Windows KB 905474 - Windows Genuine Advantage Notification

I've actually mellowed a bit about WGAN since MS changed their ways, even though I still choose to avoid it, as entirely unnecessary in my case.

My objections to WGAN are not really that it phones home. Shoot, I figure Windows has dozens of its programs/services doing that already. And MS has a legitimate interest in detecting pirated software.

My objections are (or were):

1) It is offered as a High Priority Update, suggesting that it is designed for your protection. For most this is not true, and misleading.
It is not in any way designed to protect you, and it is not a security update. The N in WGAN might as well stand for Nag, because that is what it will do if the WGA Tool (which is a different program and necessary to allow MS Updates to work) decides in its wisdom that your MS software is not legit. It will keep nagging you to buy a genuine copy, in the ways outlined in ky331's post.

Sounds reasonable, except that previous versions of WGAN  have made false positive detections of legit software in many well documented cases.  Why should I run the risk of becoming collateral damage due to a FP, when I know my software is legit? Why should I have to resolve such a FP by jumping through MS' hoops to prove my innocence?

2) Once installed, unlike most other updates, it cannot be removed (at least it could not in the past few years). Imagine if you had an anti-malware program that kept detecting a FP, that you could not turn off, or uninstall? Even if the FP problem were eliminated, why would anyone who knew their software was legit install such an uninstallable program which conferred no benefit?

3) When WGAN was first pushed on us a few years back, it did so with no EULA notification, nor did it ask for permission, and no transparent way to opt-out. If your Automatic Updates was enabled, or you went to MS Update and used the Express download option ("recommended") this non-security software was installed. Well, at least they now give you the option and the EULA (it is an Opt-in program), largely due to the backlash against such tactics. This is still not a required program, and if you know your software is legit (and that may be a big if, for some: see below) there is no benefit to installing it.

In short, MS lost a lot of my trust at that time, and I haven't used Automatic Updates or the Express option at MSU ever since. I now read the details of every Custom update offered, to make sure I understand exactly what is being offered, and to ensure it can be removed in Add/Remove if necessary. I don't recommend this approach in general- for most the benefits of using Automatic Updates outweighs the risks.

Perhaps MS has eliminated the FP detections. No doubt there are folks who get their PCs repaired at unscrupulous shops that just fix the problem with re-install pirated software, and folks who  inherit PCs with pirated software. Obviously it is to their benefit to know this, and WGAN will alert them to take corrective action.
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I notice that WGAN is not yet being pushed at MSU yet (for me, anyways). I also note that several "Hidden updates" at MSU I had  previously declined, including WGAN, are no longer present since I installed Service Pack 3. It will be interesting to see if it is offered to me again. As I last understood it, WGAN was only offered via Automatic Updates.

For more info on the history of WGA Validation Tool, and the WGA Notifications controversy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Genuine_Advantage

I'm new to this forum, and followed this thread only because it's fairly recent.  I've seen many articles and posts in which users complain about WGAN, especially its "nagging" quality.  I've seen many articles about how to disable it.  Maybe I'm one of the fortunate ones; and maybe I'm not: I've never installed it.  Until last week I had never been asked to do so either. 

I've had XP on this underpowered Dell machine for 3 years, and SP2 for most of that time, with automatic MS updates enabled; but I only recently installed another 512 MB of RAM and a bunch of MS  fixes (preparatory to supporting a new backup software, and too many for me to have any idea which ones do what).  Now I'm getting the WGAN Installation Wizard popup whenever I reboot.  Yes, I cancel it each time.  But I have no idea how to get rid of it once and for all.  All of the other articles discuss how to uninstall WGAN once it has been installed, but none address my question.  Is it too trivial?  Or should I go ahead and install it and then disable it (sounds like inviting a burglar into your house so that you can shoot him)?

Hi ACL in CP, and welcome:

It is my understanding that WGAN cannot be uninstalled. There was an unofficial uninstall tool for the first version, but I'm not aware of any that work with the current version. (I could be wrong- can you provide any links?).

