“This download is available to customers running genuine Microsoft Windows. Please click the Continue button to begin Windows validation. As described in our privacy statement, Microsoft will not use the information collected during validation to identify or contact you.”

So, to download software required to install software (shitty deal right there) I have to prove the machine I am installing the installation software on is a valid purchased copy of Windows… I have no idea why they chose the name “Genuine advantage“. Probably the same reason they call Vista an “upgrade“. And probably the same reason car salesmen say that their deals are the “chance of a lifetime“.

Anyways, I won’t paste the code because I am sure one in Microsoft’s legions of lawyers would shit a brick, but just save that code on your hard drive. It isn’t specific to a machine or browser session, so you can reuse it over and over anywhere.

Maybe one day, we will live in a world where corporations reward consumers for their purchases, instead of irritating them and making them constantly have to prove it.