Windows Genuine Advantage
Anti-infringement system by Microsoft / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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Developer(s) | Microsoft |
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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]