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What is genuine Microsoft software? |
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What is genuine Microsoft software? |
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Genuine Microsoft software is published by Microsoft, properly licensed, and
fully supported by Microsoft or a trusted partner. Using genuine Microsoft
software offers you greater capabilities and easy integration with the widest
variety of hardware, software, and services. It also provides confidence that
you will receive the latest product features, updates, and ongoing improvements
to keep your PC performing at its best. |
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What is activation? |
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Activation reduces piracy by associating your Windows Product Key-the
25-character security code located on your Certificate of Authenticity (usually
affixed to your software package, PC, or laptop)-to a PC hardware key.
Microsoft stores this information in a database so that no one else can use
your Product Key on another PC. |
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What are the benefits of genuine Microsoft software? |
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Why is genuine Microsoft software better than non-genuine software? |
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By using genuine Microsoft software, you can be confident that you will have
access to the latest features, security, and support, which will help to
improve your productivity and expand the capabilities of your PC. You will also
have access to new innovations and offerings available only to genuine
Microsoft software customers. |
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How does piracy affect Microsoft's customers? |
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Every year, millions of consumers and businesses are hurt by counterfeit
software that they have acquired unwittingly, and many companies that license
legitimate software have difficulty competing with artificially low prices
offered by software pirates. Consumers, businesses, and resellers continually
ask Microsoft for help in mitigating the threat posed by pirates. Microsoft
works to educate the software ecosystem about piracy, to engineer products that
address these concerns, and to enforce anti-piracy policies and laws.. |
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How do I know if my Microsoft software is genuine? |
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How do I know if my Windows software is genuine? |
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Microsoft offers an online validation process that allows you to verify that
your copy of Windows is genuine. You will be prompted to validate your copy of
Windows if you request a genuine Windows download from the Microsoft Download
Center. Alternatively, you can validate your copy of Windows by visiting the
How to Tell site. The validation
process is easy to use, only takes a few moments to run, and once completed,
allows you to access genuine Windows downloads more quickly in the future. |
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How do I know if my Office software is genuine? |
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Microsoft offers an online validation process that allows you to verify that
your copy of Office is genuine. You will be prompted to validate your copy of
Office if you request a genuine Office download from the Microsoft Download
Center. Alternatively, you can validate your copy of Office by using the
online validation process. The
validation process is easy to use, only takes a few moments to run, and once
completed, allows you to access genuine Office downloads more quickly in the
future. |
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How do I know if my Microsoft software is genuine? |
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How do I know if my Windows software is genuine? |
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Microsoft offers an online validation process that allows you to verify that
your copy of Windows is genuine. You will be prompted to validate your copy of
Windows if you request a genuine Windows download from the Microsoft Download
Center. Alternatively, you can validate your copy of Windows by visiting the
How to Tell site. The validation
process is easy to use, only takes a few moments to run, and once completed,
allows you to access genuine Windows downloads more quickly in the future. |
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How do I know if my Office software is genuine? |
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Microsoft offers an online validation process that allows you to verify that
your copy of Office is genuine. You will be prompted to validate your copy of
Office if you request a genuine Office download from the Microsoft Download
Center. Alternatively, you can validate your copy of Office by using the
online validation process. The
validation process is easy to use, only takes a few moments to run, and once
completed, allows you to access genuine Office downloads more quickly in the
future. |
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What is the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications program? |
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What is the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications program? |
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Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications is an opt-in program launched by
Microsoft in select markets as part of its continued effort to combat
counterfeiting and to create a better Windows experience for users of genuine
Microsoft Windows software.
