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David Neeley stated:
> According to present Microsoft licensing, they think they have a right to
> know what is on your computer "to be sure you're not running unlicensed
> software products" to paraphrase.
and Andrew Plato replied:
> Could you point out EXACTLY where it says this in the MS EULA.
Not the EULA but from the Windows Update Privacy statement:
"Windows Update also collects the Product ID and Product Key to confirm that
you are running a validly licensed copy of Windows. " http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/about.asp
I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing, but they are in fact doing
it.
Also, the privacy statement engages in some sophistry when it states:
" None of this configuration information can be used to identify
you...Windows Update does not collect your name, address, e-mail address, or
any other form of personally identifiable information... The Product ID and
Product Key are not retained beyond the end of the Windows Update session."
Sounds good, right? But notice it doesn't say your personal info won't one
day be linked to your config info by some *other* process. MS can acquire
your info from many other sources (Hotmail? Passport? Some other product
like a Windows Installer?) The privacy statement does not exclude the
scenario that MS will acquire your personal info from some other source and
link it to your SW/config info during or after the Windows Update process.
And, dragging this topic back to documentation... MS updates, patches, and
service packs are black-box executables that are not openly documented.
Since I don't know what they do, I often feel reluctance (or at least
misgivings) about applying the latest patch. Sure they fix the latest hole,
but what else am I getting that I don't know about? Will they sneak in some
new restriction or spy-feature I have been studiously avoiding for years?
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