Windows 7 update to combat Pirate copies

Microsoft will be releasing an update allowing them to better detect illegal activations of the Windows 7 operating system.

Windows Activation Technologies (WAT) groups together all of Microsoft’s anti-pirating technologies, which are for the majority made up of counterfeit detection tools. Present in Windows 7, these technologies will soon receive an update so as to detect 70 known illegal activation codes which have been used to hack the operating system.

This update aimed at all versions of Windows 7 will be available for download from next week, while its distribution via Windows Update as an important patch will be done by the end of the month. A voluntary database will be updated with hacked security codes, something which will be carefully avoided by some users. Microsoft’s objective though is to take a teaching role aimed at alerting users who may not know that their copy of Windows 7 is illegal.

Microsoft will notify users of the risks linked to using pirated versions of Windows 7 (and the different methods of hacking its activation) increasing a users risk of viruses, Trojan horses and malware. If the WAT update detects that the activation process has been hacked, then reoccurring notifications will alert the user that their copy of Windows 7 isn’t authentic, directing them to purchase a valid license. The message wont be missed either, as the screen background will be changed to a warning message.

The warning won’t go any further than this though, and the operating system won’t move into a reduced function mode. This decision breaks away from some of Microsoft’s previous practices. As for the registration process, Microsoft assures users that the update (executed every 90 days) will send no personal information to their servers. This precision hasn’t been done off the cuff, as WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) the precursor to WAT, was for a long time suspected of being spyware.

Microsoft has also escaped class action in the USA related to the spread of WGA for Windows XP in 2006, allowing them to also avoid paying substantial damages and interest.