WGA Causes (More) Problems Worldwide
Once again Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) has gone awry, penalizing legitimate Windows XP and Vista users.
The problem occurred when unspecified server problems caused by an unknown automatic update from Microsoft created a Windows Validation meltdown making Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage servers incorrectly flag legitimate copies of Windows XP and Vista as pirated copies.
The damage created quite a stir in the Microsoft Support Forums, with disruptions lasting for about 19 hours over this past weekend. Windows Vista users who rebooted their computers were blasted with WGA pop-ups, while having to run in reduced functionality mode.
One disgruntled victim who had been running a developer's copy of Vista wrote, "my legitimate MSDN-acquired Vista Ultimate, which has been running, activated and validated for several months now fails WGA." He's not alone. Others noted their disgust and threatened switching to Linux or a Mac.
