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Thread ID: 68366	2006-04-26 00:29:00	You may be a victim of software counterfeiting	jamesyboi (6579)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
449511	2006-04-26 00:29:00	My friend invited me over to have a look at his PC. when he starts it up it says his installation of windows is not genuine and then when windows is fully loaded it has an icon next to the time in the corner saying "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting". it gives him the option to get a genuine windows etc.... is there anyway around this? or to disable it? its not in msnconfig. and its very annoying. even if his windows may not be genuine it just says he is simply not able to have automatic updates anymore. fine. but how can he get rid of the annoying icon and message? anyone?	jamesyboi (6579)
449512	2006-04-26 00:41:00	You may have to contact MS according to.. this (forums.anandtech.com) and You may be a victim of software counterfeiting. The Windows product key installed on this computer is not genuine. The product key is a unique identifier assigned by Microsoft only to genuine Windows software. If this key is missing or incorrect, it may indicate the presence of counterfeit software and your system may be at risk. The Windows product key installed on this computer is a Volume License Key (VLK) that has been blocked. A VLK is typically licensed to organizations that want to use multiple copies of Windows. However, if a VLK is reported as stolen or leaked, it is blocked from passing validation and is not considered genuine. If you received a computer with a VLK, and you do not have a Volume License Agreement with Microsoft, you may be a victim of software counterfeiting. If this has happened to you, learn how to get genuine below. If you do have a Volume License Agreement with Microsoft, you believe you are using the appropriate VLK assigned to your organization, and your VLK has not been reported as stolen or lost, contact your system administrator, Large Account Reseller (LAR), or Enterprise Software Advisor (ESA) to report the problem.	Myth (110)
449513	2006-04-26 01:00:00	Also: support.microsoft.com	Terry Porritt (14)
449514	2006-04-26 01:22:00	My friend invited me over to have a look at his PC. when he starts it up it says his installation of windows is not genuine and then when windows is fully loaded it has an icon next to the time in the corner saying "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting". it gives him the option to get a genuine windows etc.... is there anyway around this? or to disable it? its not in msnconfig. and its very annoying. even if his windows may not be genuine it just says he is simply not able to have automatic updates anymore. fine. but how can he get rid of the annoying icon and message? anyone? I've never encountered anyone with that problem before. Has it just started saying that after an update, or has it always been saying that? Did your friend get his computer second hand with windows pre-installed?	Greven (91)
449515	2006-04-26 01:28:00	Its appearing because of this notification update that came out today. As it says in the previous links. The guy has either downloaded it from Windowsupdate. Or his system has been configured to download and install automatic updates, on his version of Windows.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
449516	2006-04-26 02:09:00	he has automatic updates on, it just appeared today, as far as i know. I did some research and found a code u enter into a url to get past the cd key detection for ms updates. but i dont think thats the same as this. maybe its so new that its not documented yet. anyways. as i said its not in msconfig or a system process that i can see. just appear as a black hollow star shape that wont go away >.<	jamesyboi (6579)
449517	2006-04-26 02:22:00	Well as it says in the previous links as well, remove it in add/remove programs . However, the guy still wont be able to download updates . Unless automatic updates is enabled . Because its a corp version, and the key its using is blacklisted / has been blocked by MS . And this is what the validation process checks . If u mean this notfication thing isnt documented, it is . Its on the MS site . The link Terry posted .	Speedy Gonzales (78)
449518	2006-04-26 02:30:00	Hello It is the update kb905474 which came in as part of the latest updates. It also installs a splash screen before/during start up of windows. The removal of the hollow star is quite simple but there is no option of uninstalling the update(so far) See this: support.microsoft.com and you "can" delete this to get rid of(rename) the star:C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\wgat ray.exe Hope this is of some help :(	notechyet (4479)
449519	2006-04-26 02:31:00	Hello It is the update kb905474 which came in as part of the latest updates. It also installs the "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting" splash screen before/during start up of windows. The removal of the hollow star is quite simple but there is no option of uninstalling the update(so far) See this: support.microsoft.com and you "can" delete(rename) this to get rid of the star:C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\wgat ray.exe Hope this is of some help :(	notechyet (4479)
449520	2006-04-26 03:47:00	Hello ................but there is no option of uninstalling the update(so far) See this: support.microsoft.com and you "can" delete(rename) this to get rid of the star:C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\wgat ray.exe Hope this is of some help :( I am not condoning piracy, but, in the interests of science.....:) I have just uninstalled KB905474, Windows Genuine Advantage Notification, all the files it infiltrated and all the registry entries. One slight 'problem' I also removed the earlier Windows Genuine Validation Tool as well, so that when I went back into update, first of all it said I had to install that, then I had the option to install KB905474 all over again :) As I say purely in the interests of science and confuting Microsoft yet once again.	Terry Porritt (14)
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