Microsoft Windows Vista Pre-Release (Customer Technology Preview) 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 (Customer Technology Preview). 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.
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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.
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.
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.
For More Information
If you have questions about this privacy statement, please write us using our web form.
Microsoft Privacy
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington 98052
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 this has been done, 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 is sent to Microsoft along with a hardware hash (a non-unique number generated from the computer's hardware configuration).
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.
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 may block certain applications, such as antivirus and disk-access utilities, that were not written 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. Alternatively, Application Help may just inform you that known compatibility issues exist via a pop-up balloon in the taskbar notification area.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
Whenever you run an application with a compatibility problem, a Windows Error Report is created and unless you have previously consented to automatically send Windows Error Reports to Microsoft, you will be asked for your consent to send it. For more details on what information is collected by Windows Error Reporting and how it is used, see the Windows Error Reporting Privacy Statement.
Audit
What This Feature Does:
Auditing allows an administrator to configure Windows so that it records system activity in a security log. This 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.
BitLocker™ Drive Encryption
What This Feature Does:
BitLocker™ Drive Encryption (BDE), available on Windows Vista Enterprise Edition and Windows Vista Ultimate, protects your data by helping to prevent unauthorized users from breaking Windows file and system protection, should your computer be lost or stolen. This protection is achieved by encrypting the entire Windows volume. With BDE, all user and system files are encrypted.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
When enabled, BDE keeps cryptographic keys in system memory to continually encrypt and decrypt data while you use your computer. During BDE setup, you can choose to save your recovery key to USB external storage media, print it as a password, or save it on a network drive. In an enterprise, administrators can automatically save recovery information to their internal Active Directory server using Group Policy. One or more Global Unique Identifiers (GUID) are associated with each BDE-protected disk volume to identify the volume. These GUIDs are removed when BDE is disabled on the disk volume.
If your machine has Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security hardware device, BDE uses the TPM to provide hardware-enhanced data protection. For more information see the Trusted Platform Module Services section in this statement.
Use of Information:
GUIDs and cryptographic keys stored in memory are necessary for core BDE functionality.
Creating and storing BDE recovery information is highly recommended to allow you access to your data in recovery scenarios where you may be locked out from accessing the disk volume. The recovery keys or passwords allow the system to distinguish between malicious and legitimate users. If your machine does not have a TPM, you must insert your USB external media with a startup key to boot a BDE-enabled Windows Vista volume. BDE automatically detects and takes advantage of TPMs on machines so that this startup key is not needed and BDE protection will be transparent to you. Cryptographic keys, GUIDs and BDE recovery information created or stored by BDE cannot be used to personally identify you.
Choice/Control:
BDE is not enabled by default. Enabling this feature is strongly recommended to help protect your data even if your computer is lost or stolen. BDE can be disabled at any time.
Crypto API Diagnostics
What This Feature Does:
Crypto API Diagnostics logs events associated with an application's use of certificates.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
Information is collected about the certificates you use, or are used by the operating system and applications. Once enabled, this information is collected in the event log and can be viewed with the Event Viewer.
Use of Information:
This information is used by the administrator to isolate and troubleshoot certificate trust issues. It can also be exported by the administrator as a file, to possibly be sent to a technical expert such as Microsoft Premier Support for analysis.
Choice/Control:
Crypto API Diagnostics is disabled by default, and can only be enabled or disabled by an administrator. Enabling this feature is discouraged, due to possible system performance degradation, unless you are experiencing a problem with certificate trusts. The administrator may configure Crypto API Diagnostics to log different parts of the certificate trust process, and can determine the amount of information collected.
Customer Experience Improvement Program
What This Feature Does:
Unless you decline to participate, anonymous information about how you are using this pre-release software is sent to Microsoft as a part of the Customer Experience Improvement Program. 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:
For details on what information is collected and how it is used, please see the Customer Experience Improvement Program Privacy Statement.
Use of Information:
Information is used in accordance with the Customer Experience Improvement Program Privacy Statement.
Important Information:
Information on the Customer Experience Improvement Program Website.
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. For more details on what information is collected and how it is used, see the Windows Update Privacy Statement.
