PCTips Box

Microsoft has made available for download the Windows SteadyState for the 32-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. SteadyState is a Windows management tool designed for scenarios in which access to machines is completely unrestricted. The evolution of the Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP, Windows SteadyState has been designed for the specific purpose of managing shared computers, safeguarding system resourced against changes made by untrusted users, and making irrelevant unwanted software installations. (more…)

One of our readers Vimal reported us a problem saying: “windows not genuine , this comes when I start my Windows XP“.

This is one of the most common problem which is faced by lot of windows users these days as they don’t have the legit copy of windows XP.

This message as shown in the image above appears every time the user logged in windows, with a timer of some seconds before the Resolve Later button got enabled, all this delayed the entire windows logon process.

Let’s see how can we resolve this issue (more…)

The counterfeited software has always represented a problem for both software companies and consumers and the phenomenon is getting stronger nowadays. It appears that pirated technologies are available even in retail stores, which makes the fight against such software almost impossible. According to PC World, there were cases when users bought Windows, but when trying to install it, the Windows Genuine Advantage technology warned them that the operating system was not genuine. And this happened when Amanda Barr, from Midland, Ontario, bought the software from a local retail store.

“They (the computer store) told me I hadn’t installed the program properly and I had to take it out and do it again. The store manager even threatened me and became abusive,” she said, according to the same source mentioned above. (more…)

Unlike Windows XP, which was sent barefoot into the world, Windows Vista comes in the context of a mature anti-piracy infrastructure courtesy of the Windows Genuine Advantage mechanism, and with the Reduced Functionality Mode limitations. Reduced Functionality Mode in Vista is delivered in two distinct flavors: out-of-grace and non-genuine. The first is associated with operating systems that have not been activated in the initial 30 days grace period while the second is a result of the detection of a potentially pirated copy of the platform.

“Windows Vista may enter reduced functionality mode if one of the following conditions is true: you do not activate Windows Vista within the specified activation period; (more…)

If you’ve installed any Microsoft updates recently you may recall seeing something called Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) in amongst the bits and pieces you are urged to install. WGA is meant to validate your copy of Windows, but at the same time WGA also installs something called the Windows Genuine Advantage Notification tool.

This is a little utility that looks for pirated copies of Microsoft software, but here’s the worrying bit. Every time you boot up your PC it calls home to Microsoft, (or once a day if your PC is left running). (more…)

Hacks at German wire Heise revealed that Microsoft’s updated Windows Genuine Advantage Notification phones home when the installation is aborted. The user is not notified of the communication, but Microsoft claims it is useful for it to know when an installation is cancelled.

Using network sniffer Wireshark the hacks say they also detected the software logging those not signing up to Windows update. It says data transmitted may contain enough information to identify individual computers. Microsoft told Heise it collected the data to improve the quality of the WGA for users. (more…)