A closer look at the Windows 7 Privacy Statement
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21. Windows Defender: When you enable a connection, configuration files are downloaded to your computer from the remote URL you specify. These configuration files link programs and desktops on remote computers so that you can run them from your computer. Your computer will automatically check for and download updates to these configuration files periodically. These programs run on remote computers and information you enter into the programs is transmitted across the network to remote computers.
Microsoft SpyNet Feature: The Microsoft SpyNet anti-malware community is a voluntary, worldwide community including Windows Defender users. Through Microsoft SpyNet, users can report malware and other forms of potentially unwanted software to Microsoft. When you set up Windows 7, you can choose to join Microsoft SpyNet. If you choose to join, reports about malware and potentially unwanted software are sent to Microsoft. The type of information that is sent in reports depends on your level of Microsoft SpyNet membership.
22. Windows File Association: If you choose to use Windows File Association, the file name extension and your computer display language are sent to Microsoft. The rest of the file name is not sent to Microsoft.
Use of information - When you submit a file name extension, the service returns a list of the programs Microsoft is aware of that can open files of that extension. Unless you choose to download and install a program, the associations for the file type are not changed.
Choice and control - When you try to open a file type without an associated program, you can choose whether to use Windows File Association. No file association information is sent to Microsoft unless you decide to use the service.
23. Windows Help: When you use Windows Online Help and Support, your search queries are sent to Microsoft, as well as any rating or feedback you choose to provide about the help topics presented to you. Windows Online Help and Support does not intentionally collect any information that could be used to personally identify you. If you type such information into the search or feedback boxes, the information will be sent, but Microsoft does not use the information to identify you or contact y
24. Help Experience Improvement Program: The Help Experience Improvement Program sends Microsoft information about the version of Windows that your computer is running and about how you use Windows Help and Support, including queries you enter when you search Windows Help and Support.
Use of information - The data collected is used to identify trends and usage patterns so that Microsoft can improve the quality of content we provide and the relevance of our search results. Microsoft does not use the information to contact you or identify you.
Choice and control - If you choose the recommended settings during Windows 7 setup, you enroll in the Help Experience Improvement Program. You can change your participation settings by clicking the Options menu and clicking Settings, or selecting Get online Help from the toggle menu at the bottom of the Help window. Note that selecting Get online Help from the toggle menu doesn’t automatically enroll you in the Help Experience Improvement Program; you must enroll through the settings menu. If you are not enrolled, you will also be given an opportunity to join after submitting feedback.
25. Windows Speech Recognition: When the Windows Speech Recognition document review feature is enabled, text from Microsoft Office Word documents (with .doc or .docx file name extensions) and e-mail (from e-mail folders other than Deleted Items or Junk Mail) on your computer and on any connected file shares included in your Windows search index locations is collected and stored in one, two, or three-word fragments. One word fragments include only words you have added to custom dictionaries, and two or three word fragments include only words found in standard dictionaries.
The profile information is not sent to Microsoft unless you choose to send it when prompted by Windows Speech Recognition. You can review the data before it is sent. If you choose to send this data, acoustic adaptation data that was used to adapt to your audio characteristics is also sent.
Use of information - Windows Speech Recognition uses words from the speech profile to convert your speech to text. Microsoft uses personal speech profile data to improve our products and services.
Choice and control - At the end of any training session you will be given the choice whether to send your training data and other profile data to Microsoft. You can also send data when Windows Speech Recognition is launched by right-clicking on the microphone button and selecting "Help improve speech recognition." In either case, you can view all data files before they are sent, and can choose not to send them.
26. Windows Time Service: The service connects to a time server over the Internet or a local network using the industry standard Network Time Protocol. By default, this service synchronizes with time.windows.com once a week. No information other than standard computer information is sent to the time server.
27. Windows Troubleshooting: If online settings are enabled, Windows Troubleshooting will search for and might download a list of troubleshooting packs from Microsoft to help diagnose and fix problems on your computer. If you choose to run a troubleshooting pack that is not on your computer, Microsoft will download the troubleshooting pack to your computer. After running a troubleshooting pack, the results are saved to your computer. These results may contain personally identifiable information, such as a user alias or the name of a device. Windows Troubleshooting can help you search for problem solutions in Windows Help and Windows communities online.
Use of information - Information collected by Microsoft through your use of Windows Troubleshooting is used to help solve problems our users encounter.
Choice and control - If you choose "Recommended settings" during setup, Windows Troubleshooting will search for online troubleshooting packs by default. To change these settings, go to Troubleshooting in Control Panel. Select "Change settings," and clear the "Allow users to browse for troubleshooters available from the Windows Online Troubleshooting service." check box You can also disable online search by clearing the "Get the most up-to-date troubleshooters from the Windows Online Troubleshooting service” check box. To delete troubleshooting results, click "View history," select a result, and then click "Delete".”
At the same time, there are additional Windows 7 features that communicate with Microsoft servers in order to share user data. However, the components enumerated below all feature extensive privacy statements from the Redmond
28. Windows Internet Explorer 8: Privacy Statement available here. (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/privacy.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/privacy.aspx))
29. Update Services: Privacy Statement available here. (http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/vistaprivacy.aspx?ln=en-us (http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/vistaprivacy.aspx?ln=en-us))
30. Microsoft Genuine Advantage: Privacy Statement available here. (http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/PrivacyInfo.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/PrivacyInfo.aspx))
31. Windows Media Center: Privacy Statement available here. (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-media-center/privacy.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-media-center/privacy.aspx))
32. Microsoft Windows Media Player 12: Privacy Statement available here. (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-HK/windows7/windows-media-player-12-privacy-statement (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-HK/windows7/windows-media-player-12-privacy-statement))
A comparison between Windows7’s privacy statement and Google Chrome’s (http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/privacy.html (http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/privacy.html)) will easily allow customers to discern the differences between what Microsoft and Google offer in terms of harvesting, storing, leveraging and protecting user data. Those users that continue to criticize Microsoft as the Big Brother of the software industry should definitely know that everything they type into the Chrome address bar is automatically sent to Google. Everything. And here is the reality of how good Google protects end user privacy, “If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place,” according to Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt.