Windows Defender Offline Beta Privacy Statement
Last updated: June 2012
In this page
Collection and use of your personal information
Collection and use of information about your PC
Microsoft is committed to protecting your privacy, while delivering software that brings 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 Windows Defender Offline Beta. This is a preliminary disclosure that focuses on features that communicate with the Internet and is not intended to be an exhaustive list. It does not apply to other online or offline Microsoft sites, products, or services.
Windows Defender Offline Beta helps protect your PC from sophisticated malware attacks, including rootkits. It should be run when you are directed by Microsoft Security Essentials or Windows Defender.
This tool will help you create Windows Defender Offline Beta on a bootable device (on a CD, DVD, or USB drive) that will provide a safe environment from which you can start your PC and attempt to remove threats.
Collection and use of your personal information
The information we collect from you will be used by Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates to enable the features you are using and provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you've requested or authorized. It might also be used to analyze and improve Microsoft products and services.
We might send certain mandatory service communications such as welcome letters, billing reminders, information on technical service issues, and security announcements. Some Microsoft services may send periodic member letters that are considered part of the service. We might occasionally request your feedback, invite you to participate in surveys, or send you promotional mailings to inform you of other products or services available from Microsoft and its affiliates.
In order to offer you a more consistent and personalized experience in your interactions with Microsoft, information collected through one Microsoft service may be combined with information obtained through other Microsoft services. We might also supplement the information we collect with information obtained from other companies. For example, we might use services from other companies that enable us to derive a general geographic area based on your IP address in order to customize certain services to your geographic area.
Except as described in this statement, personal information you provide won't 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'll only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.
Microsoft may access or disclose information about you, including the content of your communications, in order to: (a) comply with the law or respond to lawful requests or legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of Microsoft or our customers, including the enforcement of our agreements or policies governing your use of the services; or (c) act on a good faith belief that such access or disclosure is necessary to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, customers, or the public. We might also disclose personal information as part of a corporate transaction such as a merger or sale of assets.
Information that is collected by or sent to Microsoft by Windows Defender Offline Beta may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or service providers maintain facilities. Microsoft abides by the safe harbor framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland.
Collection and use of information about your PC
When you use software with Internet-enabled features, information about your PC ("standard computer information") is sent to the websites you visit and online services you use. Microsoft uses standard computer information to provide you Internet-enabled services, to help improve our products and services, and for statistical analysis. Standard computer information typically includes information such as your IP address, operating system version, browser version, and regional and language settings. In some cases, standard computer information may also include hardware ID, which indicates the device manufacturer, device name, and version. If a particular feature or service sends information to Microsoft, standard computer information will be sent as well.
Because this is a pre-release version of the software, some of these Internet-enabled features are turned on by default so that we can collect enough information about how the software is working in order to improve the commercially released software. The default settings in this pre-release software do not necessarily reflect how these features will be configured in the commercially released software.
The privacy details for each Windows Defender Offline Beta feature, software or service listed in this privacy statement describe what additional information is collected and how it is used.
Security of your information
Microsoft is committed to helping protect 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 systems with limited access, which are located in controlled facilities.
Changes to this privacy statement
We'll occasionally update this privacy statement to reflect changes in our products, services, and customer feedback. When we post changes, we'll revise the "last updated" date at the top of this statement. If there are material changes to this statement or in how Microsoft will use your personal information, we'll notify you either by posting a notice of such changes prior to implementing the change or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this statement to be informed of how Microsoft is protecting your information.
For more information
Microsoft welcomes your comments regarding this privacy statement. If you have questions about this statement or believe that we haven't adhered to it, please contact us at the Microsoft Support website.
Microsoft Privacy, Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052 USA
Specific features
The remainder of this document will address the following specific features:
Microsoft Error Reporting
What this feature does: Microsoft Error Reporting provides a service that allows you to report problems you may be having with Windows Defender Offline Beta to Microsoft and to receive information that may help you avoid or solve such problems.
Information collected, processed, or transmitted: For information about the information collected, processed, or transmitted by Microsoft Error Reporting, see the Microsoft Error Reporting privacy statement.
Use of Information: We use the error reporting data to solve customer problems and improve our software and services.
Choice and control: Because this is a pre-release version of the software, Microsoft Error Reporting is turned on by default so that we can automatically collect information about the errors you encounter while using Windows Defender Offline Beta in order to improve the commercially released software. When Microsoft needs additional data to analyze the problem, you'll be prompted to review the data and choose whether or not to send it. You can change your Microsoft Error Reporting settings at any time disabling the automatic reporting of errors that may contain the names of folders on your PC by creating a registry value named "DisableGenericReports" with any type or value under:
"HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Tool" (for the 32-bit version)
"HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Tool" (for the 64-bit version)
Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the PC. You can also use the Last Known Good Configuration startup option if you encounter problems after manual changes have been applied.
Important Information: Enterprise customers can use Group Policy to configure how Microsoft Error Reporting behaves on their PCs. Configuration options include the ability to turn off Microsoft Error Reporting. If you are an administrator and wish to configure Group Policy for Microsoft Error Reporting, technical details are available on TechNet.