ActiveWin.com: Partial Windows Vista Beta 1 Feature List

Microsoft Windows Vista Pre-Release (Beta 1) Privacy Statement

At Microsoft, we're working hard to protect your privacy, while delivering products that bring you the performance, power and convenience you desire in your personal computing. This privacy statement explains many of the data collection and use practices of Microsoft Windows Vista Pre-Release (Beta 1). This is a preliminary disclosure that focuses on features that communicate with the Internet. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list. It does not apply to other online or offline Microsoft sites, products or services.

On This Page

	Collection and Use of Your Personal Information
	Collection and Use of Information About Your Computer
	Security of Your Information
	For More Information
	Activation
	Application Help
	Audit
	Device Manager
	Dial-up Networking
	Driver Protection
	Event Viewer
	Fax
	File Association Web service
	Games Explorer
	Input Method Editor
	Internet Explorer
	Internet Printing
	Microsoft Product Support Services Diagnostic Tools
	MSN Icon
	Network Location Awareness Service
	Outlook Express
	Parental Controls
	Peer Name Resolution Service
	Plug and Play
	Plug and Play Extensions
	Program Compatibility Wizard
	Rights Management Services Client
	Software Quality Metrics
	Speech Recognizer
	Update Root Certificates
	Universal Plug and Play
	Windows Backup
	Windows Help: Windows Online Help
	Windows Help: Help Improvement Program
	Windows Media Player
	Windows Print Spooler
	Windows Product Feedback
	Windows Terminal Server Client
	Windows Time Service
	Windows Update and Automatic Update
	Wireless Provisioning Services

Collection and Use of Your Personal Information

The personal information we collect from you will be used by Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates to provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you have requested or authorized, and may also be used to request additional information on feedback that you provide about the product or service that you are using; to provide critical updates and notifications regarding the pre-release software; to improve the product or service, for example bug and survey form inquiries; or to provide you with advance notice of events or to tell you about new product releases.

Except as described in this statement, personal information you provide will not be transferred to third parties without your consent. We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as packaging, sending and delivering purchases and other mailings, answering customer questions about products or services, processing event registration, or performing statistical analysis of our services. We provide those companies the minimum personal information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.

Microsoft may disclose personal information about you if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Microsoft or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Microsoft and its family of Web sites, or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, users of Microsoft products or services, or members of the public.

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Collection and Use of Information About Your Computer

This pre-release version contains Internet enabled features that automatically collect information from your computer ("computer information") and send it to Microsoft. This computer information is generally not personally identifiable. Because this is a pre-release version of the software, most of these Internet enabled features are turned on by default, so that we can collect enough information about how the product is working to improve the commercially released product. The default settings in this pre-release software do not necessarily reflect how these features will be configured in the commercially released product. The privacy details for each Windows feature listed here will disclose what information is collected and how it is used. Information that is collected by or sent to Microsoft may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities.

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Security of Your Information

Microsoft is committed to protecting the security of your information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the information you provide on computer servers with limited access that are located in controlled facilities.

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For More Information

If you have questions about this privacy statement, please contact us by submitting your questions to: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=3545244

Or by postal mail:
Windows Vista Beta 1 Privacy Statement
c/o
Microsoft Privacy Response Center
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington 98052

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Activation

What This Feature Does:

Activation is aimed at reducing software piracy as well as ensuring that Microsoft's customers are receiving the software quality that they expect. Activation means that a specific product key becomes associated with the computer (the hardware) it is installed on. After that happens, that product key cannot be used for activation on other computers.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

During activation of this pre-release software, product key information in the form of the product ID, plus the product key itself, is sent to Microsoft along with a hardware hash (a non-unique number generated from the computer's hardware configuration). The hardware hash does not represent any personal information or anything about the software. The hardware hash cannot be used to determine the make or model of the computer, nor can it be backward-calculated to determine the raw computer information.

Use of Information:

The information is used only to confirm that you have a licensed copy of the software.

Choice/Control:

Activation is mandatory. If you choose not to activate the software, you cannot use it after the grace period expires.

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Application Help

What This Feature Does:

Application Help is one of the application compatibility technologies that support the installation and operation of applications on this pre-release software. Because some applications that work on earlier versions of Windows might not function properly on this version, the application compatibility technologies were developed to solve these potential problems and enable a better user experience. Application Help is most commonly used to block low-level applications—such as antivirus and disk-access utilities—that were not written for or intended for use on this version. By blocking the installation of these applications, this feature serves to avert serious problems that could compromise system integrity.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

In the Application Help dialog box, you can click the Details button, in which case additional information is displayed. The Help content comes from a local HTML Help file. The information that is displayed may provide links to Microsoft or other Web sites for further information. If you click on a link, no information sent to the Internet is used to personally identify you. Application Help is on by default.