The collected configuration information will not be used to personally identify you.
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.
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 determined by 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.
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 stored on your system. 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.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
Updated versions of required drivers are downloaded to your computer as part of the Windows Update process. For details on what information is collected and how it is used by Windows Update, please see the Windows Update Privacy Statement.
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, a Windows Error Report is created and unless you have consented to sending Windows Error Reports to Microsoft, you will be asked for your consent to send it. For more details on what information is collected by Windows Error Reporting and how it is used, see the Windows Error Reporting Privacy Statement.
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. This may prevent Driver Protection from providing you with the most up to date drivers.
Ease of Access Center Control Panel
What This Feature Does:
The Ease of Access Center control panel enables you to set accessibility options and settings to help you more easily interact with the computer.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
The information collected is a list of impairments or difficulties that will be used to recommend settings on your computer to make it easier for you to use. You can provide this information by selecting the appropriate statements from a series.
These statements include:
| • | On TV, faces, or text are often hard to see clearly |
| • | I am colorblind |
| • | I am blind |
| • | I have an impairment that prevents me from using the keyboard |
| • | I am deaf |
| • | I have a speech impairment |
Use of Information:
This information is used to build a model that will provide a set of configuration recommendations to you, based on the statements you chose. This information is masked into a special, non-human-readable format, stored locally on your computer, and is not transferred to Microsoft or any third party.
Choice/Control:
You may choose which statements you would like to select, and may alter your choices at any time. You may also choose which recommendations you want to configure on your computer.
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 that 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 Details Pane, double-clicking the event, or selecting the event and clicking Properties on the Action menu.
Use of Information:
The event information collected and transferred to Microsoft is needed to find and then provide you with additional 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 personally identify you.
Choice/Control:
When you click the link, you are asked to confirm that the information presented to you 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).
Important Information:
It is possible that events written by applications to log files may contain personal information. Please be aware of this and take appropriate precautions if exporting any log to a file.
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 received faxes in the system. This setting is on by default but may be altered by an administrator. If you send a fax, generally you are the only one who can see that sent fax, although a user with administrative privileges could manually locate and view all fax files.
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.
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 of whether to use the file association Web service. No file association 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 here.
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.
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. Enterprise administrators can use Group Policy to prevent Games Explorer from retrieving data from the internet.
Handwriting Recognition Personalization – Automatic Learning
What This Feature Does:
Automatic learning is a handwriting personalization feature that collects data about the words you use and how you write them. If you turn on automatic learning, it enables the handwriting recognizer to learn your handwriting style and vocabulary.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
Information collected by automatic learning is stored in the user profile. No handwriting recognition information is transferred from your computer. The data is stored in a proprietary format that cannot be read by using a text viewing program, such as Notepad or WordPad.
The information collected includes but is not limited to:
| • | Text from messages you compose and calendar entries you create by using e-mail programs such as Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Outlook Express, including any messages that you have already sent. |
| • | Text that you type in the Internet Explorer address bar. |
| • | Ink that you write in Tablet PC Input Panel. |
| • | Recognized text from ink that you write in Input Panel. |
| • | Alternate characters that you select to correct the recognized text. |
Note: Automatic learning for both your handwriting style and your vocabulary might not be available for all languages that include handwriting personalization. For more information on the type of data that is used for different languages, see the Help topic "Handwriting personalization on a Tablet PC".
Use of Information:
The collected information is used to help improve handwriting recognition by creating a personalized handwriting recognizer. The text samples are used to create an extended dictionary. The ink samples are used to personalize character recognition.
Choice/Control:
You can turn automatic learning on or off at any time in the Control Panel, in Tablet Settings. When you turn off automatic learning, any data that has been collected and stored by automatic learning is deleted.
Handwriting Recognition Error Reporting
What This Feature Does:
You can send reports to Microsoft of handwriting recognition errors that you encounter while using the Tablet PC Input Panel.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
A short list of recently corrected handwriting samples is stored in memory. These handwriting samples are not written to your hard drive or transferred from your machine without your explicit permission. No personal information is intentionally collected; however the samples you choose to send may include personal information. This information will not be used to personally identify you.
