Solution to ‘You may be a victim of software counterfeiting’ Problem
Microsoft has started bugging the users of non genuine copies of Windows. If you are also running a non genuine or pirated copy of Windows then there is a full chance of you getting this notification one day or the other.
The problem was reported by one of our viewers that when she updated her copy of Windows with Windows Update then her system started showing this notification that reads “You may be a victim of software counterfeiting” and “This copy of windows does not pass genuine Windows validation”.
These notifications start coming back again after some time and do not feel good. Though I never encourage piracy but here is how you can remove this problem:
1. Before doing anything serious try restoring your system. If the problem is occurring after the Windows Update then System Restore will surely help.
2. But if it does not then do try this, launch Windows Task Manager.
3. Locate the process “wgatray.exe” and end it.
4. Log in into the Safe Mode and delete the file WgaTray.exe from c:\Windows\System32
5. Also delete the WgaTray.exe from c:\Windows\System32\dllcache
6. Type regedit in Run to open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify key.
7. Delete the folder WgaLogon and all of its contents.
8. Restart the PC normally.
Update:
Download this WGA remover tool called RemoveWGA.exe, just download it and run.
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January 28th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Great! Thank you!
I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?
Of course, I will add backlink?
Regards, Your Reader
February 24th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
it has denied access to the task manager & registry as well, restore point is also unavailable
February 24th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
see the update to solve the problem.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:00 am
gago lahat kayo! di naman gumagana
April 17th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Thank-you so much. You are great. This works if you follow it properly.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:24 pm
The .exe file is gone…
May 26th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Thanks You So much , it works i solved on my two computers
May 27th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Hello,
I have just encountered this problem. You say log into the safe mode? How do I get to that? I have no idea what that is.
May 27th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
@MJ
Hey, To log into the safe mode press F8 (you may need to keep pressing it repeatedly) key while booting before you see the Windows logo. You will see the options, click on safe mode and wait for sometime.
June 18th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
hey about step 1 how do you restore your system??i dont know much about computers.are there consequences if you leave the problem unsolved?
June 19th, 2009 at 12:39 am
@alison g
Run System Restore from All programs->Accessories->System Tools->System restore. Choose a restore point when your system was OK and click Next.
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Thanks a lot…Its really works…our technical guys r going for a good job…As I am the person who s perusing MCA in(Software Engineering)but on the contrary I may also not aware about this fact seriously,But Now I must say,dse peoples who really contributed their efforts to avoid this problem.
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:56 pm
r GEMS
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Neeraj,
Its always useful to restore your computer to a previous date, this will certainly exit the problem of software counterfering, yet this may last for few days only, it will come back again to the same stage…but i have a full proof solution which will make your OS genuine whether its XP or Vista.
Just copy all those without inverted comas and rename it with as “.reg” without inverted comas. Eg-XP & Vista Genuine key.reg.
Just double click and enjoy genuine but make sure u restore ur pc.
Enjoy
“Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents]
“OOBETimer”=hex:ff,d5,71,d6,8b,6a,8d,6f,d5,33,93,fd
“LastWPAEventLogged”=hex:d5,07,05,00,06,00,07,00,0f,00,38,00,24,00,fd,02
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
“CurrentBuild”=”1.511.1 () (Obsolete data - do not use)”
“InstallDate”=dword:427cdd95
“ProductId”=”69831-640-1780577-45389″
“DigitalProductId”=hex:a4,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,36,39,38,33,31,2d,36,34,30,2d,\
31,37,38,30,35,37,37,2d,34,35,33,38,39,00,5a,00,00,00,41,32,32,2d,30,30,30,\
30,31,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0d,04,89,b2,15,1b,c4,ee,62,4f,e6,64,6f,01,00,\
00,00,00,00,27,ed,85,43,a2,20,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,31,34,35,30,34,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,ce,0e,\
00,00,12,42,15,a0,00,08,00,00,87,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,94,a2,b3,ac
“LicenseInfo”=hex:9e,bf,09,d0,3a,76,a5,27,bb,f2,da,88,58,ce,58,e9,05,6b,0b,82,\
c3,74,ab,42,0d,fb,ee,c3,ea,57,d0,9d,67,a5,3d,6e,42,0d,60,c0,1a,70,24,46,16,\
0a,0a,ce,0d,b8,27,4a,46,53,f3,17″
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 pm
How can I launch Windows task manager??
Sorry for the syupid question but I really do not know a lot from computers..
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:01 pm
When I try to delete the WgaTray.exe from c:\Windows\System32
it say that acces is denied because you are using this, and it can not be deleted. What should I do? Thank U.