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Audit

What This Feature Does:

Auditing allows an administrator to monitor the system and create a security log. The log can help an administrator detect unauthorized access and troubleshoot problems.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

What information is collected, how long it is retained, and whether it is transmitted to another party is at the discretion of the administrator. The information could include a user's personally identifiable information, such as user names or file names. For further information, consult your administrator.

Use of the Information:

How the information is used is up to an administrator. Generally, the log is used by auditors and administrators to track system activity or to identify unauthorized access to the system or resources on the system.

Choice/Control:

It is up to an administrator whether this feature is enabled and to determine how users are notified, based on local law. The security log cannot be viewed by other users unless specifically permitted by the administrator.

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Device Manager

What This Feature Does:

Device Manager works with Windows Update to deliver updated drivers for installed hardware devices. With Device Manager, you can update device drivers for hardware installed on your computer, modify hardware settings, and troubleshoot device and driver problems.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

To provide you with the appropriate list of updates, configuration information is collected from your computer, including software version numbers, Plug and Play ID numbers of hardware devices, and region and language settings. Drivers and replacement files (such as critical updates and Help files) may be downloaded to your computer. Your computer is uniquely identified and is logged by Microsoft. No information will be used to personally identify you.

Use of Information:

The configuration information collected is used only to determine the appropriate updates and to generate aggregate statistics.

Choice/Control:

Device Manager is enabled by default, and cannot be disabled. However, Device Manager will only download updated drivers when you open Device Manager, click the Hardware tab, and then click Update Driver. This starts the Hardware Update Wizard.

Important Information:

For more details on what information is collected and how it is used, see the Windows Update Privacy Statement at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50142&clcid=0x409

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Dial-up Networking

What This Feature Does:

Dial-Up networking allows you to access the internet using Remote Access Service (RAS) and connect to private networks, such as your corporate network, using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). RAS is a component that connects a client to a host computer, known as a remote access server, using industry standard protocols. VPN technology allows users to connect to a private network over the Internet, while maintaining secure communications.

Dial-Up Networking includes client side dialer components such as RAS Client, Connection Manager and RAS Phone as well as command line dialers like Rasdial.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

The dialer component collects data such as user name, password, domain name, and phone number. Sensitive information such as username and password are stored securely.

The Connection Manager Administration Kit (CMAK) is a server side component that allows administrators to build a user interface to take input from users. The input collected from you is at the discretion of the administrator. For further information consult your administrator.

Use of Information:

Dialer information is used to make connections to the internet. For CMAK, the information is used to create connection profiles for mass deployment.

Choice/Control:

For non command line dialers, you have the option to choose to save your password; this option is off by default, meaning that you are always prompted for your password. For command line dialers like Rasdial there is no option to save your password.

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Driver Protection

What This Feature Does:

Driver Protection prevents the operating system from loading drivers that are known to cause stability problems. These drivers are listed in a Driver Protection List database included in the software. Driver Protection checks this database during Windows operating system upgrades and while the operating system is running. These checks are performed to determine whether to load a driver under this software.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

Driver Protection downloads updated versions of required files, including drivers and help files.

Use of Information:

If a driver is on the Driver Protection List when the software starts, the operating system displays a pop-up Help balloon in the taskbar notification area when you log on. If you click that Help balloon, additional driver information and links to solutions for that problem are displayed in Help and Support Center.

If a driver is on the Driver Protection List during Windows Setup, a message will appear in the Report System Compatibility window before the operating system upgrade is completed. Users can either cancel Setup and find an alternate driver solution before installing the new operating system, or they can continue the setup process before installing an alternate driver. In this case, Setup may disable the driver in order to complete installation. When you later log on, the operating system will display the pop-up Help balloon described above.

Choice/Control:

You cannot disable Driver Protection directly. Disabling Windows Update or avoiding the use of Dynamic Update will prevent Driver Protection from updating the Driver Protection List on your system.