As part of the program, customers worldwide will be invited to install WGA
Notifications through Automatic Updates (AU) to confirm that they are running
genuine Windows. Customers who are running genuine Windows and opt-in to the
program will not see any messages. Customers who are using a non-genuine
version of Windows will receive a message during logon that their copy of
Windows appears to be non-genuine and will be directed to the WGA Web site to
learn more. Users who choose not to obtain a copy of genuine Windows will
receive periodic reminders. Regardless of genuine status, users will not be
denied access to critical security updates. Users who have not validated their
computers as genuine, however, will not be able to install many updates,
including Internet Explorer 7.0 and Windows Defender. |
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What is the difference between WGA Validation Tool and WGA Notifications? |
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WGA Validation determines whether the copy of Windows XP installed on a PC is
genuine and licensed. WGA Validation was launched worldwide in July 2005. It is
required for any download on Windows Update, Microsoft Update and the Download
Center.
WGA Notifications is software that is distributed through Automatic Updates
that reminds users who fail validation that they are not running genuine
Windows and directs them to resources to learn more about the benefits of using
genuine Windows software. WGA Notifications is currently not required to use
Automatic Updates. |
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Validation Failure: What if my Microsoft software is not genuine? |
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What
if my copy of Windows fails the validation process and I believe I have received
pirated software? |
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When a copy of Windows fails validation, the user is directed to a customized
Web page with details about what caused the failure and recommendations for how
to fix the problem. Depending on the specific cause of the problem, these
recommendations include:
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Visit the Microsoft
How to Tell website to learn how to
determine whether your copy of Windows is genuine Microsoft software. If you
believe you received pirated software, you will be able to file a report with
Microsoft so we can investigate further.
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Check to see whether you qualify for a complimentary replacement CD from
Microsoft.
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Purchase a genuine copy of Windows from Microsoft online or from your local
reseller.
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Visit the
Microsoft
Genuine Advantage Support page for more information.
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Do security updates require validation? |
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Security updates are not part of WGA or OGA. You can install security updates
using the Windows Automatic Updates feature or download them from the Download
Center.
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Get genuine: How can I take advantage of the Microsoft genuine Windows offer? |
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What
is the genuine Windows offer? |
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The Microsoft genuine Windows offer is designed to help customers who
unknowingly purchased counterfeit versions of Windows XP by offering those who
qualify a complimentary copy or electronic license key for a genuine copy of
Windows XP. |
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Who
can participate in the genuine Windows offer? |
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The offer is open to any person who purchased Microsoft Windows XP
(Professional or Home Edition) or Windows XP Operating System pre-installed on
a new computer. Windows XP upgrade purchases and purchases made under volume
license agreements are not eligible. |
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Get genuine: How can I take advantage of the Microsoft genuine Office offer? |
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What is the genuine Office offer? |
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The Microsoft genuine Office offer is designed to help customers who
unknowingly purchased counterfeit versions of Office by offering those who
qualify a complimentary copy or an Office Genuine Advantage Kit. |
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What
do customers receive when they order the genuine Office offer from Microsoft? |
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You can check the
Windows Genuine Advantage Kit Order Support
page to see when you will receive your Office Genuine Advantage Kit in the
mail. The Office Genuine Advantage Kit contains a CD with a new 25-character
product key. You should reinstall and reactivate Office using the CD and the
new product key. |
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What is WGA for Windows Vista? |
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What is WGA for Windows Vista? |
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With Windows Vista, Windows Genuine Advantage is built in. WGA for Windows
Vista is enabled by the Software Protection Platform (SPP), a new set of
anti-piracy technologies to help Microsoft make software piracy harder and to
help protect consumers and business against the risks of counterfeit software. |
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How does WGA for Windows Vista work? |
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WGA for Windows Vista enables Microsoft to help differentiate the genuine
Windows Vista user experience by reserving key product features, including
Windows AeroT Windows Defender, and Windows ReadyBoostT for customers running a
genuine properly-licensed copy of Windows Vista. Systems running a non-genuine
copy of Windows Vista will be notified, and the lower right portion of their
screen will permanently display a message that reads, "This copy of Windows is
not genuine." In addition, a user may be asked to reactivate within 30 days if
it is determined that their product key has been blocked by Microsoft or their
licensing files have been tampered. Failure to reactivate within the 30-day
grace period may result in the system being placed into a reduced functionality
mode.
Note: Aero is not available in Windows Vista Starter version or Windows
Vista Home Basic version.
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