Use of Information:
You may select which recognition errors you would like to report. These reports are used to improve future versions of the Microsoft handwriting recognizers.
Choice/Control:
You may initiate a report using the Handwriting Recognition Error Reporting Tool. You select each handwriting sample to be included in the report and confirm the entire report before it is sent to Microsoft. Enterprise administrators can use Group Policy to disable Handwriting Recognition Error Reporting.
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 whether to send it.
Use of Information:
Learning data is 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 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 at this link on Group Policy for Reporting.
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.
Use of Information:
Information is used in accordance with the Internet Explorer Privacy Statement.
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:
You can enable or disable Internet printing in the Control Panel, under Optional Windows Features.
Media Center
What This Feature Does:
Media Center enables you to enjoy the best in home entertainment, personal productivity, and creativity on your home PC in an easy, complete, and connected way. With Media Center Edition 2005, you can store, share, and enjoy all of your photos, all of your music, all of your home video, and even recorded TV in one easy to use place.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
For details on what information is collected and how it is used by Media Center, please see the Media Center Privacy Statement.
Use of Information:
Information is used in accordance with the Media Center Privacy Statement.
Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool
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 Microsoft Customer Service and Support Privacy Statement.
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.
Use of Information:
Information is used in accordance with the MSN Privacy Statement.
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 on your computer 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.
Online Print Ordering Wizard
What This Feature Does:
The Online Print Ordering wizard enables you send digital photos stored on your computer or network drive to an Online Photo Printing Service of your choice, for printing and delivery via mail or pickup at a local store.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
The full path location of your selected digital photos is sent to the Online Photo Printing Service you choose. If you decide to place an order with the Online Photo Printing Service, your selected digital photos are sent via the Internet to the Online Photo Printing Service. Digital photo files may contain data that was stored with the file by the camera or digital photo management applications, and may also contain personal information in Properties that you associated with the digital photo. For more information on Properties, see the Properties section in this statement.
Use of Information:
The information stored in the digital photo files by the camera may be used by the Online Photo Printing Service during the photo printing process. For example, adjusting color or sharpness of the image before it is printed. Information stored by digital photo management applications may be used by the Online Photo Printing Service to print as captions on the print photo or the back of the photo. You should always consult the privacy statement of the Online Photo Printing Service to determine how this data is used.
Choice/Control:
You may choose the digital photos you wish to send to an Online Photo Printing Service, and may decline to send anything by not using the Online Print Wizard feature.
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 unless you send an email to the company or use a Microsoft email service.
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, or none at all.
Parental Controls
What This Feature Does:
This feature allows parents to restrict and monitor the activities of their children on the computer. Restrictions can be placed to limit games their children can play, what web sites and web content they can view, when they can use the computer and what applications they can run. In addition, logs can be created to record the child's usage, each activity the child attempts that is restricted by parental controls, and any changes made to those restrictions. To properly use this feature, only parents should be administrators of the computer, and children should not be granted administrative privileges.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
Parental Controls settings used to determine what to restrict and monitor are stored locally. The log is stored locally and contains information about a child's activity, and any changes to parental controls settings for that child.
When web browsing restrictions are turned on, URLs are checked against the local Allow and Block lists that can be created by an administrator. If the URL is not on either list, then the URL is transmitted to Microsoft's Web Content Filter service in order to determine the type of content on the Web site. This is done in an attempt to determine its rating and block if necessary. These URL's are not kept, stored, or correlated with any information about the user or the computer from which the request came. Whether to block the site is determined locally based on the information returned by Microsoft's Web Content Filter Service and the locally stored Parental Controls settings.
Choice/Control:
Only users without administrative privilege can be monitored via parental controls. Administrators cannot be monitored and have full control of the settings and the log. Parental Controls are off by default. Only administrators may turn this feature on. Other users can only view the settings an administrator has applied to their own account. By default, a child will be notified via an icon in the System Tray that Parental Controls are on for their account; however this notification can be disabled by an administrator.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Properties
What This Feature Does:
Properties allow you to quickly search and organize your files. You can see the properties set for your files and can change or remove any keywords or comments you wish before sharing them.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
The type of information collected will depend upon the type of file and the applications that use it. Property examples include file name, date modified, file size, author, keywords, comments.