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Event Viewer

What This Feature Does:

Administrators can use Event Viewer to view and manage event logs. Event logs contain information about hardware and software problems and about security events on your computer. While Event Viewer is primarily a tool for administrators to manage event logs, you can also view the events stored in the Application, System, and application specific logs on your computer, unless administrators restrict this access. These logs contain event information generated by all users on the computer and by default all entries are viewable by all users.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

A link to further information is included in the Event Properties dialog box. Clicking this link will send the information listed about the event to Microsoft. You can access event logs for your computer through Control Panel\Administrative Tools\Event Viewer. You can obtain detailed information about a particular event by selecting the event and viewing the Preview pane, double-clicking the event, or selecting the event and clicking Properties on the Action menu.

Use of Information:

The event information collected is needed to retrieve more information about the event from the Microsoft Knowledge Base. While it is possible that personal information may be present in the event information sent, this information is not used to identify you.

Choice/Control:

When users click the link, they are asked to confirm that the information presented to them can be sent over the Internet. If you click "Yes", the information listed will be sent to the Web site named in the link. Administrators can restrict access to any event log through the use of Access Control Lists (ACLs).

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Fax

What This Feature Does:

The fax feature allows the preparation and storage of a fax cover page, and sends and receives faxes.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

Information collected includes any personal information entered on a fax cover page, as well as identifiers contained within industry standard fax protocols such as Transmitting Subscriber ID (TSID) and Call Subscriber ID (CSID). These IDs are determined by the user and may contain arbitrary text. The public viewing setting allows all users to see all faxes in the system. This setting is on by default but may be altered by an administrator.

Use of Information:

Information entered in the sender dialog is presented on the cover page. IDs such as the TSID and CSID may contain arbitrary text and are typically used by the receiving machine to identify the sender.

Choice/Control:

There are different levels of access control available, based on your role within the system. Users may receive and send faxes. Administrators have full access.

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File Association Web service

What This Feature Does:

The file association Web service extends the scope of information stored locally by the operating system about file name extensions, file types, and the applications or components to use when opening a particular file type. Both the locally stored information and the file association Web service are intended to provide you with the ability to open a file without having to specify which application or component to open it with.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

If the operating system does not find local information about a file name extension, it offers you the option of sending a query to look for more information on a Microsoft Web site. No information is sent to Microsoft unless you choose to use this Web service. The site is language-specific; the file name extension that you double-click is appended to the query.

Use of Information:

The information submitted to the web service includes the extension of the file you are trying to open. A web page is displayed listing the programs Microsoft is aware of that can open files of that extension. The associations for that file type are not changed.

Choice/Control:

You always have the choice to use the file association Web service and no information is sent to Microsoft unless you make that choice. Administrators have several options to limit the flow of information to the file association Web service.

Important Information:

Additional technical details for disabling the file association Web service through the use of Group Policy or by editing the registry key are available at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50294&clcid=0x409

Caution:

Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer. You can also use the Last Known Good Configuration startup option if you encounter problems after manual changes have been applied.

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Games Explorer

What This Feature Does:

The Games Explorer window lists all of the games installed on your computer and allows you to view rich metadata for those games.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

The Games Explorer keeps track of the last time each game was played, to allow you to sort or filter the display of games. This data is stored locally in the registry, and is not sent to Microsoft. When you open Game Explorer, it retrieves rich metadata about the games you have installed from the Windows Metadata and Internet Services (WMIS) at Microsoft.

Use of Information:

The information sent to Microsoft is used to retrieve rich game metadata. The information collected is not used to personally identify you. It may be used to generate aggregate statistics.

Choice/Control:

When you open Games Explorer, rich metadata will be retrieved from the metadata service. If you do not wish to retrieve and display this metadata, do not open the Games Explorer.

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Input Method Editor

What This Feature Does:

Microsoft Input Method Editor (IME) is used with East Asian languages to convert keyboard input to ideograms. The learning feature of IME for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese may record word or word pairs to improve the selection of the ideograms displayed. You can report unsupported words using the word registration reporting feature (this feature is available only in Japanese IME).

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

IME learning feature records a word or word pair and their associated scores as a result of user operations. This information (excluding any digit/symbol character sequences) is stored in the user dictionary, and IME does not transmit this information from your computer

The data in the word registration report to be sent to Microsoft may include information such as: information about the words being reported, user's comments, software version numbers, hardware related information, and your computer's IP address. No personal information is intentionally collected; however, the collected data may include personal information. This information will not be used to personally identify you. You will have the opportunity to review the data being sent with each report before you choose to send it.

Use of Information:

Learning data is only used by IME on your system, and may also be referenced by Microsoft Office proofing tools. Word registration reports will be sent to Microsoft using a secure connection and will only be used for the purpose of researching Japanese language product improvements. Microsoft aims to improve the quality of IME by performing statistical analysis of submissions. Microsoft employees, contractors and vendors who have a business need to use the report data, or research institutes who carry out Japanese language research, may be provided access.

