A lawsuit brought against Microsoft for its Windows Genuine Advantage technology - described in the claims as "spyware" - has failed in its bid to be granted Class Action status.

The latest revision of the anti-piracy 'user education' tool Windows Genuine Advantage will remove your desktop wallpaper if it believes your copy is pirated.

In a move that some might construe as being an attempt to gain back some precious market share, Microsoft is releasing an IE7 build to all Windows XP and Server 2003 users.

Not content with just one lawsuit, that mob known as the General Public are after Billy with a second, specifying the alleged details of the data that Windows Genuine Advantage collects about users.

Microsoft has dropped plans to track down pirated copies of Windows XP through its WGA anti-piracy tool, after a host of anger was directed at the software giant.

Microsoft is set to change the way that it does its Corporate Volume Licensing when Windows Vista is released. This is an attempt to crack down on pirated versions of the operating system.