Microsoft made dramatic changes to Vista's illegitimate software warnings nearly two years ago, then followed those with nearly identical modifications to the older Windows XP. In Windows 7, users can click that button immediately. Under Vista's scheme, users had to wait 15 seconds before clicking the 'Activate Later' button to proceed to the desktop.

The most evident change to Windows 7 was the discarding of a delay during log-in on a machine with an inactivated copy of Windows. The end result on users' screens, however, remained similar to what Vista displayed.

With Windows 7, Microsoft dropped the 'Windows Genuine Advantage' (WGA) name for its integrated antipiracy software, and replaced it with 'Windows Activation Technologies' (WAT). Both hacking tools trick Windows 7 into reporting that it has been properly activated, preventing the nagging on-screen displays and other visual cues from appearing that Microsoft has built into its software to mark counterfeit software. Two utilities, called 'RemoveWAT' and 'Chew-WGA,' remove the activation technologies or prevent them from running, said My Digital Life.

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