I wouldn't invite this burglar in- you might not be able to shoot him!

Thanks, Joe53.  Actually, "uninstall" was misspeaking; I agree that "disable" or "bypass" is the best anybody can hope to do. 

The following article:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2006/04/26/disable-and-remove-windows-genuine-advantage-notifications-nag-screen/

is a cumulative patchwork that has been modified over time in a cat-and-mouse game with MS enhancements to WGAN.  I haven't tried any of the suggestions and don't want to get into a situation where I need to. 

But how do I get the burglar to stop coming around my neighborhood?????

Thanks for the link. Sounds like a lot of trouble, and you are wise to just not install this unnecessary WGAN in the first place.

I don't use automatic updates, so I don't have your problem. I don't in general recommend disabling automatic updates, but that is one sure way to get rid of that nag. On the other hand, I am obsessive about regularly checking for security updates at Microsoft Updates, and I always use the Custom (not the Express) option, which allows me to hide updates I don't want, such as WGAN. Most folks don't want the hassle of this manual approach.

I don't know if the following still works with Automatic Updates enabled, but it's worth a try:
Use "Notify me but do not download or install" in the Auto Update options. When you are informed, use the custom install, NOT the express install, and untick WGAN. You will be asked if you want the update to be hidden from future notifications. Click on Yes.

Thanks, Joe.  Y'know, I've been a geek at one time or another in my career, and I tried to read every update description and make sense of it all.  Microsoft has 4000 employees (well, maybe only 3,800 this week) whose sole job is to write obscure descriptions for their fixes that require specialized knowledge to understand.  I simply don't have the time for it anymore.  Automatic updates, express installation and blind acceptance are good enough ... except when they aren't ... because, again, who has time to examine and make an informed decision on each one?  

I don't think my reboot option screen is related to automatic update, however, because my updates aren't scheduled to run on reboot, only at a fixed time in the wee hours of the morning.  The popup is part of the boot sequence, and If I knew more about that and where it were coming from I suspect I could comment it out of whatever bat file or other script runs on reboot; but I don't know how all of that works and i don't feel like studying it.   So I guess I'll just keep on pressing the CANCEL button when the invitation pops up ... until the day I accidentally click the STICK IT TO ME button and am stuck with it for life or until I take a seldgehammer to my system. 

Thanks for your help.   ACL in CP

I hear you!

I am hampered somewhat in that MS has not pushed this WGAN update on me yet via MS Updates, nor even via Automatic Updates which I re-activated in trying to solve this. For all I know that is because it was buried in SP3 (and I wouldn't put it past MS to do this). However I don't see KB 905474 in my Add/Remove programs, so I'm assuming I don't have it.

One final suggestion: Go to the MS Update site I linked to previously, select the Custom updates, and hide the WGAN there, (if it is offered).

Sorry this has been so involved.  I may have solved this (unfortunately, "solved" does not imply "resolved").  I do have 905474, and my system indicates it was installed last November (that might even have been a deliberate, if misinformed, decision; I don't typically track that kind of stuff). 

I know I never saw the WGAN popup on boot until last week, when I installed SP3 and several other mods, all of which I was told I would need in order to install my backup software.  I suspect SP3 "awakened" 905474 in my system; since it's not in yours and you said you have SP3 but don't see the popup, that makes sense. 

As advertised, 905474 is non-removable.  I have not activated WGAN.  It's easier to cancel the request to do so each time I reboot than to say "yes" and spend the next six months, in case I'm for any reason not kosher, trying to figure out how to get it to stop nagging every time I start an app.  It's a pain because with my desktop safely in my office in my house, I bypass login checking.  I used to be able to trigger a restart and go brew nyself a cup of tea and return to a fully started machine.  Now i return to a popup I need to cancel.  Ah, well, life can be rough. 

Thanks for the discourse, Joe. 

Al in CP