Re: Why is WGATRAY.EXE.exe phoning home?

Tech-Archive recommends: Fix windows errors by optimizing your registry

It's not spyware, because it doesn't collect any personal information, or any
other information that can possibly ever be used to indentify you. All it
does is check your Windows Product ID tag, check to see if it's been reported
stolen or otherwise fraudulent, and lets you know that your computer could
contain a bootleg copy of Windows, and warns you that you may not be able to
get updates if that is the case.

Starting Windows Office 2002, unless you opted-out, all your Office Programs
reported back from time to time to deliver usage statistics, how often you
got errors, or even how often you got dialog box prompts that interrupted
you. Now, Office, Windows, Messenger, MSN Applications, and many other
programs are doing the same thing, so developers (both Microsoft and others)
can see how many times people are interupted while they work, what problems
they have, etc. Some times these programs prompt before sending information
(error reports) but many times they do not (user experience feedback
program). But these, as well, are not classified as spyware.








"Tom [Pepper] Willett" wrote:

It's part of a recent MS Automatic or Manual Live Update.
It's the WGA Notification tool, that checks to see if your version of
Windows is genuine, and it will nag you if it isn't.

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/faq.aspx

Tom
"Bert Hyman" <bert@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Xns97D19BFE75643VeebleFetzer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In news:p0neg.87180$Jk3.15928@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Ricky"
<rsjoiner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Some info here..
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/04/workarounds-to-disable-non-genuine.h
tml

I'm not asking how to disable it.

I want somebody to try to give me a reasonable explanation of why it's
there in the first place and what it's doing.

"Spyware is a general term used for software that performs certain
behaviors such as advertising, collecting personal information, or
changing the configuration of your computer, generally without
appropriately obtaining your consent."

"Sometimes the inclusion of unwanted software in a given software
installation is documented, but it may appear at the end of a license
agreement or privacy statement."

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/spywarewhat.mspx

"Bert Hyman" <bert@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Xns97D18ED7F3B0CVeebleFetzer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This thing tries to connect to some MS system at boot time.

Why?

What's it sending back?

Why has MS installed something on my system that by any definition is
spyware?


--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN bert@xxxxxxxxxxx



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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Why is WGATRAY.EXE.exe phoning home?
    ... contain a bootleg copy of Windows, and warns you that you may not be able ... (error reports) ... But these, as well, are not classified as spyware. ... installation is documented, but it may appear at the end of a license ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: Help on SEARCH with MSN
    ... It is not spyware or any of those as I have them all ... You should periodically defragment your hard drives as well as check them ... using Windows XP "prettifications". ... You should at least turn on the built in firewall. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.configuration_manage)
  • Re: Iexplorer cpu usage 97% at startup
    ... If only viruses were the only bad things out there. ... Trojans, spyware, adware and other scumware exists. ... using Windows XP "prettifications". ... You should at least turn on the built in firewall. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain)
  • Re: Spyware problems
    ... > spyware, and a link to a removal site. ... Depends on what "no matter what I do" includes... ... using Windows XP "prettifications". ... You should at least turn on the built in firewall. ...
    (microsoft.public.security)
  • Re: Legitimate file or Spyware?
    ... > several different spyware scans and they all say my computer is clean. ... Have you ran at least 5 of the applications in the SPYWARE section below? ... using Windows XP "prettifications". ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)