Microsoft has released WGA Notifications application which effectively turned Microsoft Windows operating system into a ‘nagware’, with a “This copy of Windows is not genuine” warning. What the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications application does what it will check your Microsoft Windows XP validity. If it found that the copy of Windows XP is not validated, not genuine, counterfeit, unlicensed, pirated, illegal, unauthorised or simply failed the Windows Genuine Advantage validation process, then the notification messages will appear at various places and time.
When you log on to a non-genuine copy of Windows XP, the following notification error message “This copy of Windows is not genuine” will pop-up on the logon process:
Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications
And the nicely said “You may be a victim of software counterfeiting” message on the bottom right corner of log-in screen:
Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications
Microsoft allows Windows faithfuls to have 2 options: Get Genuine or Resolve Later. Click on Resolve Later will temporarily bypass the notification and let you login into and use Windows nagged with notification icon and messages, which will randomly appear as balloon notification message with an icon in the notification area (system tray).
Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications
Clicking on the balloon notification or the notification area icon will lead you to the Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Failure Web page that contains the specifics of the validation failure and the steps that you can take to make the operating system genuine.
To get rid of the WGA notifications that intends to remind you that your Windows is not validated, you can buy a validly licensed copy of genuine Microsoft Windows.
Updated: Disable WGA Notifications Warning Message Workarounds
Latest Version: 1.5.530.0 on 23rd May 2006, some method no longer works.
Several methods that has certain success on certain people, you may try until you success.
First Method
1. Lauch Windows Task Manager.
2. End wgatray.exe process in Task Manager.
3. Restart Windows XP in Safe Mode.
4. Delete WgaTray.exe from c:\Windows\System32.
5. Delete WgaTray.exe from c:\Windows\System32\dllcache.
6. Lauch RegEdit.
7. Browse to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify
8. Delete the folder ‘WgaLogon’ and all its contents
9. Reboot Windows XP.
Note: With this method, you will be prompted to install WGA Notifications again which can still be unselected.
Second Method
Another alternative suggested by dman is by using System Restore to restore the PC to a previous restore point that WGA Notifications hasn’t kicked in, and then carefully stop KB905474 from been applied to the system. To use System Restore, go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore.
Note: Again, you will be prompted again to install WGA Notification, so it must be bypassed.
Third Method
Latest Update (WGA ver 1.5.532.0) (by Picard): Version 1.5.532.0 of LegitCheckControl.dll.
Latest Update (by chucko): Version 1.5.530.0 of LegitCheckControl.dll, or more download of LegitCheckControl 1.5.0530.0 here or here.
Use the latest cracked LegitCheckControl.dll by searching for “Windows.Genuine.Advantage.Validation.v1.5.526.0.CRACKED-ETH0″. Can also be downloaded here. Cracked LegitCheckControl.dll also available here or here. Once download the cracked dll, replace the LegitCheckControl.dll in \Windows\System32 folder with the cracked version.
Forth Method
Beside, Jules found that by disabling and renaming the files “WgaLogon.dll” and “WgaTray.exe” in C:\WINDOWS\system32 folder by using the program Unlocker seems to get rid of all the nags/popups.
Fifth Method
Clear the contents or create a new empty data.dat for WGA, and make data.dat Read-Only and Hidden as detailed here.
The following step basically is the same with the above data.dat method, only different is that you no need to create any file in the WGA data folder:
1. Launch Windows Explorer and go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Windows Genuine Advantage\data
2. Go to Tools -> Folder Option -> View.
3. Select (click) Show Hidden Files and Folders option.
4. Unselect (uncheck) Hide Protected Operating System Files option.
5. Click OK.
6. Delete everything in the data folder.
7. Right click on data folder, and select Properties.
8. Select (Check) Read-Only as the folder’s atributes.
9. Click OK or Apply.
Sixth Method
Another alternative suggest that three files are installed Windows XP System Folder for WGA:
\WINDOWS\system32\WgaLogon.dll
\WINDOWS\system32\WgaTray.exe
\WINDOWS\system32\LegitCheckControl.dll
The wgatray.exe process makes the check for genuine windows software. If WgaLogon.dll is denied execution right, that WinLogon is unable to call it to check on Windows validity and display notification package at boot, and since WgaLogon is also responsible for running and maintaining WgaTray.exe, no more tray popups either.
To change and disable the execute bit of WgaLogon.dll:
1. Turn off Simple File Sharing in Tools -> Folder Options -> View tab.
2. Right click WgaLogon.dll in Windows Explorer and open the Security Tab.
3. Click Advanced button.
4. Uncheck the Inherit box at the bottom.
5. Click the Copy button.
6. Click OK.
7. Go through each listed user/group and remove the “Read & Execute” permission for WgaLogon.dll, leaving the “Read” permission as-is.
8. Click OK to apply the permission changes.
9. Close the file properties dialog.
10. Restart the computer.
11. Turn “Use simple file sharing” on (optional).
Optionally, steps suggested by PSNet which has the same effect - disabling WgaLogon.dll.
Seventh Method
This method doesn’t remove WGA notification tool, instead just disable the annoying pop-ups and nags screen. Right click on the WGA star in the system tray and choose ‘change notification settings’. It’ll take a moment to load. then follow the instructions. You can opt out of receiving all the pop ups on start up and be left with just the star.
