Should I install the Windows Genuine Advantage update - which has been downloaded-- or not? What would be the consequences of not downloading it? Caroline Copnall
This is a tricky one, because the update could (perhaps mistakenly) identify your copy of Windows XP as "not genuine", in which case Microsoft will send you "periodic reminders" to get a legal copy. I have installed WGA without problem, but it is optional, and requires you to agree to a "supplemental" EULA (End User License Agreement) which sends Microsoft "your Windows XP product key, hard drive serial number, PC manufacturer, operating system version, Windows XP product ID, PC BIOS information, user locale setting, language version of Windows XP, validation result and whether the installation of this supplement was successful". None of this identifies you personally, and it isn't really an invasion of privacy (see http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/PrivacyInfo.aspx), but it feels intrusive.
If you are on the net, any website will know some of this information, and can probably find out more. You may have given an online supplier access to all your email, your address book, any text you create in an online word processor, and a record of your web searches -- in which case, worrying about your hard drive serial number is probably not productive.
The benefits of WGA are small. They include "free updates from Windows Update" -- which are already free -- plus various downloads and special offers, such as software discounts (http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/WhyValidate.aspx). The downloads include the beta versions of Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Defender, Windows Media Player 10, Photo Story 3 for Windows etc. There's nothing you can't live without.
I expect Microsoft to tighten the noose on pirate software, so it becomes more difficult to operate a non-validated version of Windows. However, critical security updates will probably always remain free, because unpatched machines taken over for relaying spam and viruses hurt every Windows user, and therefore Microsoft, not just the PC's owner.
