You know what's the safest bet for Windows Genuine Advantage validation removal? Install Linux, of course! But...why look for Windows Genuine Advantage validation removal, if you got a licensed Windows copy? You got a licensed copy, right? Of course you do, but if I would have to choose between having WGA enabled or taken out, I would chose the later. The reason is very simple - I would do anything, just to know that my computer is not sending any data to Microsoft's servers!

Here's a funny part of Microsoft's "little spy," a really funny one - after being accused of spyware-like behavior, WGA got modified "just a little." After being pushed to the wall by its customers, the Redmond giant decided to announce that the WGA tool will only "phone home" every two weeks, instead of every day, as it happens now!<-125x125 Button - right->

To accomplish the Windows Genuine Advantage validation removal mission, all you have to do is the following - extract the files into a new empty folder, and then run installer.bat. Don't ask me what files and where can you get them, since I am sure Microsoft doesn't like this at all, so I won't give you any link to such a thing.

Just remember that Windows Genuine Advantage Validation 1.8.31.9 has just been cracked, and its authors claim this is "100% working on Windows Update, Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update."

As a last thing, it seems this last victory of crackers vs. Microsoft is "A tribute to ETH0, creator of base version crack." Now, I have no idea who is "ETH0," if he's dead, or - even worse - if he got married, but all I can say is "RIP, ETH0, RIP, Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage Validation 1.8.31.9."

So...what about you? What do you think about the WGA tool and its use? Last, but most important of all, what do you think about Windows Genuine Advantage validation removal? Feel free to share your opinions with us, we won't tell Microsoft anything! ;)

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If you didn’t realize this yet, it’s Google’s birthday!!! It is 10 years old now, time during which it managed to develop rapidly becoming the world’s most popular search engine. Its success secret is that with its name it covers lots of friendly features and services that people use worldwide to find things on the Internet, read the latest news on the laptop while on the go, and even check Maps on their mobile phones.

Starting with a personalized logo on the official homepage in 1998 and continuing with releasing feature after feature until the new Chrome web browser launched earlier this year, Google gathered more than 1 trillion indexed web pages, becoming the largest search engine in the world.

Happy birthday, Google! Ten years and counting...

Just as the iPhone 3G vs. Android battle is taking off, Google announced the maturity version of its SDK for mobile phones powered by the Linux based operating system now under the Open Handset Alliance banner, initially developed by the search giant. While the first phone using the Android platform, the G1, is expected to become available on the 22nd of next month, Google released the SDK a month ahead of that date, just in time for fast developers to finish some basic applications for it...

On the Android Developers Blog, Dan Morrill posted the announcement about version 1.0 of the SDK, saying "Yes, that means we're officially at 1.0. Of course the SDK won't remain static—we'll keep improving the tools by adding features and fixing bugs. But now developers can rely on the APIs in the SDK, and can update their applications to run on Android 1.0-compatible devices. The Android Market beta will also launch with the T-Mobile G1, providing developers an easy and open way to distribute their applications on that and later devices.<-250x250 Square - right-> I've already seen a lot of applications that have me stoked, and I can't wait to see things really come together as developers cross that final mile to prepare their applications for Android 1.0."

If you want to download the Google Android SDK, you should keep in mind that we're talking about a ~90MB download, available for Windows XP or Vista, Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later (x86 only), as well as Linux (tested on Linux Ubuntu Dapper Drake).

Obviously, this is only the beginning, since Morrill concluded:"So what's next for us? Well, we'll keep working on the SDK, as I said. But we're also working hard with our partners in the Open Handset Alliance on the open-source release, with the aim of making the code available in the fourth quarter. The second Android Developer Challenge is also on the horizon—watch this space for more details. We're also already working on the future of the Android platform, and on more devices. We've updated the Developer Roadmap, and we'll keep updating it as more information becomes available."

Although some say that Android mobiles can't match the iPhone 3G, I must add a tiny word: "yet," they can't match it yet, but I am sure the day of the Android will come sooner than most would expect it!

