Microsoft: You might be a pirate

Microsoft has released an update to Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA,) an anti-piracy tool Microsoft requires be installed to download updates from the company. The update flags installations of Windows as either "genuine," "non-genuine," or "not sure." WGA has been widely criticized for falsely identifying legitimate installations of Windows as pirated.

"Although the Windows Genuine Advantage Notification tool is "optional," Microsoft is in the process of pushing out the tool as a "critical" and thus automatic update (affectionately dubbed WGA Notifications 1.7 KB905474). The update has been known about for over a month, but users are just now seeing it show up as a critical update to Windows XP," reports Ars Technica.

Again Microsoft is pushing copy protection down our throats and the worst part about it is it doesn't even stop the software pirates. Its not even a speed bump for them. However WGA and similar copy protection schemes always end up inconveniencing the honest buyers of software.

There has to be a better way. What do you think?