Are Windows Genuine Advantage Notification tool and IE 7.0 required? Should I upgrade both? IE 7.0 was a pain!

Question

I downloaded IE 7.0 once, didn't like it, so returned to the older version. Now I'm getting notices for something called Windows Genuine Advantage Notification tool. Is this something required, and can I download it without upgrading to IE 7.0? Thanks

Answer 1

You don't need IE 7.0 and/or Windows Genuine Val tool. It's just Microsofts way of getting their hands in your pocket to pay for legitimate copies of Windows. You may not be able to recieve any updates though if you don't have a clean copy of windows. If you have a licensed copy you could validate it. It took me a while to get used to IE 7.0 also. but it's really very functional

Answer 2

Neither are REQUIRED...

Both are ADVISABLE!

IE7 is a great improvement, BUT if your machine is at the low end of running XP, it might tax your machine too much! If your PC is fast enough, with enough RAM, it should run just fine & gives many desirable features and improvements over IE6!

WGA is more for Microsoft's anti-piracy protection than providing YOU with any additional features or functionality!

Answer 3

Yes it is fine to upgrade to IE7 now that it isn't the beta version, which sucked. As far as the windows genuine thing goes, its not required.