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Windows Update keeps tabs on all system software | |
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| Time: 13:35 EST/18:35 GMT | News Source: The Register | Posted By: Bill Roach | ||
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Evidence obtained by German hardware site tecChannel suggests a list of software installed on an XP machine is sent to Microsoft when users run Windows Update. When patches are downloaded, a few kilobytes of data are sent in the opposite direction over a secure SSL channel. Because the data is encrypted a simple packet sniffer can't be used to see what this data contains. | ||
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| #1 By 7390 (63.211.44.114) at 2/28/2003 2:23:16 PM |
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it would be more believable if you have incorporated Bill Gates, Linux, Larry Ellison, a goat and a man from Mantucket.
and ofcourse tickle-me-elmo and SodaJerk. |
| #2 By 143 (65.221.158.228) at 2/28/2003 5:25:41 PM |
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Darn... now Microsoft knows what my video card is.
I feel like a tool now... |
| #3 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at 2/28/2003 6:57:40 PM |
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Halcyon-X12 - "IMHO polling for version numbers is probably the best idea, I don't see why they don't just do that. Information does not need to be transmitted. "
Because some people use a modem. Thus it's desirable to reduce the amount of bandwidth. Besides, you come up with any solution and I'll find a flaw in it. Are we just going to sit around here badmouthing Microsoft? |
| #4 By 1845 (12.209.152.69) at 2/28/2003 8:25:57 PM |
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What does Windows Update update?
Back in the day it updated Windows components - Windows hotfixes, Internet Explorer, DirectX, etc. Now is has expanded it self to include other software - Windows Media Player, .NET Framework, etc. It also is the updated mechanism for signed 3rd party hardware drivers. Windows Catalog has also been added into the mix to provide a mechanism for purchasing 3rd party software. Would it be so very frightening if it also became a clearinghouse for 3rd party software updates? Hmm, no, it wouldn't. |
| #5 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/28/2003 10:39:45 PM |
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#12 - Your sarcasm suggests you believe the opposite of that statement... if Microsoft does it, it must be bad.
This Windows Update "issue" is a non-issue: Is Windows Update SpyWare? A mind-numbingly banal report by a German hardware site claims this week that Microsoft's Windows Update Web site is basically spyware, because it supposedly sends a list of installed software on your PC to Microsoft. The report raises years-old concerns that Microsoft is spying on its users in a Big Brother scenario that's so easy to believe and yet so painfully obviously not happening. So why would Microsoft need (or care about) a list of software installed on your system in certain cases? Well, as the report notes, the Windows Update privacy statement reads that the service "must collect a certain amount of configuration information from your computer" in order to determine which fixes you need. You mean Microsoft might actually provide its users with fixes that apply to certain third party applications? Wow, what a bunch of monopolist jerks. But seriously folks, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Microsoft's done enough bad things in the past that we don't need to make stuff up. Source: http://www.wininformant.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=38176 |
| #6 By 1845 (12.209.152.69) at 3/1/2003 4:11:11 AM |
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Windows Update Privacy Statement (Last Updated 10/15/2002)
Windows Update is committed to protecting your privacy. To provide you with the appropriate list of updates, Windows Update must collect a certain amount of configuration information from your computer. None of this configuration information can be used to identify you. This information includes: Operating-system version number Internet Explorer version number Version numbers of other software for which Windows Update provides updates Plug and Play ID numbers of hardware devices Region and Language setting The configuration information collected is used only to determine the appropriate updates and to generate aggregate statistics. Windows Update does not collect your name, address, e-mail address, or any other form of personally identifiable information. Windows Update also collects the Product ID and Product Key to confirm that you are running a validly licensed copy of Windows. A validly licensed copy of Windows ensures that you will receive on-going updates from Windows Update. The Product ID and Product Key are not retained beyond the end of the Windows Update session. To provide you with the best possible service, Windows Update also tracks and records how many unique machines visit its site and whether the download and installation of specific updates succeeded or failed. In order to do this, the Windows operating system generates a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) that is stored on your computer to uniquely identify it. The GUID does not contain any personally identifiable information and cannot be used to identify you. Windows Update records the GUID of the computer that attempted the download, the ID of the item that you attempted to download and install, and the configuration information listed above. OK, so....the only 3rd party software for which it collects information is that 3rd party software for which it distributes patches. Hmm, no privacy issue here. No personally identifiable info is gathered or retained. Interesting that they don't even track uniqueness by IP address, they track it with a GUID in a cookie. While it is true that the GUID will give them a better idea of uniqueness (since one computer can visit the site using multiple IP addresss - especially those on dial-up), it's also important since IP addresses are partially trackable. In my opinion no new information has been reveal either by these German researchers or by the Register. Microsoft clearly states in their privacy statement the very things that were supposedly revealed in this report/article (and yes, I did read the report). |
| #7 By 1845 (12.209.152.69) at 3/1/2003 4:12:42 AM |
| Oh, one thing I did learn from the report. Microsoft uses SOAP in the Windows Update web application. It's good to see a company using the products and technologies that it hopes its clients will use. |
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