after 30 days once it failed the validation process. The information is then used in the WGA Library to check for overuse of license keys. Circumvention In September 2005, Microsoft filed lawsuits against a number of companies that sold unauthorized copies of software based on information from users who were told they have copyright infringing software by the Windows Genuine Advantage application. On May 4, 2006, Microsoft announced lawsuits for allegedly distributing unauthorized copies of Windows against eDirectSoftware of Montana, and Chicago-area resellers Nathan Ballog and Easy Computers. Notifications and firewalls Some personal firewalls, though not one embedded in Windows, may alert on the method by which wgatray.exe is started; in the case of Outpost firewall, it is identified as a "hidden process". The wgatray.exe process itself can be firewall blocked, without apparent problems. A tool has been released by a firewall vendor to prevent WGA Notifications transmitting information from one's PC. Data collected Through Windows Genuine Advantage, Microsoft collects the following data: Computer make and model BIOS checksum, make, version, and date MAC address Globally unique identifier (GUID), a number WGA assigns to the Windows installation Hard disk drive serial number Windows version, product ID (PID), and localization Windows or Microsoft Office registration key WGA validation and installation results WGA in China On October 20, 2008, many users of Windows XP in China received a black desktop, as Microsoft introduced its WGA system for Chinese language systems in an effort to combat copyright violation, which is extremely common in China. Since the majority of users in China run unlicensed copies of Windows, many users have experienced what is described as a "black screen syndrome", where the operating system changes the desktop background to a black screen, as well as displays constant warning messages. Some users have even reported the disabling of Office programs such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. According to various polls carried out by Chinese portals such as Sohu.com, QQ.com, 21cn.com, and many others, a large number (over 60% of those surveyed) of Chinese Internet users are hostile to Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) and Office Genuine Advantage (OGA). Criticisms Time bomb Even if WGA does not really make the operating system unusable, no updates except critical ones can be downloaded from Microsoft. Rather than just disallowing updating, Windows Vista originally ran in reduced-functionality mode if found by WGA to be compromised if a product has