Use of Information:
Properties are attached to each file, and will move with the file if it is moved or copied to another location such as a file share, or sent via email. Properties help you to more quickly search and organize your files, and are not transmitted to Microsoft.
Choice/Control:
You can remove individual properties from within the Details Pane of the Explorer, or by right-clicking the file & selecting Properties. Some properties, such as date modified and file size cannot be removed this way. For more details on how to remove properties from your files, see the Windows Help topic on Properties.
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.
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. 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.
Trusted Platform Module Services
What This Feature Does:
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Security Hardware is a special chip built into your computer that, if present and initialized, enables your computer to take full advantage of advanced security features such as BitLocker™ Drive Encryption.
TPM Services provides a set of software components for security features that use version 1.2 of the TPM. TPM Services include TPM initialization and management tools, a driver, and a software layer that allows applications to share usage of the TPM.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
TPM Services include TPM initialization functionality to help you turn on and set an owner for the TPM. As part of the initialization process, you are asked to create a TPM owner password.
The TPM Initialization Wizard allows you to print your TPM owner password or save it to a file on a USB memory device for future use. A saved file contains TPM owner authorization information which is derived from the TPM owner password. The file also contains machine name, machine operating system, creation user, and creation date information to assist you in recognizing the file. In an enterprise, administrators can configure Group Policy to automatically save the TPM owner authorization information to their internal Active Directory server.
Each TPM has a unique cryptographic "endorsement key" that it uses to indicate its authenticity. The endorsement key may be created and stored in the TPM by your computer's manufacturer, or you may choose to have Windows create it as part of TPM initialization. Once created by Windows, the endorsement key cannot be reset.
Once the TPM is initialized, applications can use the TPM to create and secure additional unique cryptographic keys. For example, BitLocker™ Drive Encryption uses the TPM to protect the key that encrypts your Windows disk volume.
Use of Information:
Creating a TPM owner password is necessary to use your computer's TPM. The TPM owner password helps ensure that only you have access to the administrative functions of the TPM.
Saving the TPM owner password is strongly recommended so that you are able to easily manage access to the TPM in the future. Information saved within the file assists you in recognizing that file.
The TPM's endorsement key is only used by Windows during TPM initialization to encrypt your TPM owner password before sending it to the TPM.
Windows does not transmit cryptographic keys outside of your computer, and no information collected or stored by TPM Services is used to personally identify you.
Choice/Control:
Microsoft encourages computer manufacturers to ensure that your computer's TPM is not initialized by default, thus allowing you to choose whether to use the TPM and the features it enables. We strongly recommend that you initialize the TPM so that your computer can take full advantage of its advanced security features.
Once your computer's TPM is initialized, TPM Services enables an administrator to prevent access to selected TPM functionality through its command management feature. By default, Windows blocks TPM commands that may reveal personal information as well as TPM commands that have been deprecated or deleted from previous versions of the hardware. This block list may be modified by an administrator.
You can choose to turn off the TPM at any time. Turning off the TPM prevents software on your computer from using it for any purpose. You can also choose to "clear" the TPM to reset it to factory defaults. Clearing the TPM removes owner information and, with the exception of the endorsement key, all keys or cryptographic data that applications may have created when your TPM was in use.
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 transferred 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 DisableRootAutoUpdate to 1: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\AuthRoot
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.
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.
Windows AntiSpyware
What This Feature Does:
Windows AntiSpyware helps protect your computer from unwanted and hazardous spyware, adware, Trojans, and key loggers. It is powerful anti-spyware software that detects and removes adware and spyware from your computer.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
For details on what information is collected and how it is used by Windows AntiSpyware, please see the Windows AntiSpyware Privacy Statement.
Use of Information:
Information is used in accordance with the Windows AntiSpyware Privacy Statement.
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.
