Genuine Windows Blog : WGA Notifications

Update to WGA Notifications for Windows XP Pro

alexkoc — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:10:00 GMT

Starting this week, we will begin deployment of the latest version of WGA Notifications for Windows XP. In addition to the usual updates to validation that improve WGA's ability to detect the latest stolen or fake product keys and other attempts to circumvent product activation, this release will also include a couple of other significant updates.

With this release we've improved the design making it easier to install the update and to stay up to date with the latest release of WGA. This release focuses on the product edition that we find is most often counterfeited, Windows XP Professional.

This update includes the latest validation information including recently stolen or misused product keys and other information. Also changing with this update is the installation process. It has been updated so that once the update has been downloaded by Automatic Updates (completely in line with your existing AU settings) after the next login or reboot the install wizard (below) will be presented to the user and they will be able to choose whether to install the update in the same way as in past releases.

Customers who installed the last update will simply have the validation information (new product keys etc.) be updated without their needing to go through the install process again.

After installing this version of WGA Notifications on a copy of Windows XP that fails the validation a users experience of Windows would include (same as with the last release) first a message at their next logon indicating that they might be a victim of software counterfeiting. They would see that their desktop has changed to a plain black background and they will see a persistent desktop notification above the system tray as well as messages from the system tray offering additional information and ways that the customer can report the piracy or obtain a genuine copy of Windows. See this previous blog post for more info on the included notifications experience.

As always, feel free to offer your feedback.

Thanks!

-Alex Kochis

Director, Genuine Windows

WGA Notifications and download and install telemetry

alexkoc — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:52:00 GMT

We’ve gotten a few questions recently about the fact that our latest WGA Notifications package sends install telemetry when installed or canceled. Given past concerns about data WGA sends out I wanted to take a moment to explain what is happening with this latest release and why.

First, all downloads that flow through Windows Update return success/failure telemetry. This is because of the large scale of distributions over Windows Update. When sending out an update package to potentially millions of customers it’s important to gather basic data on successful installations, install failures and user rejections or cancelations at any point in the process. Second, this event is one time only. Also, if the system isn’t connected to the internet nothing will be sent nor will it be if an attempt to send fails.

By learning at what point in the install process some users decide to abandon, we can put more effort into the right places in the installation wizard. Remember our goal with the wizard is to give more information so customers will be better informed. We heard from customers that they wanted more information about what the software was and how it worked so we created the install wizard to provide that greater context. Knowing this kind of information about the install wizard installations is critical for us to continue to improve the customer experience of WGA. If we are not hitting that mark, we can use this method to improve.

Just to allay any fears that Microsoft is using any personal information, here an example of the actual XML that is returned when a user cancels an installation. We’ve also added a data type and detailed description of each field. This XML schema is common to a number of products so some fields are not used in this case.

For completeness (and for our lawyers) I’d like to point out that disclosure of this type of install telemetry is made in the Windows Update privacy statement. All the information that is sent as a result of WGA Notifications being installed is covered by WGA-specific disclosures such as the EULA presented in the installation wizard and our privacy statements. Our commitment on privacy is oft-stated and we do not use any of the information collected through WGA to identify or contact any user. For more info on WGA Notifications see these pages.

New look and feel for the site and more!

alexkoc — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:05:00 GMT

In addition to our recent upgraded new look and feel today the team published new diagnostics pages for WGA and OGA . And in anticipation of tomorrow's launch of WGA Notifications in countries around the world additional information about WGA Notifications has also been published.

New look and feel

I really like the new look and feel of the site. It's a much cleaner look and I think improves the usability of the pages too. In addition to an overall lighter and cleaner look (which I think improves the usability of the site) we've also gotten some new branding. I really like the new masthead and also the new placement of ‘validate' buttons for both Windows and Office.

New Masthead

New Validate Buttons

New Diagnostic Pages

As I mentioned we have also published new diagnostics pages and a support options page which can help users learn more about the configuration of their systems help them use both WGA and OGA. The diagnostics page will enable users to find out the following information:

If scripting is turned on
If images display correctly
If the System Date and Time are relatively correct
If the Microsoft Genuine Advantage ActiveX controls load correctly
If the Microsoft Genuine Advantage ActiveX controls are able to successfully connect to the validation servers

Below is a shot of the diag out put the first time I ran this page on my home system.

I think this is a pretty typical output, the Windows validation ActiveX control is outdated as is the OGA one so they don't clear the first pass of the diag. And for someone using the site for the first time it's not surprising that the Validation Self-help control isn't loaded either. Clicking the ‘Resolve Now' button in at the bottom prompts the installation of updated controls and allows a couple of additional checks including that of the data.dat file, a cryptography check and a product activation check as seen here.

Expanded information about WGA Notifications

Also just published is new expanded content that describes WGA Notifications, what it is, why it should be used and how it works. The new content is presented in an easy to read way and includes a screen by screen walk through of the installation and validation process. This new content is available here on the About Notifications pages.