To control piracy, Microsoft started WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) system to control it’s duplication long time back. At first it tested with Windows XP and later it got applied on Windows XP systems also. But finally it’s bringing a change to it’s piracy control system by replacing WGA with WAT (Windows 7 Activation Technologies). Windows 7 Activation Technologies is more powerful and convenient way to activate your copy of Windows 7. While Windows Genuine Advantage will be there for XP systems, WAT will replace it on Vista and Windows 7 copies.

Many hackers hacked into WGA and successfully open some ways for all to bypass this Windows validation system. Microsoft was using two different applications to check the validation of a user’s copy. They were WGA Validation and WGA Notification. Microsoft combined both WGA Validation and WGA Notification into one single program, WAT this time. If your windows 7 copy is not validated, WAT is having a special Kill switch which will get you logged off automatically in every single hour. You won’t be able to access few special features such as Aero Glass, Bit Locker, ReadyBoast etc. Microsoft even started using it’s Kill Switch feature on Windows Vista systems that will automatically log off your system if you don’t validate your system (in other words, purchase a valid license) within 30 days of installation.

One thing that you will like about WAT is that it won’t force you to few moments before clicking ‘Activate Later’ option. You can click on ‘Activate later’ option right away and start using your computer. But the pop up message still appears with WAT, you will get pop up messages to activate your copy once in a while.

While we have seen success with our implementation in Windows Vista, as evident from the lower levels of piracy, we also knew we could do better in Windows 7. For example, with Windows Vista Service Pack 1, if a PC was not activated during the login process, customers would periodically see a dialog box as a visual reminder they still needed to activate their copy of Windows. Within this prompt, they could choose to activate immediately or later. But the option to push the “activate later” button was grayed out for 15 seconds. Customers told us that while the prompt grabbed their attention, they didn’t understand why they needed to activate immediately and that the delay was annoying. In Windows 7 we modified this process: When customers choose to activate later they will see a dialog box highlighting how activation helps them identify if their copy of Windows is genuine and be allowed to proceed immediately without a 15-second delay. In Windows 7 we’ve made changes so that users will see more informative notifications messages and be able to more easily complete the tasks they need to.

Since there are several development in Windows 7 Activation Technologies, it will take time for the hackers to come up with WAT hack. But for now, it’s Kill Now feature is going to kill people, for sure!