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:13 pm
@Berta
Task Manager can be opened by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete buttons. Did you try deleting in safe mode. If you are still facing problems then try that WGA remover, it will do it automatically.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:57 am
Thanks! The WGA remover worked perfectly!
August 6th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
how can i log in into safe mode ? please answer
August 6th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
how can i log in into safe mode please help me ’cause i don’t know
August 6th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
do i need to keep a back-up of my data before performing all these steps……
August 6th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
@Cristescu
To boot into safe mode keep pressing F8 key when your computer is booting up and before the Windows starts.
@aroop r
No need to back up data, if you want you can back up your registry, read this to know
http://techsalsa.com/steps-to-backup-registry-using-regedit/
August 7th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
regedit is not running. it says registry editing has been disabled by your administrator. help!
August 7th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
regedit not running. it says registry editing not allowed by administrator. help!
August 7th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
@haris
try the tool named RemoveWGA.exe given at the bottom of the article in place of registry. To enable the registry see this post
http://techsalsa.com/enable-the-registry-editor-task-manager-and-folder-options-disabled-by-virus/
August 12th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Hey I was wondering how do you do this step 6:
Type regedit in Run to open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify key.
can you explain it to me like more cleany. ahah sorry
Can you do me screen caps on how do do it.
Whats ‘regedit’ mean and stuff?
August 12th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
this problem occured today for me..i’m a lil confused abt like, do i delete wgatray.exe from task manager and then turn off my pc and then turn on my pc in a safe mode??i tried the system restore thing but it says ” there are no restore points created”.i’m lil hesitant abt all this..wat do i do??pls help.
August 12th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
this problem occured today for me..i’m a lil confused abt like, do i delete wgatray.exe from task manager and then turn off my pc and then turn on my pc in a safe mode??i tried the system restore thing but it says ” there are no restore points created”.i’m lil hesitant abt all this..wat do i do??pls help…my fren says its a virus ..but i’m not sure.is it??
August 25th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
my problem solved.
thanks so much
August 25th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Great job.my problem solved .thanks so much
August 25th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I had to do this in a different order, Just do the hkey thing 1st if you have an issue. Also I had to rename the files in my System32 folder.
How to system restore = Start > All programs > Accessories> System tools> System restore.
System restore will restore your pc to a previous date, so mostly everything after that point will be gone.
BEFORE YOU DO THIS CREATE A RESTORE POINT, AND IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING STOP AND DON’T TRY YOU CAN PERMANENTLY DAMAGE YOUR SYSTEM BY REMOVING THE WRONG THINGS IN ALL THESE LOCATIONS.
August 27th, 2009 at 11:57 am
@lopsong Hi lopsong same problem i encountered today i try safe mode 1st then task manager wgatray.exe endprocess then delete the said exe w/c is wgatray.exe this icon is like an star shape you can find this in (c:\Windows\System32) if you can’t delete this!!! ready your fingers need little bit more faster to deleting this .exe(hehehe ^J^) First delete the wgatray.exe ooppppss don’t push the button!!! when the deletion confirmation pop-up you must end process the wgtray.exe and the quickly push YES in confirmation to delete the said .exe then do the next step of the ADMIN
6. Type regedit in Run to open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify key.
7. Delete the folder WgaLogon and all of its contents.
8. Restart the PC normally.
@to ADMIN thanks a lot you rock!!! God Blessed
August 29th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
salamat po
August 29th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
kuya meron pa po nagpapakita gaya nito. . updates are ready for my computer. install updates. un ang sabi po kuya
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:35 am
When i go into safe mode i dont see where i can delete file “Wgatray.exe” fromc:\Windows\System32
October 4th, 2009 at 7:57 am
just used the freakin update tool already people!!!!! Easy as pie. Thanks, it worked great.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Hey GUYS!!!!!! it really works…. try downloading RemoveWGA.exe and just run. Bingo!!!the problem is resolved.
October 10th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
My problem solved… Thank you so much…
Have a nice time…
October 13th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
wat do i do for the same problem on a Vista machine? cant seem to find wgatray.exe from task manager
October 21st, 2009 at 5:48 pm
after all the step from 1 - 8. should i run the RemoveWGA.exe?
wat is the purpose of using it. tnx
October 21st, 2009 at 5:54 pm
or i skip the step 1 -8 and just run the RemoveWGA.exe? tnx
October 26th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Tanx verry much. My problem as been solved even i could not delete Wgatray.exe from system32 a message told that the cannot be delete cause it in use or something else, it as work.Thank you verry much again. Bye. see you next. Maybe i’ll help someone next time. Bye
October 27th, 2009 at 10:15 am
hey,, i need help about how to get : Delete wgatry.exe from c:\windows\system32. please explaine for me for this..
i know how to get Safe Mode. but after that point i dont know what to do…. just the system boots in a safe mode,, that is it.