Eight Method
Install ZoneAlarm firewall, and configure to kill or disallow “WGA” in the allowed programs section.
Ninth Method
Download and install Autoruns from www.sysinternals.com. Run the program, go to the WinLogon tab and uncheck (disable) the WgaLogon, as suggested by PSnet.
Tenth Method
Steve suggested the following:
1. Go to \windows\system32 in explorer
2. Rename WgaLogon.dll to WgaLogon.dll.bak
3. Create a new empty WgaLogon.dll in notepad and save to the same location
4. Right click on the task bar, and open Task Manager at the Processes tab
5. (Quickly) delete WgaTray.exe, then it will give you approx 5 seconds to click on WgaTray.exe in Task Manager and click End Task, and confirm
6. Restart your computer and the login and nag messages should be gone
Eleventh Method
Dhillip wrote an utility Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications Remover which can help to remove the warning messages.
Twelveth Method
WGA Notifications Patch suggestion by Tekken.
Thirteenth Method
Download WGAFixer which replaces the LegitCheckControl.dll and modifies the WGA related registry.
WGAnotify
The “Windows Genuine Advantage Notification” (KB905474) cannot be uninstalled by Add/Remove Program in Control Panel by default, contrary to the claim in the knowledge base article. To enable the removal of KB905474 WGA Notification tool, follow the below steps:
Note: It seems like it’s not possible to uninstall WGA Notifications from Add/Remove Program. Cobolhacker has details on why KB905474 cannot be uninstalled. Suggested steps to “uninstall” are search and delete all WgaTray.exe and WgaLogon.dll files in your boot drive (if you using search, check the “Search system folders”, “Search hidden files and folders” and “Search subfolders” checkboxes), delete all the register keys in the following tree: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify\WgaLogon, and to remove the entry from Add/Remove Programs list, delete the registry key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WgaNotify. With uninstallation, WGA Notifications will try to install again next time.
1. Click on Start.
2. Click on Run.
3. Type in regedit in the Run text box.
4. Click OK or press Enter.
5. In Registry Editor, browse the the following registry key branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WgaNotify
6. On the right panel, modify the value of NoRemove (by right clicking on the key and choose Modify) to 0.
7. Exit the Registry Editor.
8. Re-launch the Add/Remove Program, and Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications (KB905474) is now removable.
Prevention is always better than cure. So the best to avoid the the KB905474 Windows Genuine Advantage Notification application to be automatically downloaded and applied by Automatic Updates is to disable Automatic Updates. Go to Automatic Updates in Control Panel and disable it by selecting Turn off Automatic Updates, or if you still want to receive the critical patches from Microsoft, select Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them or Notify me but don’t automatically download or install them. Remember to uncheck (deselect) Windows Genuine Advantage Notification (KB905474) when prompted to install any updates.
If you have already install the WGA update, you can use the hacked/cracked version of LegitCheckControl.dll (newer version suggestion by tyler) to remove the annoying nagging message. (For old version) But Windows Update will still ask you to install it since it’s a newer version which is 1.5.526, unless there is newer version of cracked LegitCheckControl.dll available. You may however try to ‘up’ the version of hacked LegitCheckControl.dll yourself by using the following method:
1. Get the patched/hacked “LegitCheckControl.dll” from the internet (e.g from link above or any file sharing service)
2. Install Resource Hacker if you still don’t.
3. Open both (original in Windows/System32 and hacked version) “LegitCheckControl.dll” files with Resource Hacker.
4. Go to “Version Info”, replace the version info of the patched File with the version information from new original LegitCheckControl.dll.
1 VERSIONINFO
FILEVERSION 1,5,526,0
PRODUCTVERSION 1,5,526,0
FILEOS 0×4
FILETYPE 0×1
{
BLOCK “StringFileInfo”
{
BLOCK “040904B0″
{
VALUE “CompanyName”, “Microsoft Corp.”
VALUE “FileDescription”, “Windows Genuine Advantage Validation”
VALUE “InternalName”, “LegitCheckControl”
VALUE “LegalCopyright”, “Copyright © 1995-2004 Microsoft Corp.”
VALUE “LegalTrademarks”, “Microsoft® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.”
VALUE “OriginalFilename”, “LegitCheckControl.dll”
VALUE “ProductName”, “Microsoft® CoReXT”
VALUE “FileVersion”, “1.5.0526.0″
VALUE “ProductVersion”, “1.5.0526.0″
VALUE “PrivateBuild”, “Built by gacald on WGA-FILE-SVR.”
}
}
BLOCK “VarFileInfo”
{
VALUE “Translation”, 0×0409 0×04B0
}
}
5. Save File
6. Put the modified version of hacked LegitCheckControl.dll in Windows/System32 folder, replacing the original from Microsoft.
Beside, WGA Notifications tool is also reported to be able to be bypassed by emptying (deleting the contents of) the data.dat in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Windows Genuine Advantage\data as detailed here.
If you disable Automatic Updates, you can always download any updates from Windows Update or Microsoft Update using the hacks and tips from here and here. If you are prompted to mandatory must install KB905474, the above tricks should disable the checking of existence of KB905474 notification application. Again, remember to deselect the Windows Genuine Advantage Notification (KB905474) which will listed in High Priority section and selected for you by default.