Choice/Control:

The learning feature can be disabled with the IME application. It can also be enabled without writing to the user dictionary.

Each time a word registration report is generated, you are asked if you want to send this report to Microsoft. You may view the information contained in the report before choosing whether or not to send it. Enterprise administrators can use Group Policy to configure how word registration reporting behaves on computers in their enterprise. Group Policy configuration options include the ability to completely turn off reporting, or to redirect reports to another server. Administrators can find further information on Group Policy for Reporting at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=31494.

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Internet Explorer

What This Feature Does:

Internet Explorer is an Internet browser that is designed to make it easy for you to browse and interact with sites on an intranet or on the Internet.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

For details on what information is collected and how it is used by Internet Explorer, please see the Internet Explorer Privacy Statement at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=20615

Use of Information:

Information is used in accordance with the Internet Explorer Privacy Statement, located at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=20615

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Internet Printing

What This Feature Does:

Internet printing makes it possible for client computers running Microsoft Windows to use printers located anywhere in the world by sending print jobs using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

When you print using this feature, you must first connect and authenticate yourself to an Internet print server. Once you are connected, you are presented with a list of available printers. If your machine does not have a print driver for your selected printer, you may choose to download a driver from the print server.

Choice/Control:

To prevent the use of Internet printing you can delete the registry key that the Print Spooler service uses to load the Internet print provider. Deleting the Internet print provider registry key may affect other print operations.

Important Information:

Technical details for disabling Internet Printing by editing the registry key are available at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50328&clcid=0x409

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Microsoft Product Support Services Diagnostic Tools

What This Feature Does:

Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) helps you solve problems you may be having with your system. If PSS needs additional information, they may ask you to run diagnostic tools and send the data they collect to Microsoft for analysis.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

In general, the diagnostic tools gather information about your system.

Use of Information:

For details on what information is collected and how it is used by PSS, please see the Privacy Statement at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50291&clcid=0x409

Choice/Control:

You have control over what files are sent to PSS and when they are sent.

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MSN Icon

What This Feature Does:

Clicking on the MSN icon allows you to sign-up for MSN Services available on the MSN.com Web site. The MSN.com Web site is an Internet connectivity service that provides access to a variety of personal-interest information and services, as well as providing a portal to the Internet.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

For details on what information is collected through MSN Services and how it is used by Microsoft, please see the MSN Privacy Statement at: http://g.msn.com/0PR_/enus.

Use of Information:

Information is used in accordance with the MSN Privacy Statement, located at: http://g.msn.com/0PR_/enus.

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Network Location Awareness Service

What This Feature Does:

This service collects network information such as the DNS suffix of your computer, bandwidth availability, and intranet connectivity, and makes it available through an Application Programming Interface to applications that may require this information to function properly.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

No personal information is transferred or stored by this feature.

Use of Information:

The information is made available to applications that require network connectivity information.

Choice/Control:

The Network Location Awareness Service is on by default, and may by disabled by an administrator.

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Outlook Express

What This Feature Does:

This application provides you with an Email and Newsgroup reader. It allows you to create multiple accounts, and provides you an address book and directory services to help manage your contacts. It also provides offline synchronization capabilities, and allows you to customize your inbox with rules.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

You must enter your email account and server name for Outlook Express to connect to your email server. You may also provide your Friendly Name, which is then shown in the email header to everyone you send email to. No information is transmitted to Microsoft.

Use of Information:

Information provided is used to establish a connection to your email server, and provide a name of your choice (called a Friendly Name) to your email recipients.

Choice/Control:

If you do not wish to provide Outlook Express with your email account or email server name, you are free to use any other email application to connect to your email server. If you choose not to use Outlook Express for email, it will not collect any information. You also are free to use the Friendly Name of your choice.

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Parental Controls

What This Feature Does:

This feature allows parents to restrict what games their children can play on the computer. It also logs what games they play and any changes made to the restrictions. To properly use this feature, only parents should be administrators of the computer. Children should not be granted administrative privileges.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

Parental Controls Settings are collected to determine whether the feature is enabled, whether logging is enabled, and what gaming restrictions have been applied to the user. The log, stored locally, contains information about what games a user has played, including when and on what computer, and any changes to parental controls settings for that user.

Use of Information:

Settings are used to determine parental controls functionality and restrictions placed on the user. Logs are used to allow administrators to monitor what games users play.

