Microsoft will be releasing "Windows Activation Technologies (WAT) Update for Windows 7" which, as its name implies, is an update for WAT, the set of built-in activation and validation components, in Windows 7. The update will detect "more than 70 known and potentially dangerous activation exploits" that attempt to bypass or compromise WAT and will determine whether the copy of Windows 7 that is installed on a PC is genuine. It is also supposed to improve the integrity of key licensing components on the OS and will run periodic validations every 90 days.
The update will be for all editions of Windows 7, although it will be distributed for Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions first. It will be available online at Microsoft.com/Genuine starting on February 16, and on the Microsoft Download Center the following day. Later this month, the update will also be offered through Windows Update as an "Important" update, but it will not be directly offered through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). The update will be voluntary (meaning that you can choose not to install it) and can also be uninstalled at any time. Enterprise customers use WSUS to manage the distribution of software updates in their IT environment, so it's surprising that Microsoft is skipping this area, though the company noted a WSUS administrator can import this update from Microsoft Update.
Microsoft also promised that the update will not jeopardize the user's privacy since none of the information sent to Microsoft's servers includes personally identifiable information. If the update spots known activation exploits and the copy of Windows 7 is found to be nongenuine, the antipiracy notifications built into the OS will spring to life.
PCs running genuine Windows 7 software with no activation exploits won't see any prompts since the update runs quietly in the background. Microsoft also says the customer will see no reduced functionality in their copy of Windows: applications work as expected and access to personal information is unchanged. During the quarterly validation, Windows will download the latest "signatures" that are used to identify new activation exploits (think antivirus software). The WAT update will run a check and repair weekly, however, if it discovers tampering, disabling, or missing licensing files.
