Windows to nag pirates through Windows Update
Courtesy of amon-re’s blog, A description of the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications application on Microsoft’s website states that Windows XP will present nag screens, show balloon tooltips in the taskbar, and lock the desktop of a system whose copy of XP fails the Genuine Advantage validation procedure. Microsoft goes on to say that one can view notifications using Add/Remove Programs, but that you cannot remove the notifications using said tool (which begs the question of why the hell they’re listed in Add/Remove programs…).
Finally, the page states that Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications will be deployed using Automatic Updates.
So, let me get this one straight… Microsoft is presenting pirates with nag screens, locked desktops, and notifications that their copy is pirated (or, to use Microsoft’s terminology, that they “may be the subject of software counterfeiting”) using a service which every Windows pirate on the planet knows not to use.
A brilliant plan.