djtSoft

• It is another unnecessary process running in the background. While this one alone is unlikely to make a significant difference, each one adds to your startup time, memory used, CPU usage, etc.
• It has been branded as spyware for continually 'phoning home' without permission.
• There have been a number of cases where the notification tool has incorrectly detected copies of Windows as not genuine and nagged users to buy it. Such cases are called false positives.

• WGA Notification Tool - installed by Automatic Updates or via the Windows Update web site, this is the annoying application that runs in the background and places an icon in the notification area (at the bottom right near the clock) and displays balloon popups if your copy of Windows isn't genuine. Recent versions also replace your desktop wallpaper (if any) with a plain black background. The first release was mandatory, but Microsoft have since made this an optional update.
• WGA ActiveX control - installed when you visit the Windows Update web site or try to download something from the Download Centre that's protected by WGA, it is used to verify your copy of Windows is genuine via a web browser.
• OGA ActiveX control - same as above but for Office.

• Using Automatic Updates:
1. First run the removal tool and restart if prompted.
2. Open Services (Start Menu » Programs » Administrative Tools » Services, or click on Start, then Run, type in services.msc and press Enter). Right click on Automatic Updates in the list of services and select Stop from the context menu.
3. Open Automatic Updates in Control Panel. Select 'Notify me but don't automatically download or install them' and click on OK. This will automatically restart the Automatic Updates service. If Notify was already selected, you will need to select a different option first and click on Apply, then select Notify and click on OK, or restart the service manually in Services.
4. Wait a minute or 2 for the 'Updates are ready' prompt in the Notification Area.
5. Click on the Automatic Updates icon (or the balloon popup) in the Notification Area. In the list of updates, deselect KB905474 and click on Download. Make sure that this is the only update that is not selected. Do not worry if you do not want to install the selected updates - you will be prompted again before they are installed.
6. Select the 'Don't notify me about these updates again' checkbox and click on OK.
7. If you do not wish to let Automatic Updates download the selected updates, either stop or restart the Automatic Updates service in Services. Wait for the 'Updates are ready' prompt again, and confirm that KB905474 is no longer listed. If it is, repeat again from step 2 (no idea why this happens!).
8. If you'd prefer Automatic Updates was set to automatic or 'Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them' rather than 'Notify me but don't automatically download or install them', open Automatic Updates in Control Panel again and change it.
• Using the Windows Update web site:
1. First run the removal tool and restart if prompted.
2. To be continued - please check back later.

Attachment(s): RemoveWGA.exe (201.89KB)

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run