October 28th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
download this, ive used it and it worked. hope it does the same to you.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Uninstallers/RemoveWGA.shtml
November 6th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Hi, this worked just well! Thanks very much! You saved me an awfull lot of money
November 12th, 2009 at 3:28 am
hello, good morning.. i tried it & fortunately it works, but i have another 2 problems when i solved the “you may be a victim of software counterfeiting” notification.
well, first is i can’t change the theme of my computer & second is when i restart my computer there’s still the reminders that i should have a genuine microsoft software but when my computer is starting the “you may be a victim of software counterfeiting” notification is not there already.
could anyone help me to solve this problem?
anyway, thank you very much!
November 15th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Thanks man this thing was bothering me for a week and now i’m free. Thanks again!
November 26th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Thanks a lot…….
December 4th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Thanks Alot.I was looking for a solution.
I’ll let you know whether this works for me or not.Thanks alot to you guys.
Kunal.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
The update solution worked for me. Thanks!
December 18th, 2009 at 11:53 am
many many thanks. this worked nicely.
December 18th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
if we download and run RemoveWGA.exe, do we still need to do the previous 8 steps?
or we forego them by just downloading and running removeWGA.exe?
December 20th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
ho dude..chanceless..hatsoff to u … :)…amazing..i fixed the pblm in ma p.c with ya solution..i hav been constantly searching for the solution snce past few days,got vexed and atlast found ths site.. thank u soo much..it worked out in an awesme manner..
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
no need to follow the 8 steps…just download the removeWGA.exe..and run it..then it will instantly fix.
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Thank bro… Worked!
December 24th, 2009 at 9:10 am
i have a problem to my pc… whenever i open files on my drive i get hang up or freeze… then i need to reboot my pc again to use my pc… can i know how can i resolve this one?
January 1st, 2010 at 5:05 pm
thanks a lot ………………………….
my system have come 2 normal.
1.i just downloaded the softwareREMOVE WGA.EXE
2.it asked me 2 delete WGAlog$WGAtray.exe YES OR NO
3.i clicked yes
then i started enjoying my system again
January 2nd, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Its really work for my friends pc. Thanks a lot.
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:00 pm
thank you very much!
it ’s make me very happy.
January 5th, 2010 at 8:41 am
how to update my pc now, without getting that notification??..coz i cant update because first, they tell me that i should download that naugthy notification..please help me how to bypass this..Y_Y…thanks..but in the case of getting rid that Wgatray.exe, it works!…thanks alot!!..
January 26th, 2010 at 3:32 am
Thank you! You helped me very much!
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:02 pm
hi thanks for your solution on this problem…..
February 5th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
thank you its great,,,,
February 10th, 2010 at 2:14 am
Thanks u so so soooo much. It works very nicely.
February 14th, 2010 at 5:03 am
HEy Thank you so much, followed the steps and that annoying sign is gone! Thank you for the help my friend!!!
February 17th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Hey Guys this hepled me but let me tell u how i did it
1> go in safe mode…(press F8 while the Pc is starting to go in safe mode)
2> Type regedit in Run to open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify key.
3> Delete the folder WgaLogon and all of its contents.
4> launch Windows Task Manager by (Ctrl+Alt+Delete)go to precesses click on “wgatray.exe” and then End process
5> delete the file WgaTray.exe from c:\Windows\System32
And You will see the the icon gone………..
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:30 am
hi gupta, yesterday i received this msg, than iam very uncomfort that how i solve the problem but acording to u i finshed and solve the problem thanks very much.
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:47 am
system restore is enough..!! morons
March 4th, 2010 at 5:34 am
i’m sorry 4 asking this but..when i open the system restore it says the sysytem restore is off…what i’ve 2 do now???please give me the right way 2 rpair this problem..
March 4th, 2010 at 8:01 am
thankssssss! for this informationnn! this helped so muuuch! im sure u cud tell i was very annoyed by this problem…this happened twice to me. the first time when it happen i didnt bother to look up anything to fix the prolem so i just system recovered my whole computer, which sucked cuz everything had to get deleted. But then it happened and again and i searched for a solution and i found this! thank you thank you thank you sososos muuuch!
March 18th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
hey,thanx a lot buddy…it really helped n now my pc shows no such notifications…
March 20th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
hi buddy u r great i tried much to get out of this problem but i was failed ur solution work
launch Windows Task Manager.
