Images: WGA lurks in Windows Update

A user who chooses to exercise control over the process sees a list of updates that have been downloaded to the PC. Each update has a name, and highlighting that name calls up a short summary of the purpose of the update and a link to further information. In this round of updates, Berlind was not able to spot whether any also included the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) software. It didn't seem to be included at first, but a later round of checks revealed that it was indeed there.

The WGA program is a precursor to the antipiracy features Microsoft is building into Windows Vista, expected in January 2007. In Vista, certain operating system features will only work as long as it is a properly licensed copy.