Disable WGA Notification

There has been a lot of discussion about the last set of Microsoft Security updates, namely the fact that WGA Notification was installed, and sneakily at that, in my opinion.

Now I have no problem with validating my copy of Windows, and if I have to validate it everytime I need to download something from Microsoft, then fair enough, I can live with that . But I don't like the fact that everytime I boot up my computer, WGA notification (not validation) phones home.

There are various methods of disabling this intrusion but the best one so far is blogged by Suzi Turner at ZDNet today. Like Suzi, I too had been blocking WGA Notification with my firewall, but AutoRuns is a quick and free download and is useful for a whole lot more than just turning off a nag.

Update; I've noticed that I get a notification from Microsoft of a new update on reboot, yes folks it's the WGA Notification tool. I have my updates set to notify me but not download automatically... so I was able to say thanks but no thanks.

To check your Windows Update settings go to Control Panel, click on Security Centre and then scroll to the bottom and click on Automatic Updates. I have mine set to notify me but not to automatically download or install.