Microsoft WGA is spyware according to poll

Stan Beer
Monday, 10 July 2006 19:38

Your IT - Home IT

It may not be any different in operation than what Apple is running to check Mac OSX downloads are bona fide but as far as many users are concerned the Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program is spyware.

At least that's the general consensus of the latest iTWire poll. The poll asked the question: "Is the Windows Genuine Advantage program spyware?" Of the respondents over a 24 hour period 83% answered yes 17% answered no.

It is fairly clear by now that the Microsoft WGA program has been an absolute public relations disaster for the company. There are now two class-action lawsuits in process asserting that WGA is spyware and the company has added to its big bad bogeyman reputation of trying to assert unwarranted control over its users.

What is causing users to get upset with Microsoft is not so much what it has done, but how it has done it. Software to ascertain whether your product is genuine is ethically and legally legitimate. Likewise there would appear to be nothing wrong with letting people know that their copy of Windows is not genuine or even nagging them to buy to the real deal.

However, what is wrong is not letting users know up front that they're installing such software on their computers. It is also wrong to hold users accountable for software installed on brand name hardware that was bought through recognized retail outlets. Such users, who feel that they have been wrongfully accused of piracy, deserve to be contacted directly by Microsoft for an explanation.

When users download a product from a company like Microsoft, they are within their rights to expect that the product is exactly what it purports to be and nothing more. If that product is expected to be a suite of security updates downloaded automatically, then that is what users should receive and nothing more. If software is installed without the user's knowledge of what it and its purpose is, then that software could be construed to be spyware.

Finally, one of the characteristics of spyware is that it is difficult to remove from your system. This happens to be a key characteristic of WGA. No-one likes the idea of not being able to de-install a software program that they voluntarily downloaded. Microsoft is doing itself a disservice by foisting unwanted software on unsuspecting users and then refusing them the right to get rid of it.

The issue at stake is not software piracy. Microsoft has a right to ensure that people are using genuine copies of its software. However, the consensus is that installing unwanted software on users' computers is not the way to achieve that goal.