SP1 will rid Vista of WGA 'kill switch'

For years now, Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage program (WGA), has been a punchline for many in the tech world. Often derided for wrongfully accusing millions of legitimate Windows users, WGA has long been seen by critics as characteristic of Microsoft's flawed approach to piracy. While the company has historically stood by WGA, it recently started rolling back the program a bit, as seen by the lifting of WGA verification as a requirement for downloading IE7.

Now, the company has announced that Windows Vista Service Pack 1 will see the end of what was perhaps the most controversial WGA practice: the so-called Vista "kill switch." At the moment, WGA has the ability to lock-down any Windows systems that are determined to use a pirated copy of Vista. Since there have been widespread reports of legit Vista systems being inadvertently placed under lock and key, Microsoft has decided to soften its approach a bit, replacing the kill switch with a nagging dialog box in Vista SP1. "They won't lose access to functionality or features, but it will be very clear to them that their copy of Window Vista is not genuine and they need to take action," Microsoft corporate vice president said in a statement. As we've previously reported, Vista SP1 looks to be on track for a Q1 2008 release.

For more on WGA:
- see this BBC article