Hi All :
Just came across a reliable site that has developed a
WGA Notification ( KB 905474 ) Removal Tool ; see :
http://www.firewallleaktester.com/removewga.htm .
http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Sued_Over_WGA_Program/1151615015
hi spiritsongs
after seeing your post,i saw this and thought it would be interesting :
have a good one avast! world 
Hi forum folks,
But MS says officialy this method is “not documented”, so you uninstall it on your own risk.
It is almost like your tour operator saying: “I understand what you are saying, but I cannot grasp what it means!”.
polonus
Another reliable way to get rid of what “nasty” stuff is not to install it. At first of course it was installed on my PC, but thanks for System Restore I removed it and now I’m just asking MS Update to hide this tool and I’m not downloading it anymore. I don’t need another running resident “pop-up show” program ;D
Deleted by Mac
http://backslash.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/30/179257&from=rss
phone home!!!(sounds like something from a certain movie)
Hi all :
There's a long thread on wildersecurity forums on this .
It seems on June 27, Microsoft "updated" the KB 905474
to "counter" the WGARemoval Tool developed by
"gkweb". He has "revised" his Tool to ver 1.1 to "counter"
Microsoft's June 27 "Update", but it is more dangerous
to use now . Make sure you read the latest "news" at :
http://www.firewallleaktester.com/news.htm .
Hey, have one idea: what if all spyware/adaware programs added WGA tool into detection database? ;D
It could be name W32:WGA[Trj]
I heard Microsoft was taken to court because of it’s tool, and more and more people are against this tool. At first - it is possible security hole, then - you don’t know what information is sent from your pc every time and why, and at last - this tool decides legal Windows to be pirated sometimes. And, I’ve read the rumour, what in the future WGA function is going to change: it will block pirated windows permanently after 30 days, if you won’t buy legal one >:( I hope it’s only the rumour, nothing more… ???
Yes see reply #1 for the link.
“Microsoft has denied that WGA will kill pirated copies of Windows. According to Waggener Edstrom,“Microsoft anti-piracy technologies cannot and will not turn off your computer.” Microsoft also says that WGA is a necessary part of its campaign to catch those illegally using Windows XP which leads one to think what WGA really does then.” ;D
Does anyone know if blocking this in your firewall effectively contains the notification aspect?
As the technological world tries to grasp the meaning of Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), the Redmond-based company is coming under intense scrutiny and outright attacks. WGA, an initiative meant to combat piracy, has been causing problems with the computers that install it – even those that aren’t owned by pirates – and allegedly acts much like a malware device, sending information back to Microsoft.
Frustration with WGA and its incessant security warnings led to last week’s crack by Guillaume Kaddouch, a French-based developer who design and market firewall programs. A security analyst within Kaddouch successfully created a tool that exterminates the pesky WGA, and its availability is becoming more popular everyday. Kaddouch’s “RemoveWGA” is designed to do just that – clear out a “security” device that Microsoft only suggests, but has no system in place to easily remove. (Source: computerworld.com)
As if RemoveWGA and the French weren’t enough of a problem for Microsoft, an angry user from the LA-area has now sued the company over the technology WGA uses. The suit essentially claims that Microsoft installed illegal spyware-like programs on unsuspecting users. Expectedly, the Los Angeles-based suit it seeking class-action status with the widespread anger over WGA. (Source: news.com)
The WGA war likely won’t end anytime soon. Recently, Microsoft acknowledged that its much anticipated Vista will have WGA embedded within.
(Source: Infopackets Windows Newsletter)
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-Genuine-Advantage-can-be-axed-27477.shtml
is it worth it or not???
is it worth it or not???If your computer is 100% legal, why bother? Unless the calling home is something you can't live with. I personally don't care about the occasional verification.
as for me just going to leave it alone and don’t mess with it ;D
Try the idea of restoring back to a better point as suggested by =YLAP=.
I wasn’t able to restore all the way back to a pre-notification state, but I did get back to version 1 of the notification tool (the version that’s easily removed by WGARemoval Tool).
Two odd things though:
I got error messages that I could not restore to the dates I was trying, but the restore did work successfully (maybe part of Microsoft’s anti-removal policy??)
The update still shows in Add or Remove Programs even though the removal tool says its gone and Windows Updates would like me to download it again.
Why Microsoft would want WGA to phone home
Well I think Microsoft is taking a good step toward combating software piracy, however I think they should have taken a little more time to perfect the technology before implementing it, especially on a software product as widely used as Windows.