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Black Screens For Unauthorized Copies of Windows

Posted by timothy on from the black-is-the-new-black dept.

arcticstoat writes "In a bid to deter people from using pirate versions of Windows XP, Microsoft is now updating its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) tool to introduce a few uncomfortable niggles for users of pirated versions of Windows. These include replacing the desktop wallpaper with a black screen every 60 minutes, although you can still replace it with your wallpaper of choice in the intervening period. As well as this, copies of Windows deemed to not be genuine will also have a translucent watermark above the system tray, which Microsoft calls a 'persistent desktop notification.'"

2 of 762 comments (clear)

  1. *Innocent Whistling* by loteck · · Score: 5, Informative

    Cough, Cough.

    *Continues innocent whistling*

  2. Re:Notifications by Shaper+of+Myths · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is actually pretty easy to defeat. Just boot into safe mode (XP Home) or regular mode (XP Pro or Media Center). Find the files in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 called 'wgalogon.dll' and 'wgatray.exe'. Bring up the file properties, go to the security tab and remove the inherited permissions from the files (don't copy them, strip them completely). Answer yes when it asks if you're sure about this. Reboot and WGA will never bother you again. I've done this on dozens of machines and it just skips the update because its too stupid to fix permissions. The only exception to this is the Service Packs or repair installs. YMMV

    Of course nobody should have to do it in the first place but this is an example of corporate-think at it's best from our fiends in Redmond. If XP is so dead why should they be developing new WGA tricks for it anyways? Sounds to me like its them getting a bit nervous about how many people are jumping ship from Vista and pointing at 'hackers' as the problem. Again. =)