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Download From Microsoft Without a WGA Check
Anonymous Coward writes, "When you want to download a file from Microsoft, a WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) check is performed. Microsoft installs a small piece of software on your computer that contacts the Microsoft server and checks the validity of your installed Windows software. If the test fails you will not be able to download the file(s). The following method gives you the ability to download every file from Microsoft without a WGA check."
But I just tryed this with an invalid version of Windows, and no dice. I think the article is misleading, and this isn't even newsworthy. I don't believe this is a way to "skip" authentication, but simply a way of manually entering your key into the URL, essentially what you would've done anyway, except in a form text area. No?
As I mentioned in a post in a different article, I've had a painfully annoying run in with Window Activate while in the middle of a computer upgrade.
The short description, XP decided it needed to Activate (could NOT log in without activating it), but I hadn't finished installing drivers; forcing me to phone up their support instead of doing it online.
Then, because I had not yet installed the rest of the hardware (which; without the drivers installed were causing the machine to reboot, or bluescreen before windows even started). the Windows Activation bitched at me again when I was done. At least this time it gave me a 3 day window before it would deactivate; this gave me an opportunity to install the rest of the drivers, etc.
This second time it forced me to call Microsoft again, even though the network connection was now working fine, because the machine had changed too much, and been activated too many times.
Then it lead me to believe I could just use the automated method (the voice recognition is actually pretty good), but after reading a billion digits to the computer it decided I wasn't allowed to do it that way and passed me off to an operator.
And you think I want to trust WGA if I need a hot-fix to add security patches, etc?
The only people not having problems with Windows XP Activation and WGA are the damn pirates.
That building's connection is provided by a company on the top floor that NATs everything but the server rooms. There are something like 1500 users on that outgoing IP, including the open wireless network in the coffee shop on the first floor (and boy does it cause some interesting problems sometimes.) And a 7 digit alphanumeric hash of a 25 digit alphanumeric product key means there are roughly 8x10^19 collisions for each hash. (Less that that because not all the keys are valid, of course, but still.)
Not worried.
Many of us know firsthand that activating a Microsoft product can often be an onerous task, but this seems a little suspicious. Assuming that:
1. someone owns a valid Windows license and
2. they're pretty organized and didn't misplace their key and
3. they believe that Microsoft does not collect private information using WGA
then why would circumventing WGA be of use to them? In that situation, is patching a pirated copy of Windows the only realistic use for this trick? Could somebody chime in and suggest *another* use for it?
The only real reason to go around WGA is if you're using a pirated copy of Windows.
Incorrect. I, personally, have Windows machines, but I'm not foolish enough to let machines running Windows to have close connection to the Internet. So if I wanted to download updates I would want to do it from this NetBSD machine, which is what I customarily use for online things (and which is routed to the Internet).
My Windows machines are authentic, and I have all the 'paperwork' and media to prove it. I'm just not gonna hang them out on the net.
And it makes perfect sense that people who want to apply all the patches to secure a Windows system are going to want to get those updates first on an already secured system. Am I supposed to connect my machine with a freshly installed Day Zero copy of Windows 2000 (I pre-registered to pre-order Windows 2000 before it came out, so I have first release media with all the exploits, etc.) online to download security patches? Do I seem like I'm nuts?
in addition to the other (entirely valid) reasons noted by folks for wanting to get around the horridly flawed idea of WGA authentication: i run windows inside emulation, generally without a direct real-world network connection. it's much nicer to be able to download bits in my native environment and move them over at my leisure.
i speak for myself and those who like what i say.
Why not charge more? The more legit users they can get to pirate software, the more reason they have to implement DRM and other wasteful technologies to combat piracy, etc.
They're making work for themselves, basically, and charging honest people a hell of a lot of money to stay honest.
Good luck to them. I've finally collected the last pieces of the puzzle for Linux at home, and will be removing the last Windows machine (wife's PC) off of my network in a matter of weeks.
No more fucking MS bullshit. Adios.
Making light of national security is serious. This is the USA, you have no right to criticize the government!
Is WGA applied universally to downloads, even ones meant to fix serious problems? Or, for instance, can you always download security patches without the rubber gloves?
Probably not. I can imagine hundreds of illegal copies of Windows already taken over and turned into spam bots, etc. and thanks to WGA, there is no way to fix them. Can WGA keep these machines off the Internet, keep them from harming others? No.
In time, networking protocols evolve, systems change, etc. so these wide-open networked machines will eventually lose some of their teeth. But not before another decade or so of anguish, thanks to Microsoft's unbelievable failure to accept responsibility.
"Microsoft killed my company, I hold a personal grudge. I don't use Microsoft products and neither should you."-JWZ
That's interesting, but I'd sooner be caught naked in the streets than getting my OS updates off of some random site on the internet I know nothing about.
I'm in the same boat. Their patch site is reaallllyyy fishy. Usually I would see links to it in random forums along with comments from one-time posters like "I assure you it's 100% safe!" even before somebody raised the issue of security. Plus, a substantial number of virus checkers routinely flag their plugin and even their website as containing viruses. I was quickly scared away.
I'm waiting for "How to download from (pay)iTunes without paying for it" and "Circumvent Payment in Valve's Steam"
Sehr geehrter Toilettenbenutzer!