Microsoft: Windows antipiracy tool not spyware
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Microsoft defended its Windows Genuine Advantage tool this week against charges that it acts like spyware because it constantly checks in with Microsoft when a user boots a PC with the tool installed.
When first introduced last year, the WGA, which checks a user's copy of Windows XP to ensure it is not counterfeit or pirated, ran only on Windows PCs when a user would install automatic updates. Microsoft updated the tool, which is still in pilots, in April with a WGA Notifications feature that checks the legitimacy of Windows on a machine regardless of whether update services are being used.