14 DAY TRIAL // The Redmond Company has taken action in response to the criticism it faced regarding the Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy tool and has rethought the problem-features. Releasing an update to the WGA Notifications package, Microsoft did more than just a face lift, it actually relaxed the tool that will no longer phone home after every restart but will instead, as the software giant announced only contact Microsoft's servers once every two weeks.
Furthermore the company changed even the WGA license. The new document informs the end-user in detail about the purpose and manner of operation of the anti-piracy tool, unlike its former version that did not disclose that the software was contacting Microsoft at every boot.
Microsoft will continue to release WGA via Windows Automatic Updates, but has toned it down from "critical" to just "high-priority", even though it refers in no way to security updates. The application is mandatory for the users that wish to install security patches from Microsoft, as only critical patches can be accessed without its presence.
Furthermore, Microsoft even officially published a method to uninstall WGA, after claiming that such an action was not possible. Windows Genuine Advantage is removed automatically when the update is installed, but the Redmond Company provides with a way to manually uninstall as well.
"We have heard from customers that some wish to remove the software," the company representative said. "Anyone who uninstalls...WGA Notifications will still have the new release offered to them via Automatic Updates or Windows Update. Uninstalling the newest version using these instructions is not tested, supported or recommended."