Microsoft sued over Windows Genuine Advantage

It is 'spyware' claim

SOFTWARE giant Microsoft has been sued over its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) anti-piracy tool.

Los Angeles resident Brian Johnson is seeking class-action status for claims that Microsoft didn't adequately disclose details of the tool when it was delivered to PC users through the company's Automatic Update system.

Vole installed the WGA software on consumers' systems without providing consumers any opportunity to make an informed choice about that software, the suit alleges.

A spokesvole said that the suit "baseless". He said that spyware is deceptive software that is installed on a user's computer without the user's consent and has some malicious purpose. But WGA is installed with user consent and seeks only to notify the user if a proper license is not in place, he said.

The legal outfit involved in the case is Scott Kamber of Kamber & Associates which was also involved in taking Sony to the cleaners over its rootkit software. A spokeslawyer for the outfit said that people had a right to know what's on their computer.

More at Seattlepi, here.