Choice/Control:

Only users can be monitored via parental controls, administrators cannot be monitored and have full control to settings and the log. Parental Controls is not turned on by default. Only administrators may turn this feature on. Users can only view what settings an administrator has applied to their account.

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Peer Name Resolution Service

What This Feature Does:

Peer Name Resolution Service allows you to collaborate with other users. The service uses the Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP) which allows applications on your machine to publish a Peer Name on the Internet or on your local network and allows you to resolve Peer Names of other users.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

When an application asks PNRP to publish a Peer Name on your behalf, it publishes your IP address associated with a hash of your Peer Name.

Use of Information:

The association of your IP and Peer Name is used to allow other machines to locate and communicate with your machine. It is also used so that other machines can assist you in resolving the names of other machines to addresses so that you can communicate with them.

Choice/Control:

To allow or prevent publishing and resolution of Peer Names from your machine, an administrator can enable or disable the Peer Name Resolution Service, via the Component Services control. This may cause some features of Windows to be disabled. The service is enabled by default.

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Plug and Play

What This Feature Does:

Windows Plug and Play makes it easy to install devices on your computer. You can simply plug in a Plug and Play device and Windows does the rest by installing any necessary drivers, updating the system, and allocating resources. After you install a Plug and Play device, the driver is configured and loaded dynamically, typically without requiring user input.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

When you install a Plug and Play device the Windows Update client calls Windows Update to find and download device drivers. This communication is not under the direct control of Plug and Play. The Windows Update client handles all of the communication between the computer and Windows Update. None of the communication between the computer and the Internet uniquely identifies you.

Use of Information:

Plug and Play detects and manages Plug and Play devices, performing task such as determining hardware resource requirements, locating appropriate device drivers, loading and unloading drivers, notification that a new device is available, and in conjunction with power management, handling stop and start processes for devices.

Choice/Control:

Plug and Play is enabled by default. Plug and Play cannot be disabled as system instability would result. However, administrators can target search locations for drivers, or prevent users and computers from automatically accessing Windows Update.

Important Information:

For more details on what information is collected by Windows Update and how it is used, see the Microsoft Update Privacy Statement at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50142&clcid=0x409

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Plug and Play Extensions

What This Feature Does:

Plug and Play Extensions (PnP-X) provides the same experience for network connected devices as Plug and Play does for directly connected devices. In addition, it allows your computer to discover and connect to network devices on your subnet, and allows PnP-X enabled devices to broadcast their presence on a subnet.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

PnP-X enabled devices may advertise their presence on the subnet by sending data such as the device's IP address and a unique identifier. Be aware that PnPX supports a wide range of devices including network drives, and digital cameras that could contain sensitive personal information.

Use of Information:

Information transmitted is used to identify the device, and used as a function of consuming the features offered by the device.

Choice/Control:

There is no facility for disabling PnP-X, or controlling what information is sent by a PnP-X enabled device once it is accessed across a network. Before attaching PnP-X enabled devices to your network, it is recommended that you verify that your network is secure. For example, if you use a cable modem to connect to the Internet, consider installing a router that isolates your area of the network from that of your neighbors. Or, if you have a wireless network, it is recommended that you turn on a secure authentication service such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). For more information about setting up a secure wireless network, see Windows Help.

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Program Compatibility Wizard

What This Feature Does:

If you have an application compatibility problem you can use the wizard to make adjustments to attempt to run the application successfully.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

The results of the Program Compatibility Wizard data, including settings and problems that were encountered with the application being installed, are sent to Microsoft. You are not uniquely identified.

Use of Information:

Information sent by the Program Compatibility Wizard to Microsoft is used to determine what setting adjustments to make when you encounter application compatibility problems.

Choice/Control:

Administrators can disable the Program Compatibility Wizard through Group Policy. Using Group Policy, administrators can prevent data from being sent to Microsoft.

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Rights Management Services Client

What This Feature Does:

Rights Management Services (RMS) Client software is information protection technology that works with RMS-enabled applications to help safeguard digital information from unauthorized use—both online and offline, inside and outside of the firewall. You can define exactly how the recipient can use the information, such as who can open, modify, print, forward and/or take other actions with the information. In order to create or view a file with restricted permission you must be running an RMS-enabled application and have access to an RMS server.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

RMS relies on your email address to identify you. Your email address will be stored on your machine in use licenses and identity certificates created by an RMS server. Identity certificate and use licenses are transferred to and from RMS servers. If you are in an enterprise setting, this will be an RMS server within your enterprise. If you are using MSN services, this will be an RMS server at Microsoft. Your email address is stored on the RMS server.

