Donna Vitan

It all began with the GenuineCheck.exe, a validation tool that checked if you are running a copy of the operating system. Initially this was to prevent “pirates” from downloading additional software and addons from Microsoft.com. This wasn’t that big of a issue for me as I only had to download from there a few times and i could easily just delete the exe file afterwards. It has become a more sinister plot when MS decided that this should be on everyones system as a critical update. Not alot of people pay attention to what is being updated and installed when it comes to Window’s automatic updates. You simply click yes and install because you trust that these are critical updates that improve and secure your system.

I run a couple of programs that help me control my system and to prevent unauthorized installation of programs and the like. ZoneAlarm flagged Windows Genuine Advantage Notifcation (WgaTray.exe) as suspicious behaviour. I looked further into it to find out the necessity of allowing it to read and modify my physical memory.

People have been talking about this since June 2006, and many have deemed it to be in the same family as spyware due to the fact that it sends user system information back to the mothership without your consent. Now, granted you did update using MS automatic update but your consent from that doesn’t necessarily cover this invasion of privacy by Microsoft. I’m not a lawyer but that pretty much sounds like spyware and I hate spyware.

During my search into this, I’ve come across hacks, workarounds, uninstalls and various articles on Windows Genuine Advantage Notification. All of these have convinced me that keeping WgaTray.exe around isn’t something that’s critical or necessary for me. It just makes MS look like a bigger ass, not because they make it mandatory to validate your system but because they get shadier in their handling of the situation.

The following are links that I have come across that can help you form your own opinion.

• Microsoft’s official page on Genuine Microsoft Software
• Microsofts’ How to disable and uninstall Windows Genuine Advantage Notification
• WikiHow.com’s How to remove Window’s Genuine Advantasge Notifcations (Does not uninstall)
• The Inquirer.net’s “How to dump Windows’ piracy ’spyware’“
• ZDNet.com’s “The WGA fiasco continues by Ed Botts“
• Groklaw.net’s “Microsoft’s Calling Home Problem: It’s a Matter of Informed Consent“

I’ve created a new wishlist at amazon.ca and wanted to be able to share that with you on here but I’m having a hard time making the plugins for this work. So far, I’ve only come across 3 major WordPress plugins for the Amazon wishlists.

• Ryan Prin’s Layzi.net:
  http://www.lazyi.net/projects/amazon-wishlist/
  Tried it and it didn’t work. (Twice)
• The Strong Cross:
  http://www.thestrongcross.com/?page_id=14
  Tried it and it didn’t work.
  
• ChiatGear:
  http://www.chait.net/index.php?p=238
  I’m not really interested in the fact that it’s bundled up with other plugins nor am I interested in the license agreement which allows him to change a random 20% of the links with his ID. Granted, he did the work to create it so he deserves some credit.

I’m still trying to get this to work, and maybe I’ll be installing them twice just to get through it. For now, you can visit my wishlist straight from amazon.ca. Cheers.

*Update* I am so disappointed with these plugins as they don’t work, or perhaps disappointed with myself for not being able to make it work. I did manage to install the WP-Amazon plugin which allows me to easily include Amazon products as I edit my content. It’s been great so far.

In other news, I’m going to the basic WordPress template so I can start my own redesign of the site. So I think, picking myself up a copy of WordPress 2: A Visual Quickstart Guide will definitely be helpful. This is fun stuff folks, fun stuff indeed.

There are an incredible selection of tools, software, add-ins and utilities that make the internet easier to manage and my life easy. The following are a few that I use for this site and at home/work use.

Internet:

• WordPress Blog system that does blogs and more.
• Firefox Incredible web browser that re-ignited the need to expect more out of the internet experience. Also kicks IE’s ass.
• Thunderbird Email program for offline and multiple account management.
• Gmail Web-based email service, great for when I’m all over the place but at my computer. Also capable of importing email from various accounts. (It’s great to have both online/offline access to my emails especially when it comes to work.)
• Google Analytics Not just another stat collector. An amazing tool for any site to help focus your site marketing campaigns, improve your site design and content. I figure, I’ll start this now and as I develop the site I’ll have a pretty good guide.
• SmartFTP Full featured, free FTP Program for Windows. Sooo easy to use.

Desktop Security: At this point it is always wise to set up your security in layers where one programs fails to detect a threat, another one will surely catch it. In the past I’ve only been aware of Norton and McAfee but I have come to understand that there so many programs out there that are available and free that offer equal to and sometimes substantially better protection.

• Ad-Aware SE Personal Scans your system, identifies and removes spyware programs.
• Spybot Search & Destroy Detect and remove adware from your system and registry.
• Zone Alarm Firewall Application-level personal firewall, blocks hackers, spyware and trojans from accessing the internet.
• AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition An easy to use anti-virus program with low system resource requirements, includes automatic update functionality and real-time protection.

WordPress Plugins:

• Akismet Spam prevention for comments.
• Google Analyticator Include your Google Analytics UID which is an in-depth and sexy tracking system for your site.
• Sidebar Widgets Easily configure your sidebar and adds del.icio.us. bookmarks and Google Search to the sidebar.
• Adhesive Designate a post as a sticky.
• Votio Lets readers vote and shows results at the bottom of the post.
• WP-Stats Display your WordPress Statistics
• WP-PostViews Shows your Post Views
• WP-ContactForm A Simple way to include a contact form in any page.
• Sidebar Editor

Firefox Extensions:

• Web Developer Adds a menu/toolbar to the browser with various developer tools.
• FlashGot Handle single to massive download manager.
• PDF Download Allows you the freedom to choose whether to open a PDF or save it.
• Bookmarks Synchronizer 3 Upload/download bookmarks using FTP in order to synchronize my home/work bookmarks.
• Greasemonkey Lets you control how you experience websites from blocking scripts to improving a particular site’s usability.
• MinimizeToTray Keeps your toolbar free.
• BlueFrog SRT Allows you to report sites as spam/phishers.
• IE Tab Open IE only sites
• Tab Mix Plus Adds that extra bit of functionality to tabs, I especially like the Undo Close Tab.

Thunderbird Extensions:

• Remove Duplicate Messages
• Toggle HTML
• Signature Switch
• MinimizeToTray
• BlueFrog Stop Spam. Fight back.

The great thing about this is that these are all free. Some have options to upgrade to paid professional versions and most appreciate donations to continue to update and develop further improvements. Enjoy.