?

Good question. I certainly would advise against it unless you absolutely needed to. In fact this is good general advice to be honest and nothing to do with WGA: "Don't install stuff just because you can. Install it because you need or want it."

As an update to this spyware discussion, it's interesting to note that Microsoft are now being sued over this issue. How much bad press and fed up customers are they prepared to endure?

Does this latest version not transmit private information? I know the EULA says it doesn't but so did the last one.

You could say that once caught twice shy. I'm willing to bet that this new version does what it claims to do. Be sure and read the claims very carefully.

Can I trust Microsoft?

That is for you to decide. Anyone who blindly tells you "Yes" or "No" is either naive or has an agenda. ANY computer company can only be trusted for as long as their needs aims and goals co-inside with your needs, aims and goals. Is WGA part of YOUR needs, aims and goals?
 
Microsoft, Apple, Cisco, Symantec, Red Hat, or anyone else you want to name are in the game to make their shareholders or owners money, not to make you or I happy. Deal with it.

If you're about to write in because I've just "flamed" your pet company / OS then be warned that I'll just serve you up a large warming cup of "get over yourself".

Any feelings of happiness, or any usefulness you experience from their products is entirely related to getting you to pony up cash for a legit copy of the latest version.

I've read numerous accounts from people stating how it has been detrimental to the functioning of their computer, even when they have had legitimate software installed.

Some people have had problems. Some people have had no problems. Some people have had problems that they've wrongly blamed on WGA. Some people have had problems caused by WGA which they've blamed on someone else.

I've also read other accounts saying how Microsoft has claimed their software is not genuine when the users adamantly claim it was purchased legally!

Some purchase illegitimate software in good faith (e.g. they're being given stolen, pirated, whatever goods without knowing it). These people are likely to adamantly claim it was purchased legally.
 
Some people are being told their software is pirated when it isn't (I've personally experienced this). These people are ALSO likely to adamantly claim it was purchased legally.
 
See the problem? You read a random sample of the complaints here and then see if you'd like to bet... oooh I dunno your house deeds or whatever... that you can tell which is which? Didn't think so! I wouldn't take the bet either.

So what now?

Microsoft are obviously entitled to do what they feel they need to do to protect their investments. You're entitled to vote with your cash and install Linux or buy a Mac and convert to OS X if you feel strongly that Microsoft have pushed you too far this time.

The only thing I am sure of is that Microsoft have cost themselves a lot of goodwill with both those people who are innocent victims, and lots of people who are not victims at all, by pursuing this so aggressively. I personally wouldn't have said it was worth it but there you go.

Apple seem to do OK by not worrying about this kind of thing and simply pricing their products at a level which is much friendlier to home users with multiple computers.

Are you saying that I shouldn't use Windows if I can help it?

Right now, if you are buying a new home computer and have no requirements that force you to use Windows, I strongly urge you to vote with your wallet, say "NO" to WGA and buy an Apple Mac. Can I put it any clearer than that?

Can I remove WGA?

Microsoft have provided a knowledgebase article on how to remove the parts of WGA that they claim are removable. You can find it here.

There are third party solutions that also claim to tame WGA but I will not link to them because I haven't tested them and can't vouch for them. I'm sure your preferred search engine will be able to help.

If you want to control what WGA does without removing it, then you may be able to configure your firewall to "trap" traffic from WGA and alert you.

Explaining different aspects of risk. Or, how I learned to stop worrying and take up juggling.

Can you juggle?
If you can't, just imagine for a moment that you can. In the zone? Right.

Now let's try some juggling - I've got 3 nice soft nerf balls here for you to juggle. You can do this for real if you have the equipment to hand, or you can just imagine, as you prefer ;-).

So anyway. Imagine you're not too good at juggling; maybe you are normally but juggling while trying to read this IS a little difficult. So you drop these 3 nerf balls. A lot. This would be a 'high potential risk'. When you're juggling and you're a poor juggler, or an average one who is being distracted by some idiot with a blog, you stand to drop a lot of things.

However, the impact of the risk being realised is very low. Who cares if someone juggling nerf balls keeps dropping them? You're unlikely to damage the balls (and who cares if you do, they're very low in value) and you're unlikely to damage yourself, even if one lands right on your toe.

So here we have an example of a high probability with a low impact. It's easy to see that you don't need to worry about the probability of the risk being realised because the impact is non existant.

Now lets change the scenario slightly.
You knew it couldn't be that easy, right?

Now imagine that you're the very best juggler in the world. You never drop anything that you don't intend to drop. You can juggle those 3 nerf balls all week should I ask you to. You can do all the 'circus act' tricks; juggle chain saws, flaming torches, flaming chain saws... whatever.

Now the chance of the risk being realised is very low indeed. So surely you can afford to juggle with more delicate things? Let's try some drinking glasses. The impact of dropping the items you are juggling is higher - no one likes picking up broken glass and you could even hurt yourself - but you're a good juggler so chances are you won't have to worry about this problem.

You decide that on balance, the potential impact of dropping the glasses is more than adequately offset by the improvement in your juggling skills, and carry on juggling away.

Let's shake things up a little.
Happy? Good. One more change.

Let's swap those drinking glasses for 3 priceless and very delicate items of Chinese Porcelain like the model horse from the year 700AD shown here. Absolultely priceless. Absolutely beautiful. Absolutely irreplacable. Absolutely likely to shatter into a thousand irreparable pieces if it is handled too roughly, let alone actually dropped. Can you imagine being the person who comitted an act of infamy by dropping and damaging something like that?

Hopefully, even though we're only imagining it at the moment, you all thought about that and decided  that no matter how good a juggler you are, juggling with things like that is simply a "Very Bad Idea"! Regardless of the probability of the risk becoming realised, the impact is so great that you can not afford any possibility of it happening.

If this is too complex, we can summarise this whole article very easily:
"How much do I need to worry about a security issue? If I drop it, will my whole business shatter? or is it just a lot of balls?"