Use of Information:

The use license allows you to access protected information. The identity certificate is used to identify you to an RMS server, and allows you to protect content as well as access protected information. Transfers to Microsoft RMS servers are always encrypted with SSL.

Choice/Control:

You can choose not to enable or use RMS features. However, you will not be able to open files with restricted permissions.

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Software Quality Metrics

What This Feature Does:

While you are using this pre-release software, some anonymous information about how you are using the software is sent to Microsoft. Microsoft uses this data in an aggregated form to help make future versions of Windows software better and more useful to you.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

Information collected includes data on the kind and number of errors you see, and the speed and performance of your software and hardware. This information may be gathered on your machine by services such as the Windows Diagnostics Infrastructure.

Use of Information:

This information is used by the Customer Experience Improvement Program, which helps us make software that is better and more useful to you. By participating in this program, you are directly influencing how software is designed.

Choice/Control:

Software Quality Metrics is turned on by default when installing this pre-release software. The default settings in this pre-release software do not necessarily reflect how these features will be configured in the commercially released product. Because this information is critical to the feedback process for this Beta release, it cannot be turned off. If you do not wish to send information about your use of the pre-release software to Microsoft, do not install this software.

Important Information:

Information on the Customer Experience Improvement Program is available at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50292&clcid=0x409

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Speech Recognizer

What This Feature Does:

This feature provides speech recognition within Windows and any applications that choose to use it. Speech recognition by the Microsoft Speech Recognizer will increase in accuracy by learning how a person uses the language, i.e. the words they like to use, the way they use grammar, and the frequency distribution of words.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

The text you have authored in documents on your system is collected and stored typically in 3-word fragments, along with corrections you make while using speech to dictate. This is stored in your personal speech profile. No data is sent to Microsoft.

Use of Information:

Microsoft Speech Recognizer learns about your language use by analyzing text that you have authored. In addition, analysis is done on corrections you make while using speech to dictate, and probability weightings are determined for the words you use. This allows more accurate speech recognition.

Choice/Control:

All users may enable or disable this feature. It is enabled by default. You may delete your speech profile by opening up the Speech Control Panel, and clicking on the "Delete" button in the "Recognition Profiles" section of the "Speech Recognition" tab. Speech Profiles are stored for each user and users are not able to access the profiles of other users on the machine. Administrators can access any profile.

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Update Root Certificates

What This Feature Does:

When an application is presented with a certificate issued by a certification authority that is not directly trusted, the Update Root Certificates feature will contact the Microsoft Windows Update Web site to see if Microsoft has added the certification authority to its list of trusted authorities. If the certification authority has been added to the Microsoft list of trusted authorities, its certificate will automatically be added to the trusted certificate store on your computer.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

Update Root Certificates sends a request to the Windows Update Web site, asking for the current list of root certification authorities in the Microsoft Root Certificate Program. If the untrusted certificate is named in the list, Update Root Certificates obtains that certificate from Windows Update and places it in the trusted certificate store on your computer. No information used in this exchange is used to personally identify you.

Use of Information:

The information is used to update the trusted certificate store on your computer.

Choice/Control:

Update Root Certificates is enabled by default, and cannot be turned off if it is installed. To disable the Update Root Certificates component from an individual computer go to the following location in the registry and set RootAutoUpdate to 0: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OCManager\Subcomponents

Caution:

Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer. You can also use the Last Known Good Configuration startup option if you encounter problems after manual changes have been applied.

Important Information:

If you are presented with a certificate issued by a root authority that is not directly trusted, and the Update Root Certificates component is not installed on your computer, you will be prevented from completing the action that required authentication. For example, you might be prevented from installing software, viewing an encrypted or digitally signed e-mail message, or using a browser to engage in an SSL session.

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Universal Plug and Play

What This Feature Does:

Universal Plug and Play is an architecture supported in Windows that provides peer-to-peer device control for network devices. UPnP technology enables discovery and control of devices and services through standards-based protocols.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

Using the address that is provided in the discovery process, a UPnP control point can receive information from UPnP devices. When a control point subscribes to a device service, the service sends messages to the control point to announce any changes in its status. If a UPnP device provides a URL, you can use a browser to access control features, information, or device-specific capabilities from the manufacturer.

Use of Information:

The information exchanged between a device and a control point includes basic information about the devices and their services, and a URL that can be used to gather further information such as device make, model, and serial number. Additionally, the information can include a list of devices and services, and URLs used for accessing features.

