Microsoft faces second WGA lawsuit

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People please.....

I like contributing to this post but hate having to fish through it to get some informaiotn that?s actually useful. I don?t want to waste my time wadding through the mud and slander.

The issue is WGA is spyware. The mere fact that M$ admitted that it was not forth coming about it?s true intensions automatically spelled LAWSUIT. The funniest part is in the area most likely to launch such a suit was right here in California. Now lets look at the facts and try to think about whether or not these lawsuits have merit.

WGA was pushed out as a ?critical security update?. It was not an update, and it was not critical.

WGA notifies the user if their version or key is invalid or illegal. It?s been reported that 80% (I could be wrong) are a result of false positives due to a VLK issue.

WGA was caught phoning home to M$ databases on a daily basis (in actuality, only when the system is booted up) WGA was also caught recording the IP address, timestamping, recording bios information, language, and machine information without the consent or knowledge of the user. The Microsoft firewall (whether a design flaw or circumvented) did not detect the sending of that information as a threat, yet other firewalls noted that WGATRAY.EXE was trying to access the internet for unknown reasons.

The issue is whether or not WGA is spyware. Yes, it asked for your permission to load but so does most Trojan programs. What I think are getting people in a panic is that this is an invasion of privacy. Microsoft noted many times that the program does do what it?s been found out to do and that Microsoft adamantly admits that the disclosure isn?t complete or forth coming as to it?s true nature. Sad part is Microsoft is not denying it?s spying on its users. They claim that it is, under the guise of security, seeking out invalid copies of it?s beloved software. But for a company that hasn?t a clue about security, its sad to see them claim under that flag, and also admit that the program is flawed. I?m not here to bash MS even though I hate them for putting out such crap, and have continued to do so for so many years with each version more prone to problems then the last, but to put out something really untested and that would have such negative response, is pure stupidity and financial suicide. WGA can not compete against the allegation that it?s spyware. It is and that?s that. The mere definition of spyware is as follows (www.dictionary.com):

- -

Main Entry: spyware
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: any software that covertly gathers information about a user while he/she navigates the Internet and transmits the information to an individual or company that uses it for marketing or other purposes
Usage: computing

Source: Webster's New Millennium? Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6)
Copyright ? 2003-2005 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC


spyware
(Or "adware") Any type of software that transmits
information without the user's knowledge.

Information is sent via the Internet to a server somewhere,
normally as a hidden side effect of using a program.
Gathering this information may benefit the user indirectly,
e.g. by helping to improve the software he is using. It may
be collected for advertising purposes or, worst of all, to
steal security information such as passwords to online
accounts or credit card details.

Spyware may be installed along with other software or as the
result of a virus infection. There are many tools available
to locate and remove various forms of spyware from a computer.

Some HTTP cookies could be considered as spyware as their
use is generally not made explicit to users. It is however
possible to disallow them, either totally or individually, and
some are actually useful, e.g. recording the fact that a user
has logged in.
- -

So in conclusion to the question, yes, this case is legal and it will have major repercussions toward MS. No matter how much they cry that the intent was to thwart piracy, the facts are the facts. They could have done this a better way.

Posted by: mypl8s4u2   Posted on: 07/05/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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