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One In Five Windows Installs Is Non-Genuine

Posted by kdawson on from the false-positives dept.

snib writes "Microsoft disclosed Monday that, according to reports collected by the notorious Windows Genuine Advantage tool on millions of users' PCs, 22% of all Windows installs do not pass its validation tests and have therefore been deemed non-genuine. Quoting: 'Since WGA launched in July 2005, over 512 million users have attempted to validate their copy of Windows, Microsoft said. Of those, the non-genuine rate was 22.3 percent... [T]he Business Software Alliance... reports that 35 percent of the world's software is pirated (22 percent in North America)...'"

2 of 481 comments (clear)

  1. i dont think that word means what they think it me by User+956 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Microsoft disclosed Monday that, according to reports collected by the notorious Windows Genuine Advantage tool on millions of users' PCs, 22% of all Windows installs do not pass its validation tests and have therefore been deemed non-genuine.

    genuine /dnyun/ -adjective

    1. possessing the claimed or attributed character 2. descended from the original stock; pure in breed:

    Even pirated software is genuine.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  2. Re:Well... by pla · · Score: 5, Informative

    Your story is telling...mostly telling lies. Added RAM? that alone wont cause it to need a new key.

    Presuming you mean that seriously, rather than just to troll the guy...

    He said, and I quote, "I added a gig of RAM and a different video card" (bolding mine). Two changes, depending on which ones, can trigger reactivation.

    Really quite annoying, actually. I find it much easier to just pirate VLK versions. That way, no messy activation (or cracks thereof) to bother with.



    To which I will reply: Fine, Why didn't you just call Microsoft?

    Have you ever called a company to tell them they've made a mistake? Hmm?

    Trust me, it takes far less time to just download a "third-party patch" to correct the problem, than trying to do things the "right" way.