3. Locate the process “wgatray.exe” and end it.
6. Type regedit in Run to open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify key.
7. Delete the folder WgaLogon and all of its contents.
i have done above process now it is needed to do other process of safe mode etc. pls reply
if u can pls mail me
March 20th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
thanksssssssssssssssss
buddy
any time u can ask me for any help u need buddy
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:57 pm
I tried all of the above and could not get it to turn off, So my solution was just to go into the system 32 file and rename both the exe, and dll file to another name and that stopped it right off the bat, hope this helps.
March 24th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
thanks a lot.problem solve even i cannot delete wga.exe in system32, still problem solve!
April 8th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
do i hav to switch off automatic updates ahter running removewga.exe ???
April 10th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
plz….do hlp me .m locating task manager but in process cant locate wgatray.exe wat to do…m screwed of dis prblm….
April 11th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
are u sure with this???
April 14th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
thankzzzzzzz…. it really works..
April 16th, 2010 at 11:42 am
pls, i downloaded the softwareREMOVE WGA.EXE and i saw the icon which says updates are ready for your computer click to install and update.what do i do? also my screen mode turns black after sometimes maybe one hour,pls how do i solve this problem
April 18th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Thanks a lot dud!!!U r awesome…..
so is the WgaRemover.exe tool!!!!!!
April 23rd, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Thanks a lot… RemoveWGA.exe really works!!!
April 28th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
oh!this was awesome. I just searched on google, clicked your link and fix it easily, thank you
April 30th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
ok, to get that off your sytem,
1: Dowload this file rapidshare.com/files/267001744/FIX4JOTY.zip
2: Extract it
3: run it
4: select patch 1, and patch
5: select patch 2, select install (after it will ask to restart, dont)
6: select patch 3, patch
7: restart your computer and do patch 3 again just to be safe
youll notice it is gone now
PS;
it will also pop back up when windows downloads next updates, to fix this turn off automatick updates and do them manually.
when you goto microsoft update always use “Custom” , it will scan for updates, if you go through the new update list you will see the version of Genuine notification tool, take the checkmark off of it, press the + on it and select not to show again, on your done
May 2nd, 2010 at 3:12 pm
hey can u say me about the step 2….how could i launch da task manager??…..plzzzz…
May 2nd, 2010 at 3:20 pm
if i press these keys Ctrl + Shift + ESC simultaniously iam gettng that your task manager is disabled by ur administration wat do i do nw???…….plz do reply…
May 11th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
yes it works dood
you must try too,
thank you ki mujhe ye pata pada
May 18th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
i trust u….
big thanks
May 18th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
i trust u….
it works
thanks
May 19th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
thanks a lot man it really works
June 4th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
it helped me a lot,thanks for this help.
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:28 am
Hi
I removed wga now desktop is appearing properly but i couldn’t update or upgrade my window media player 11 to replace 8 or 9.
June 25th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
thanks excellent work u done its working for me great
June 27th, 2010 at 11:39 am
hi i have a problem with microsoft office 7 counterfeiting.. how do i remove that? please help..
July 2nd, 2010 at 4:22 pm
solved my problem
thanking all
July 2nd, 2010 at 4:24 pm
any one problem mail me
sureshb_bhoi@yahoo.com
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:30 am
“i dont get it” i cant find “wgatray.exe” in the task manager
then when i try to system restor i saw that it was already on …?
what shall i DO…..???????????????
pls. help me TNX..
July 27th, 2010 at 10:36 am
why should u log on to safe mode?
July 31st, 2010 at 11:49 pm
hi..need help plz,got the notification..so i try to put it on safe mode,after comes to login page and it does not allow me to login.It says loading settings but it does not log in when i enter my login account password.I cannot download “remove wga”without logging into any of the accounts.Im using a laptop so the cursor just freezes when i try to move it around.I restarted so many times.What do I do?:(
August 1st, 2010 at 12:38 pm
@CC
Download and run the program Removewga in the normal mode only, for this tool you don’t need to put the PC in safe mode.
August 7th, 2010 at 9:43 am
woohoooo..thanks a lot admin!!!
August 11th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
It says “Oops! This link appears to be broken.”
what do I do?
August 12th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
How do you get to the system restore on the computer? I am currently running Windows 7
August 13th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
i believe that ppl who ask this kinda question ““i dont get it” i cant find “wgatray.exe” in the task manager
then when i try to system restor i saw that it was already on … what shall i DO…..???????????????” or anytthing like this kinda of message ” should not ecive anthing but a scarcastiv answer
August 14th, 2010 at 10:28 am
The wgatray.exe is not in the processes tab. Nor is it in the System 32 folder to delete.
When I ran the remover tool it said:
Unable to find your Winlogon.exe
Any help?