No Kill Switch in WGA, Says Microsoft

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

In an earlier post, I reported on a blog posting by Ed Bott of ZDNet. In it, he had information that allegedly indicated Microsoft would, some day, use WGA to disable PCs that either were not running WGA or had invalid OSes. At the time, Microsoft had no comment, but now Microsoft indicates this is false … although changes to Vista will make it more difficult for hackers.

Microsoft Corp. today denied speculation that it plans to cripple copies of Windows XP for users who refuse to install its controversial antipiracy tool, Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA).

But the software company confirmed that for its upcoming Windows Vista operating system, companies will be required to activate their software differently than they do today in order to prevent the leakage of volume licenses that are the source of most Windows piracy. Source: ComputerWorld

We Say: Volume licenses are a big source of piracy. Anyone remember how Windows XP SP2 wouldn’t install on a certain set of keys that had been ID’ed as pirated? I’m still not clear on exactly what Microsoft has lined up for volume licensing in Vista, as Microsoft hasn’t given details yet. Corporations aren’t going to be happy if they have to jump through hoops to install it.