I’m one of the last holdouts when it comes to Microsoft Genuine Advantage. I don’t like the fact that Microsoft is poking around — they just aren’t any good at it; nor do I like them assuming a user is out to steal the operating system. I look at Genuine Advantage as a technical annoyance, an unnecessary code bloat, and a slap in the face. As such, I’ve been refusing to do it. Period.
Anytime a download on their site requires “testing” the machine, I’ve avoided the download or got someone else to snag it. I’m trying to make a point, and I’m trying to convey I don’t like what you’re doing.
Windows Updates, however, are another matter. I want to be a good Internet citizen and do everything I can to keep my machine safe from being an abused resource that could impact others.
There was a fairly well-known workaround that allowed you to enter javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck=’all’) in the browser right after loading the Windows Update which would bypass the check and snag the updates. This kind of simplistic workaround distills what kind of remaining trust I have in Microsoft’s abilities.
This morning I went to snag the latest updates, and it said before I could use this version of Windows Update, it needed to run and install a new version of Windows Genuine Advantage. This couldn’t be good, as anything with the word Avantage in it coming from Microsoft usually isn’t talking about my benefit, no matter what spin they put on it.
See, I’ve been using Genuine Advantage as an extra safety net to make sure that -I- know what’s going onto my machine. Why would I be concerned about such things? Because, to be blunt, Microsoft screws up. I had a NT 2000 box that Microsoft, for some reason, decided my network card was an audio card. What it grabbed the “needed” audio driver, it stomped on the network card, and very bad things happened. It took several hours to undo the mess, and thinking it was my fault along the way, I reapplied the Windows Update, and the same thing happened, and again it took several hours to undo. Point being, Microsoft long lost my trust with that one, and the last time I tried booting the machine to pull data off it, they were still doing it.
By not having Genuine Advantage give the all clear, I felt there was an extra layer of insulation between me and Microsoft, and the more distance they have from my hardware, the better.
This morning, that changed.
After the “new” Windows Advantage update, I tried going to the Windows Update page without entering the workaround. And it let me through.
Yes, so there you have it Microsoft. You finally got what you wanted: knowledge that I’m running a geniune, legal copy of Windows, installed by the good folks at Dell, with holographic stickers and all. Happy?
Every door you break down because it has a lock on it doesn’t mean there’s a criminal behind it.