Choice/Control:

Before allowing the UPnP feature to communicate on your network, it is recommended that you verify that your network is secure. For example, if you use a cable modem to connect to the Internet, consider installing a router that isolates your area of the network from that of your neighbors. Or, if you have a wireless network, it is recommended that you turn on a secure authentication service such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). For more information about setting up a secure wireless network, see Windows Help. Also, to allow or prevent discovery of UPnP devices on your network, you can enable or disable the SSDP Discovery Service in Windows.

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Windows Backup

What This Feature Does:

This feature will backup copies of user documents or an entire disk volume.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

Any user information contained in a backup will be copied to the backup target, such as DVD, CD, external hard disk, or network share.

Use of Information:

All information is stored on the backup target and can be used for data recovery.

Choice/Control:

Users can configure which types of documents and which volumes to backup, as well as the target media and backup schedule.

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Windows Help: Windows Online Help

What This Feature Does:

This feature allows you to include content from Windows Online in your Help searches when you're connected to the Internet. Including content from Windows Online will give you the most up-to-date content available.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

Windows Online collects general system information from your computer with each visit so that you receive the most relevant results for your search. The information is also used to generate aggregate statistics about what users search for in Help in order to develop new content or improve existing content. This information includes computer information as well as the word or phrase entered into Search.

Windows Online Help does not intentionally collect any information that could be used to personally identify you. If you type such information into the Search box, the information will be captured, but Microsoft will not use it to identify you.

Use of Information:

Windows Online Help uses the information to respond to the search queries and to return the most relevant results.

Choice/Control:

Results from Windows Online Help are not included when you search for help until you turn it on. The option is turned off by default. To enable or disable Windows Online Help, select Settings from the Options menu and update your setting.

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Windows Help: Help Improvement Program

What This Feature Does:

The Windows Help Improvement Program helps Microsoft identify trends in the way you use Help so that we can improve our search results and the relevancy of our content. We will use this information to improve your future experience with Windows.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

Windows Online Help collects information about your hardware configuration and how you use Windows Help in order to identify trends and usage patterns so that we can improve our service. We do not collect any information that can be used to identify you. If you type such information into the Search box, the information will be captured, but Microsoft will not use it to identify you.

Use of Information:

Windows Online Help collects data about how you use Windows Help in order to identify trends and usage patterns so that we can improve the quality of content we provide and the relevance of our search results.

Choice/Control:

You will be automatically enrolled in the Help Improvement program when you turn on Windows Online Help. To later turn the feature on or off, select Settings from the Options menu and update your setting.

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Windows Media Player

What This Feature Does:

Microsoft Windows Media Player enables users to play and organize digital media files on their computer and on the Internet. Users can play CDs and DVDs (if they have DVD hardware), create custom CDs, listen to radio stations, search for and organize digital media files, and copy files to a portable device.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

For details on what information is collected and how it is used by Windows Media Player, please see the Windows Media Privacy Statement, available here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=44073&clcid=0x409.

Use of Information:

Information is used in accordance with the Windows Media Player Privacy Statement, located here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=44073&clcid=0x409.

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Windows Print Spooler

What This Feature Does:

The Windows print spooler is responsible for many of the functions that enable printing.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

Print job data is collected and stored in a spool file in a spooler directory. Job cover data sent by printer drivers such as the Microsoft Postscript Print Driver may include username, job name, and job size, and is stored as a shadow file in the same directory. This data is available to third party applications via programmatic interfaces and may be transferred over various standard protocols. Queue data is stored in the registry. Ports are also stored in the registry and can only be created by an administrator but can always be read by any user and any remote user belonging to the "Everyone" group. Installable components such as language monitors, drivers, port monitors and print providers are also visible to any user both remotely and locally as long as they belong to the "Everyone" group.

Use of Information:

The information is used to enable printing functionality in Windows. Job data is used to display status to the users, administrators and management tools on the status of jobs being processed. The contents of the document being printed are available only to the document owner and system administrators.

Choice/Control:

Users can disable the spooler service and not print. All users can write spool files by default, but only administrators and the system account have full permissions also read and update. Job cover data, which includes information such as username, job name, and job size, may be read by all users.

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Windows Product Feedback

What This Feature Does:

Windows Product Feedback provides a service which allows Microsoft to track and address errors relating to the operating system, Windows components, and applications. This service, called the Error Reporting service, gives you the opportunity to send data about errors to Microsoft and to receive information about them.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

The Error Reporting service collects Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, which are not used to identify users. It does not intentionally collect anyone's name, address, e mail address, computer name, or any contact information. It is possible that such information may be captured in memory or in the data collected from open files, but Microsoft does not use it to identify users.