Who doesn't know the "Steve Ballmer - I Love This Company" video? If you missed it so far, here you go! I bet he does, since I have no doubt about Microsoft's generosity, when it comes to its own CEO, but I am sure a lot of people are asking themselves - when is he going to step out of the spotlight and leave someone else at the helm? Good question, but I am afraid the answer might be that Steve Ballmer will be the one leading Microsoft until his death...or pretty close to that final hour! ;)

Before moving on to the latest details about the main question of the day, I think I should try to answer some of the frequently asked questions about Steve Ballmer. Born in 1956, he has been the CEO of Microsoft since January 2000, and is the second person, after Roberto Goizueta, to become a billionaire in US dollars based on stock options as an employee of a corporation. Married with one children, Ballmer got the 43rd position in Forbes 2008 World's Richest People ranking, with an estimated wealth of $15 billion. Any other questions? Oh, yeah, if you're one of those wondering about Steve Ballmer's salary, you may be disappointed. Why? Take a look here to find out more!

Now, if we leave all the above aside, hearing Steve Ballmer shout or seeing him dance can compensate the blue screens some people get in certain situations, <-336x280 Large Rectangle - right->just as it happened when Bill Gates got creamed by a pie!

First interesting report is coming from ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley: "Last time CEO Steve Ballmer offered a tentative timeframe as to when he might retire from Microsoft, he put the date at ten years or so from now (around the time his youngest goes to college)."

Well, ten years wouldn't be that much, but the funny twist is that Foley also said that, "According to scuttlebutt from Microsoft’s annual employee meeting, which was held in Seattle on September 18, Ballmer told attendees that he is going to stay on at Microsoft until Microsoft’s search share exceeds Google’s."

Considering that Google's shares are going up, and Microsoft is slowly going downhill, Steve Ballmer may need to stay around for more than just 10 years, but it's not the time that really matters. He really needs to find a winning strategy for Microsoft, because things are not looking that great, as we speak...

Love him or hate him, it seems Steve Ballmer is here to stay. Maybe he really loves the company, but what would you do, if you were in his place? Just one quick overview of "my strategy as Ballmer," and I'll be off - instantly stop the silly advertising campaign for Vista, push as much money as possible into the next-gen OS, and try to listen to my customers more. I really think that offering support for Windows XP once again would benefit more than keeping to push Vista around, but that's just my opinion, so let me hear yours!

When thinking about the antivirus market, my head usually starts spinning pretty fast, simply because I think this is one of the most profitable areas for those working on Windows software. Viruses, spyware, phishing, spam, and so many more dangers lurking in the dark corners of the Web, they are all waiting to take over your computer, so it's no surprise there are so many companies involved in this, and most of them are doing a pretty good job. McAfee is one of them, and since the big fish always eats the little one in this industry, they decided to buy Secure Computing before anyone else would have thought about it...

OK, so we all know about McAfee and its products, but what about Secure Computing? If you don't want to bother visiting their website, here's how they describe themselves - "Secure Computing provides Internet security appliances and software solutions that proactively protect businesses against email and Web threats like viruses, spam, malware and network intrusion, as well as regulations / compliance risks." Their products include Webwasher, a tool for filtering corporate Web traffic, the Ironmail encrypted mail servers, as well as Sidewinder firewall appliances and SnapGear VPN devices.

According to the official press release, the expectations McAfee has from this deal worth about $465 million are the following:

- With Secure Computing, McAfee expects to become one of the largest network security players, delivering the industry’s most complete network security solution to businesses of all sizes, extending the success of its total protection<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right-> strategy through best of breed technology suites
- Secure Computing TrustedSource technology will extend McAfee’s “in-the-cloud” security as a service offering
- With Secure Computing, McAfee expects to be able to deliver the complete content and data lifecycle management at the network, spanning detection, filtering, encryption, blocking, archiving, reporting and compliance
- Secure Computing has more than 22,000 customers in 106 countries that will be able to rely upon McAfee as a single source for complete security portfolio—spanning endpoint, network, data and risk and compliance

Since I mentioned the antivirus/data security market as a whole in the beginning, here's some data for your reference - last year, McAfee's revenue totalled $1.3 billion, with network security sales of about $500 million per year. Not bad at all, not bad at all!

These are only the latest updates, but it's also worth mentioning that, last year, McAfee acquired Israeli data protection company Onigma for $20 million, as well as the encryption and access control vendor SafeBoot, for $350 million.