14 DAY TRIAL // A recent update of the tool that checks the validity of Windows XP has sparked controversies regarding the application's nature.
Aside from repeatedly warning users whose OSs are rated as being forged, the new Windows Genuine Advantage sends information to Microsoft at every boot.
In the case of the pirated Windows versions this wouldn't be a problem, but WGA does this with the genuine versions as well.
News.com quotes a civil liberties activist as saying that to a certain extent, the tool which determines the authenticity of the OS is similar to a spyware application.
"I do not know what data is being sent to MS or is being received during these connections. I cannot locate any information in the MS descriptions to indicate that the tool would notify MS each time I booted a valid system. I fail to see where Microsoft has a "need to know" for this data after a system's validity has already been established, and there may clearly be organizations with security concerns regarding the communication of boot-time information. I'll leave it to the spyware experts to make a formal determination as to whether this behavior actually qualifies the tool as spyware," Lauren Weistein wrote on her blog Monday.
Microsoft officials contacted Lauren Weistein to inform him on this matter.
"I was told that no information is sent from the PC to MS during these connections in their current modality, though MS does receive IP address and date/timestamp data relating to systems' booting and continued operations, which MS would not necessarily otherwise be receiving."
This doesn't mean that Windows XP doesn't connect to Microsoft's server every single day to make the same validation.
However, it seems that things will improve, as the software behemoth is planning to reduce the frequency and to change the checking procedure itself.