Lately I have been struggling with something - Windows Genuine Advantage. There have been a lot of reports and other concerns that this could indeed, be a form of spyware. Speaking for myself, I tend to believe that it is being way over stated.

To be clear, I believe that this form of piracy protection is doing more harm than good, however the fact remains that this is indeed now a part of the Windows world. Unless something was not mentioned in the TOS that Windows comes with (including updates), then I fail to see what the issue is.

Look, if it is bothering you that much, then don’t use Windows! Seriously, I am feeling like people are rolling back into the role of the victim every time a company does something they don’t like. And I would also like to add that I don’t approve of Windows Genuine Advantage myself, but simply don’t feel that my life is going to come crashing in around me should I decide to use the OS.

Are we simply becoming paranoid?
Sometimes I believe the fear of losing our privacy has us so up in arms that we are not able to distinguish the difference between policeware and spyware. To me, WGA presents more of a policeware trait set than something that I would consider spyware. Yes, they both have the ability to gather and then send data back to their servers, however I feel that spyware maintains the role of actually collecting data with a goal of using this for monetary gain. WGA is just a pain, not a tool to collect money.

What do you think?
I am interested in what you think about WGA. Should it be considered actual spyware or remain a pain, but nothing to be overly concerned about? Shoot me off an email, I would love to hear about it.