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Deactivating Windows
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Author:  squidward_ [ Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Deactivating Windows
My IT teacher told me that if someone is pirating either Windows XP or Vista, Microsoft can break into that person's PC, and send a program to it to deactivate Windows so that when the person next turns on their PC, they will get a big schock to find it has ''somehow deactivated itself''. Is this true?
Author:  Craig [ Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:25 pm ]
Post subject: 
This is partly true, although its not classed as breaking in.

If you do some research into WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage), you will find that they can de-activate and give the user a warning. However WGA was a opt-in update.
Author:  squidward_ [ Fri Oct 17, 2008 5:06 pm ]
Post subject: 
I thought that was in Vista it deactivates itself if not genuine? Can WGA deactivate Windows XP as well?
Author:  motherboardlove [ Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:18 pm ]
Post subject: 
squidward_ wrote:
I thought that was in Vista it deactivates itself if not genuine? Can WGA deactivate Windows XP as well?


No. It just nags you, and stops you from getting new updates
Author:  squidward_ [ Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:07 pm ]
Post subject: 
But before WGA, could Microsoft send a bot program into your computer to deactivate Windows XP, and if you had Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office?
Author:  mrpijey [ Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:13 pm ]
Post subject: 
Not really. A firewall or router would still stop them. Sure, a download could be initiated from the client and ran that deactivated Windows, but if that happened then every antivirus company would flag that as a backdoor, and Microsoft would get massive badwill and sued by countless companies. Regardless that piracy is illegal, it's also piracy that do keep Microsoft on top. A big chunk of Windows users do actually run a pirated copy, and if Microsoft enforced such a intrusive method people would abandon it fast. Or crack it :P.
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