Windows Calendar
What This Feature Does:
Windows Calendar offers you an easy way to manage appointments and tasks, and allows you to publish any calendars you create so they may be shared with others.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
If you choose to publish any of your calendars, information you enter into Windows Calendar will be shared based on the features you choose to publish. These features include calendar notes, event titles, alarms, and tasks. If you choose not to publish any of these features, your calendar will only show whether there are scheduled appointments or events (also known as free/busy information). Information is transferred from your computer to only the host server you select for publishing.
Use of Information:
Other users with access to the host server may subscribe to your published calendars, and any updates you make to your calendar information will be sent to all subscribers, if you choose. We recommend that you not enter any personal information in your calendar that you do not want to share.
Choice/Control:
You may choose whether to publish calendar notes, event titles, alarms, or tasks for each of your calendars. Once published, you may choose to automatically synchronize calendar updates for all subscribers to receive. You may remove any of your published calendars from the host server at any time. The server used to host published calendars may be owned by your ISP, or another third party. You should read their privacy statement before publishing any data to their servers.
Windows Meeting Space Technologies
People Near Me
What This Feature Does:
People Near Me technology allows you to detect and be detected by other people on your network, so you can participate in Windows Meeting Space and other programs.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
Your People Near Me display name and IP address will be visible to all participants.
Use of Information:
This information is not sent to or used by Microsoft. Only people on your local network (subnet) can see the information.
Choice/Control:
You can choose whether to enable People Near Me. You can also choose your People Near Me display name.
Windows Meeting Space
What This Feature Does:
Windows Meeting Space enables you to more effectively collaborate with people in a meeting room or across the Internet. You can share files, stream your desktop or an application to others, and keep track of attendee presence. You can also create ad-hoc wireless networks to enable collaboration anytime, anywhere.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
During Windows Meeting Space sessions, all participants will be able to see your People Near Me display name, IP address and computer name, as well as your user tile (which is the picture normally displayed in the upper right of the Windows Start screen).
Use of Information:
This information is not sent to or used by Microsoft. Only Windows Meeting Space participants can see the information.
Choice/Control:
You can choose what meetings to participate in. You may also choose your People Near Me display name and what files to share with other participants. You will always be notified of all participants in a Windows Meeting Space session.
Windows Control Panel
What This Feature Does:
The Windows Control Panel features the Windows Instant Search box which you can use to more easily search all tasks that are possible through the Control Panel, and find the right one for your needs.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
The queries that you type into the Instant Search box are sent to Microsoft. No information is sent with the query that is used to identify the user.
Use of Information:
This information is used to help Microsoft provide better keywords for the tasks in the Control Panel.
Choice/Control:
This transmission to Microsoft is disabled by default. When you perform a search, you may opt-in to sending all Windows Instant Search queries from within the Control Panel to Microsoft. You can also change your mind later by clicking the 'opt-out' link at the bottom of the Control Panel.
Windows Error Reporting
What This Feature Does:
Windows Error Reporting uses the Solutions to Problems control panel in Windows to enable you to choose how to report problems to Microsoft. You can choose to check for solutions automatically or be asked each time a problem occurs. You can also use the control panel to check online for solutions at any time, view current solutions, and review problems that have occurred on the computer. The online reporting service can collect information about problems that occur in Windows and in any programs and services running on Windows.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
For details on what information is collected and how it is used by Windows Error Reporting, please see the Windows Error Reporting Privacy Statement.
Use of Information:
Information is used in accordance with the Windows Error Reporting Privacy Statement.
Windows Help: Windows Assistance Online
What This Feature Does:
This feature allows you to include content from Windows Assistance Online in Help when you're connected to the Internet. Including content from Windows Assistance Online will give you the most up-to-date content available.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
Windows Assistance 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 Assistance Online 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 Assistance Online uses the information to respond to the search queries and to return the most relevant results.
Choice/Control:
The Windows Assistance Online option is turned on by default. Results from Windows Assistance Online are automatically included when you use Help until you turn the option off. To enable or disable Windows Assistance Online, select Settings from the Options menu and update your setting.
Windows Help: Help Experience Improvement Program
What This Feature Does:
The Windows Help Experience 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 Assistance Online 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 personally identify you.
