Windows Genuine Advantage
Anti-infringement system by Microsoft / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Windows Activation Technologies?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) was an anti-infringement system created by Microsoft used to validate the licences of several Microsoft Windows operating systems upon accessing services such as Windows Update and Microsoft Download Center.
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
![]() | |
Developer(s) | Microsoft |
---|---|
Stable release | 1.9.42.0
/ June 26, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-06-26) |
Operating system | Windows XP to Windows 7 |
Platform | IA-32, x86-64 |
Type | Copy protection, digital rights management |
License | Proprietary (same as Windows) |
Website | www![]() |
It consisted of two components: an installable component called WGA Notifications that hooks into Winlogon and validates the Windows license upon each logon and an ActiveX control that checks the validity of the Windows license when downloading certain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or Windows Update.
WGA Notifications covered Windows XP and later, with the exception of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.
The ActiveX Control checked Windows 2000 Professional licenses as well.[1]
In Windows 7, WGA was renamed Windows Activation Technologies.[2]
Despite its name it does not actually evaluate the integrity or security of any computer.[3]