Windows XP and privacy: oxymoron?

[Lou3]

Now that Windows XP has been out a few months, what do you know about its privacy level? Is it really phoning home covertly like everyone speculated? Is registration activation doing any more than ensuring the copy of XP isn't stolen? I'm thinking about upgrading from Windows 98, but I don't want to continue feeding MS if they're disrespecting my privacy.

 

[farmercal]

Don't know if they are but if they are who cares? Companies have been taking personal information from our computers for quite some time now. Hopefully a good firewall will prevent your personal stuff from being taken (and I'm not talking about the built in firewall of XP). It is a good OS with no crashes thus far.

 

[Lou3]

I know theft of private data has been going on for a while, but my activist streak won't let me shrug it off. The defense for data theft I most often hear is that the Internet is a public place. Yes, the Internet is public, but anything on my computer that isn't directly involved in online interraction is private. As with the public space analogy, you're free to see where I'm going and what I'm carrying in public view, but you aren't free to put your hand in my pocket. It's a matter of principal.

You make a good point about third-party firewalls and other security/privacy software. I'll definitely run it if I decide to upgrade to XP.

 

[ParagonX]

As far as i know, product activation only verifies hardware generated code with the cdkey. No personal information is sent. You can activate windows without "registering" windows, where you fill out a form with all your info and send it to them.

 

[DeschutesCore]

With WPA under such scrutiny, MS made sure to keep Registration (with personal and hardware info) and Activation very seperate. Where Microsoft has made it's intentions questionable are with Windows Media Player and it's constant reporting of media played with Media Player or any other media software that uses the Widows Media API.

There are many, many discussion on the topic floating all over the web. Google and Yahoo can show you the way, but be careful as a ton of rumors and conjecture is out there as well. Some sites have gone so far as to display a teardown of the packets monitored going back and forth to Redmond, and I have yet to see anything proven regarding personal info. Your opinion on your media habits may differ though.

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