Genuine Disadvantage
In an effort to really annoy their customers, Microsoft has introduced something called The Microsoft Genuine Advantage. You may have noticed it asking you to undergo “Validation” when you visit Microsoft.com to download certain things.
Validate? Sounds like some sketchy process I want no part of. When you read more about it on their website you will learn that it gives you all kinds of benefits you already seem to have.
So right away, you should be suspicious.
Microsoft also knows that the public are wary of people giving away such things, so to get around people’s natural suspicions, Microsoft has devised a clever system to surreptitiously deploy the Genuine Advantage tool on your machine, whether you care for it or not.
When you head over to Windows Update it will tell you this:
To use this latest version of Windows Update, you will need to upgrade some of its components. This version provides you with the following enhancements to our service:
* Express and custom installation: Choose only the most recent critical updates or pick and choose from all available updates.
* Smarter downloads: If downloading is interrupted, the process will start up where it left off the next time you download that update.
* Smaller downloads: Only the files your computer needs are downloaded, saving download time and connection-speed costs.
* One version: Only the most recent updates are offered to you.
* Less clutter: You can now hide updates you don’t want to see.
* Update news: A News from Microsoft section on the Windows Update home page displays tips and the latest information.
To learn more, you must click on details. Microsoft figures these details are not important to you, so they don’t reveal them unless you actually click on something. Less “clutter”, I guess.
Details
Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool (KB892130)
443 KB , less than 1 minute
The Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool enables you to verify that your copy of Microsoft Windows is genuine. The tool validates your Windows installation by checking Windows Product Identification and Product Activation status. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Once you have installed this item, it cannot be removed.
Waitaminute, that’s that thing that offers me stuff I already have! Why are they trying to make me have it?
Well, you probably know the answer. It’s a copy protection system. Microsoft is forcing you to deploy their copy protection system for them. How nice of you, huh?
The Genuine Advantage system checks to see if your copy of Windows is a proper one, not one of those bootlegs that have been floating around since 2002. If your copy isn’t legit, you don’t get downloads. So the only “advantage” that the Genuine Advantage tool seems to be offering is the ability to continue to get patches. You know, those happy little updates that stop people from totally 00wn1ng your computer and filling it with viruses and spyware. Even though it claims to offer such great things, it is really not doing these things for your benefit, it is doing them to help Microsoft fight piracy.
So why does this matter?, you might be inclined to ask, I’ve got a legit copy.
Well I do too. Except that mine says that it is invalid.
Next post: so what do you do if your legitimate copy of Windows thinks it’s not?
Maybe you should also mention that they make you download that “Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool” even if you run Windows 2000. Thing is, the program does nothing on Win2K! From what I’ve heard from rumors of people who have disassambled the program is that it runs like this (Grossly simplified of course):
if (%ntversion% == Win2K) {
return true
} elif (%ntversion% == XP) {
}
Sure, I got 3Mbit cable, and ~400KB isn’t much, but it’s still a waste of a download. And the fact you _must_ have both BITS and Automatic Updates both set to automatic start and running is just stupid. The Automatic Updates service can consume over 20MB of memory just sitting idle, even if you’ve disabled having it check for updates.
Comment by CyberFoxx — 2005/8/3 @ 20:59
Whole thing is a waste, you ask me.
Read about the Windows 2000 thing, though I haven’t yet worked on a 2000 box that needed to download anything from MS.
Windows 2000 was one of the most widely bootlegged operating systems in history, and it has no activation scheme to protect it from such. I’m not sure why they are bothering.
Comment by cobolhacker — 2005/8/3 @ 22:08