Microsoft updates WGA to hunt down counterfeit Windows XP Pro

Adds newly stolen and faked keys, new activation cracks to pirate detection

Microsoft Corp., tacitly acknowledging the continued popularity of Windows XP, said yesterday that it was updating the operating system's antipiracy technology to detect illegal copies installed with newlystolen or faked product keys, or with new activation cracks.

In an entry to a company blog, Alex Kochis, director of Microsoft's Genuine Windows group, spelled out the update to WGA Notifications. That's the antipiracy component that provides the messages and other on-screen prompts when the other half of WGA, dubbed Validations, detects an illegal copy of the operating system.

More: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9130478

This is why people should do a "custom" update to see what they are installing.