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| Windows XP calls home daily Munich (dpa) Microsoft's Windows XP operating system has a hard time cutting its apron strings as the system makes a daily internet connection to Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, the magazine PC Professionell reports. The check is part of the program's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) and designed to ensure that each operating system has a valid serial number assigned to it. But users never see this function, leading some privacy experts to denounce the operation as a form of spyware. Microsoft says the service is still in the test phase and predicts fewer connections to headquarters in upcoming versions, the report quoted the company as saying. The company expects contacts to decrease from daily communication to once every two weeks and connections will no longer be required on completion of the system. But when the report queried why users had not been notified, Microsoft said the WGA could be deactivated, if it causes problems. |