Queen of England and privacy

Many have already read about it, however, I have something new to say on this topic. The opinion, most likely, will not like the majority of habrakolleg, and my karma will go down again. But in the end, not for the sake of karma, I publish here :)

For the second time, the free distribution of Windows Vista and Office 2007 is being completed ahead of time as part of a campaign called the Windows Feedback Program organized by Microsoft, the main task of which is to obtain information about what users are doing on their computers. Users literally sweep the supply of free copies of products allocated for the event, and each time the campaign has to be suspended ahead of time. It should be noted that the most popular versions of the Ultimate software are distributed.

The essence of the Windows Feedback Program is that the user agrees to regularly answer questions from surveys conducted by the corporation, and install a special program on his computer that sends information about the user's actions to Microsoft every day.
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I think this news in the world (well, in RuNet, respectively, too) is slightly deprived of attention. More precisely, it, of course, was covered, but ...

“For some users, the idea of ​​continuous“ reporting ”will seem unacceptable, but, apparently, this proposal will appeal to many. Why not accept the offer to participate in the Windows Feedback Program, and get for free what retail costs almost a thousand dollars, and on a completely legitimate basis? ”

- this kind of complacent remarks complete most of the news reports.

So, consider what happens, more. To participate, you yourself must install on your computer a special program that tracks, among other things:

• information about user actions,
• list of installed software and hardware
• hard disk directory entries
• network data
• browser cookies, which means everything that is entered during authorization on websites.

Before participating in the program, you must provide your name, gender, e-mail address and postal address. Then, the data (note, not impersonal, as often stated in various privacy policies, but clearly tied to the participant's identity!), Which you must generously share, Microsoft and any of its branches can use any way they need.

For Microsoft, this is a research event. And for us, in essence, a social experiment. What good does his results tell us? Let me, instead of an answer ... and then on my blog >>