In rare cases, such as problems that are especially difficult to solve, Microsoft may request additional data, including sections of memory (which may include memory shared by any or all applications running at the time the problem occurred), some registry settings, and one or more files from your computer. Your current documents may also be included. When additional data is requested, you can review the data and choose whether or not to send it.

Use of Information:

Microsoft uses the data it collects is for solving customer problems and improving its software.

Choice/Control:

Whenever there is an error, the error report will be generated. If this report contains additional data as described above, you will be asked each time if you want to send the information to Microsoft, and have an opportunity to view what is in the error report. If the report does not contain additional data it will be sent automatically. You must opt-out if you do not want the report sent to Microsoft.

Important Information:

For more details on what information is collected and how it is used, see the Windows Error Reporting privacy information at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50293&clcid=0x409

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Windows Terminal Server Client

What This Feature Does:

Windows Terminal Server Client software provides a way for you to establish a remote connection with a host running Terminal Server.

Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:

All connection settings are stored in a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) file. These settings include username, password (encrypted), domain, and connection configuration settings such as color-bit depth. Some data, such as the Terminal Server Proxy credentials, are stored in the registry. These credentials are also encrypted. The client also keeps a most recently used list of servers in the registry. This information is not shared with 3rd parties or other windows components.

Use of Information:

Data is collected so you can connect to Terminal Servers with your desired settings. Username, password, and domain are collected to allow you to save your connection settings and enable a double-click on an RDP file to launch a connection.

Choice/Control:

The RDP file contains all of the information for a connection to a remote computer, including the options settings that were configured when the file was automatically saved. You can customize any number of RDP files, including files for connecting to the same computer with different settings.

Important Information:

For more information about data that collected in the RDP files, please refer to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50296&clcid=0x409

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Windows Time Service

What This Feature Does:

The Windows Time service automatically synchronizes a local computer's time with a reliable time server on a network to improve security and performance in your organization.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

The service sends information in the form of a network packet to a reliable time server. Information related to the service is stored in the Windows System event log. The IP address time server is contained in the Windows event log entries. Additionally, warning or error condition information related to the service is stored in the Windows System event log.

Use of Information:

Information is used by the Windows Time service to automatically synchronize the local computer's time with a reliable time server on the network.

Choice/Control:

The Windows Time service is installed by default. You may disable the service, and doing so has no direct effect on applications or other services, but without a reliable time source the local computer's clock may slowly drift out of sync with other computers on the network or internet. Applications and services that depend on time may fail, or they may yield undesirable results if there is a significant time discrepancy among computers.

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Windows Update and Automatic Update

What This Feature Does:

Windows Update is an online catalog customized for computers running Microsoft Windows that consists of items such as drivers, critical updates, and Help files.

When Automatic Update is enabled, users do not need to visit special Web pages or remember to periodically check for new updates. The update occurs automatically and an icon appears in the notification area each time new updates are available.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

For details on what information is collected and how it is used by Windows Update, please see the Microsoft Update Privacy Statement at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50142&clcid=0x409

Use of Information:

Information is used in accordance with the Microsoft Update Privacy Statement, located at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=50142&clcid=0x409

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Wireless Provisioning Services

What This Feature Does:

This feature enables the automated provisioning of wireless clients and enables access to the Public Wi-Fi Hotspot of your choosing over a secure connection. The Network Sign-up Wizard is used to collect information needed for the Wi-Fi connection and will guide you through the sign-up process.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

An XML document provided by the Public Wi-Fi service is placed on your computer, and used to determine what information is needed to provision the Wi-Fi service. This information is collected thru the Network Sign-up Wizard and transferred back to the Wi-Fi service. No data is transferred to Microsoft. This provisioning information is sent over an industry-standard secure channel, such as TLS. Provisioning information typically includes personal information such as the users' name and their payment method. i.e. Credit Card number or prepaid card number.

Use of Information:

The XML document stored on your machine is used to determine what information the WiFi service provider needs from you to grant access to their service. Information that you send the WiFi service during the provisioning process is used to enable them to identify you, allow you access to their service, and bill you for that service.

Choice/Control:

You may decide what information you wish to provide the Wi-Fi service, and whether or not to complete the Network Sign-up Wizard and send any information.

Important Information:

Microsoft does not control what information Wi-Fi service providers may request, nor do we have any control over what the provider does with this data once received. We strongly encourage you to read the provider's privacy statement before deciding to submit any information to them.