This article describes the Microsoft Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application. This application notifies you if a copy of Office is not genuine.

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The Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application is part of a Microsoft effort to reduce piracy. Installing this software will help you confirm that the copy of Office that is installed on a computer is genuine and correctly licensed. Obtaining and using pirated software can pose a security threat to organizations and to individuals. Counterfeit software is frequently bundled together with malicious and unwanted software. Malicious software can cause system corruption, a loss of data, and even identity theft.

If your copy of Office is not genuine, the software will provide periodic reminders to help you take the appropriate action and to help protect your system from the security threat that may be posed by counterfeit software.

For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For information about the customer and technical support options that are available, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

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Notification messages

Notification messages that resemble the following will appear on computers that are running a copy of Office that has failed the Office Genuine Advantage validation process:

•	Program startup When you start a non-genuine copy of an Office XP program, of an Office 2003 program, or of a 2007 Office program, you receive a notification message that resembles the following: This copy of Microsoft Office is not genuine. Please excuse this interruption. This copy of Microsoft Office did not pass validation. Click Learn More for details and for help identifying the best way to get genuine Microsoft Office. When you receive a non-genuine notification message, you always have two options: • You can click Learn More to view more information about the specific validation failure and about the options that are available to make your copy of Office genuine. • You can click Remind Me Later. If you select this option, an icon will be available in the notification area that you can double-click to view more information about the specific validation failure and about the options that you can take to make your copy of Office genuine.
•	Toolbar For Office XP and Office 2003 programs, a toolbar is added to the non-genuine program. This toolbar displays a message that resembles the following: This copy of Office is not genuine. Click here to learn more.
•	Ribbon For 2007 Office programs, a ribbon element is added to the non-genuine program. This ribbon displays a message that resembles the following: This copy of Office is not genuine. Click here to learn more.

Note Click the toolbar or the ribbon to read more about the details of the validation failure and about the options that you can take to make your copy of Office genuine.

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How to stop notification messages

There is no option to temporarily stop notification messages. To permanently stop notification messages, follow the steps to make your copy of Office genuine when you are prompted.

For more information about how to make your copy of Office genuine, click the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications icon next to your desktop clock, or visit the following Microsoft Web site:

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How to install the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application

You can use Microsoft Update to install Office Genuine Advantage Notifications on a computer that is running Office XP, Office 2003, or 2007 Office programs. You must accept the Microsoft Software License Terms before you install the application. After the Microsoft Software License Terms have been accepted, the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application will verify that the installed copy of Office is genuine.

If the installed copy of Office is genuine, no additional notification messages are displayed. If the installed copy of Office does not pass the validation check, periodic notification messages are displayed to make you aware of the issue, to give you more detailed information, and to provide the options that you can take to resolve the issue.

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You cannot uninstall the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application

You can use Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel to view the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application. However, you cannot use Add or Remove Programs to uninstall the application. This is because pirated software can use Add or Remove Programs to remove the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application. Because this behavior poses a security threat, the ability to use Add or Remove Programs to remove the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application has been blocked.

For more information about the Office Genuine Advantage program, please visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note Steps have been taken to make sure that running the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications application does not noticeably affect the performance of your computer. The application runs only when Office is open.

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Office Genuine Advantage support options

To learn more about the support options that are available for Office Genuine Advantage notifications, visit the following Microsoft Web site: These options include both customer service and technical support.

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