Re: WGA General Queston

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Pop,
Glad I could help.
This is a very contentious program;to many people; none in the
least,counterfeiter's (which is "supposedly" what WGA was designed to stop).
I can totally agree with MS stance on this issue;as one has the right to
protect their property.
The issue is not about the purpose of WGA; the main issue is the method.
KB905474 is the update that is the little program that try's to "phone
home".
MS methodology about designing and deploying KB905474 is VERY suspect!
In fact;akin to Sony's use of rootkit technology;which;by the way;got Sony
into allot of HOT WATER.
KB905474 utilizes the very same methods that MS itself defines as
SPYWARE.And I would refer anyone;including MVP's to peruse this OFFICIAL MS
website.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/msft/analysis.mspx

Also,
When did the onus of responsibility shift to the end consumer to have to
prove;repeatedly!! that they obtained MS software legally?
Again, a VERY touchy subject for MS;and also it seems;for some MVP's
that spout company rhetoric. I would challenge anyone to refute these facts
about KB905474.
In closing; many people just won't care;and will say;it's only the bad
guys who are worried. Ah the times we live in I guess. But I still have a
choice. And being a lessee of legally obtained MS software; I choose not to
have KB905474 spying on me. Genuine Advantage Validation tool is one
thing;it only interacts if I want it to. Genuine Advantage
Notifications(KB905474) is however; a totally different matter.

Jeff

"POP" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:O2haYsahGHA.3996@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Jeff,
Inline:

Jeff wrote:
Hi,
To question#1-yes it is creating a database.
Question#2-use search-and type in WGA and it will show you
where they(multiple entries) are.

Hmm, guess I should have looked a little harder before asking: Thank you!

Question#3-There are text files associated with WGA;that
not only validate your O.S. but also gather info on
installed programs-even non-MS applications;
Very interesting about this last point; even if WGA is
justifiable; what do 3rd party applications have to do with
validating MS O.S.'s?

That's an excellent question. I'm not very crazy about WGA and trying
hard to hold my tongue on negatives about it until I learn whether that's
a good thing to do or not<g>. I'm still making it ask me every time
before I let it call home, and it doesn't seem to matter whether it does
or not, which is another interest I have. I do have some monitors I could
use to see what it's actually doing but they're so much work to interpret
I was hoping to avoid doing that since it's changing every few days it
seems.
Mostly, at this point, I'm interested in what's taking how long to do
what during and immediately after bootups/restarts. So far, unrelated to
WGA near as I can tell, I've found 2 thirty-second (30,000 mS, or 30
Second) delays in the boot while it's waiting for something to finish
starting or to ack itself. Turned out to be services I didn't need anyway.
I completely denied WGA for two days while I was doing that
investigation and, related or not, the machine started doing things a lot
slower, and as soon as I re-allowed it, the speed came back, but not back
to where it was. That could easily have been conincidence and something
self-healed, but ... I've got too much time on my hands (I WISH!), so ...
.

Thanks!

Pop



"POP" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote in message
news:%23y7myPZhGHA.4864@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi,

I find the problems et al with WGA interesting to read,
and it does appear some people are having problems with
it. This question is only one of curiousity so far,
however. My WGA excursions have always been successful so
technically I'm fine; so far, I think, anyway<g>. My question:
Is WGA creating a database or something similar on my
disc? If so, anyone know where it's located and what
its size is? What's in it and why?
And at which parts of the boot process is it
checked? Mostly, I want to see if it's responsible for a noticeable
slow down in boot times and initial programs-ready-to-run
times. Yes, I'm aware there are many, many variables that
determine the timing of various boot time functions, but
this coincides with the last two WGA installs. Probably
unrelated, but: Shut down times have also lengthened to
an easily noticeable degree and Hibernate has extended
itself to be minutes in duration where it used to be much
faster. And a comment about downloads: It's irritating to Shut
Down and discover the installing updates, don't touch
anything messages interruption to the shut down process. Installations
need to hold off until the next boot up.

TIA,
Pop
--
I'm broke: Don't even ask!





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