Use of Information:
Windows Assistance Online 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:
The Help Experience Improvement option is turned on by default. You are automatically enrolled in the Help Experience Improvement program until you turn the option off. You will also be automatically enrolled in the Help Experience Improvement program when you turn on Windows Assistance Online. To later turn the feature on or off, select Settings from the Options menu and update your setting.
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.
Use of Information:
Information is used in accordance with the Windows Media Privacy Statement.
Windows Mobile Device Center
What This Feature Does:
Windows Mobile Device Center enables you to synchronize email, contact, calendar, and task items from your computer to your mobile device. In addition, you can manage your device configuration, and transfer files, photos, music, and video. Some limited file transfer options already exist in Windows Vista that you may use when you connect a mobile device to your computer. However, if you wish to set up a synchronization partnership you will be asked to download Windows Mobile Device Center software to your computer.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
If you set up a synchronization partnership, Windows Mobile Device Center stores information on your computer about your device, including the make, model and hardware ID.
Use of Information:
This information is used to keep track of the synchronization partnership between your desktop and your device. This information remains on your computer, and is not sent or stored elsewhere.
Choice/Control:
A synchronization partnership is not set up by default; however, enabling this feature is recommended to get the most value out of your Windows Mobile-based device. If you choose not to set up a synchronization partnership, you can still manually transfer photos, media and other files.
Windows Movie Maker
Windows Movie Maker contains features—Project Properties Dialog Box, and Removing a Clip—that collect information from you and may transfer that information from your computer. This information is generally not personally identifiable. Additional privacy details for these features are listed below.
Project Properties Dialog Box
What This Feature Does:
To help you identify and organize the movies you create, the Project Properties dialog box lets you enter information about each movie such as the movie title, author, description, rating, and copyright.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
The information you enter into the Project Properties dialog box is not sent to Microsoft, but anyone who has access to your Windows Movie Maker project files or movie files could view the information. The Project Title property is filled in by default.
Use of Information:
Publish Movie, which guides you through the process of publishing your completed project as a movie to your computer or to a device, will save the information you entered in the Project Properties dialog box with the movie. This information may be displayed when you or someone else plays your movie in a media player.
Choice/Control:
You should only enter personal information in the Project Properties dialog box that you are willing to share with others when they are watching your published movies. You can choose to not include this information with your published movie by selecting the checkbox labeled: "Do not include the title, author copyright, rating, and description information in the published movie file". To locate this check box, on the Tools menu click Options, and then click the General tab.
Removing a Clip
What This Feature Does:
A clip may be removed from a collections folder, or the storyboard/timeline in Windows Movie Maker, or from Windows Photo Gallery. This removes the information that defines the clip, but does not remove the underlying digital media file.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
Clip information contains the location and filename that was used to make the clip, the type of file, and media specific information such as duration, or date taken. If you later delete a clip, this does not delete the digital media file that the clip points to.
Choice/Control:
We encourage you to use non-personal names for your digital media files because these names may be seen by other people.
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 with the spooled data in a shadow file in the spooler 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 permissions to read and update. Job cover data, which includes information such as username, job name, and job size, may be read by all users.
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:
Connection settings are stored in a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) file. These settings include domain, and connection configuration settings such as color-bit depth. Credentials for these connections are stored by the credential manager in Windows. Some data, such as the Terminal Server Proxy credentials, are stored in the registry. These credentials are 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 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 the MSDN article Win32_TSRemoteControlSetting. For more information about the credential manager in Windows, please refer to the Windows Help topic: Stored User Names and Passwords.
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.
Windows Update Control Panel
What This Feature Does:
The Windows Update control panel allows you to install updates from Microsoft for Windows-based computers, including security updates, optional updates, drivers, and the latest Help content. When you turn on automatic updating, Windows can install new updates or notify you to install new updates as they become available.
Information Collected, Processed or Transmitted:
For details on what information is collected and how it is used by Windows Update, please see the Windows Update Privacy Statement.
Use of Information:
Information is used in accordance with the Windows Update Privacy Statement.
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.