Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 17th Oct 2009 12:45 UTC
A little over two weeks ago, Microsoft released Microsoft Security Essentials, a security software suite protecting users of Windows against malware and viruses. The company has released data about the number of downloads and fixed infections, and the results are encouraging.
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Member since:
2006-07-04
Probably as much as they want, from the currently running user account. Just as Apple can gather as much as they want when OS X's System Update runs. Just as Google can gather as much info as they want when their updates run. Just as McAfee, Symantex, Sonic, Roxio, Sun, etc, can gather any info they like when their updates run. They can read any data in the currently running user account.
But they all have privacy policies, explicitly stated.
Caveat: If the update software is running at a low user level (like IE7+ on Vista+), then that software can't access user files, in which case, it couldn't gather any private data. I doubt most update software does that, however. Someone correct me if I am in error.