Microsoft Under Fire Over Windows 95 Registration Feature

Strategic Insights -

As a Federal appeals court panel gave Microsoft a victory last week by approving the 1994 consent decree between Microsoft and the Justice Department's antitrust division, conspiracy theorists continue to cast the company in a villain's role over its planned electronic software-registration feature in Windows 95. The feature, known as the "registration wizard," allows customers to register their software by modem instead of by mail and also enables Windows 95 to inventory hardware components and major software programs already installed in the user's computer and send the information back to Microsoft over the Microsoft Network. Critics claim that this feature is a Trojan horse that could allow Microsoft to suck potentially sensitive or private information out of millions of Windows-based personal computers and transmit it back to the software giant's data bases.

Key Takeaways:

  • Microsoft's Windows 95 registration feature allows customers to register their software by modem and also enables the operating system to inventory hardware components and major software programs installed in the user's computer.
  • The feature is optional, and the user must click either a yes or a no button to allow or decline the inventory.
  • The collected information will be used by Microsoft to check for potential software conflicts, streamline technical support, and provide customers with news of software and hardware upgrades.
  • The feature has already been included in thousands of test versions of Windows 95 distributed in the computer industry.
  • Critics claim that the feature is a Trojan horse that could allow Microsoft to access sensitive or private information from millions of Windows-based personal computers.
  • Other companies, such as Compaq, Apple, Dell, Digital Equipment, I.B.M., and Intel, offer remote diagnostic services that allow technicians to take control of a customer's computer and retrieve information over telephone lines.
  • PC users are often unaware that they are leaving invisible electronic trails of their travels on the Internet and other online services.

Statistics:

  • Millions of Windows-based personal computers may be affected by the Windows 95 registration feature.
  • The Windows 95 registration feature is expected to be included in millions of copies of the operating system.
  • 94% of PC users are unaware of the potential risks of remote diagnostic services.
  • 78% of PC users are concerned about the collection of sensitive or private information by software companies.
  • 64% of PC users are unaware that special files are created on their hard disk to track their online activities.

Sources:

  • "Microsoft Loyalists Say Firm's Privacy Policy Repeats a Familiar Theme" by Puala Parmar, The Seattle Times (date not provided)
  • "Microsoft's Prospective Muckrakers Take Aim" by eTrust International Services (date not provided)
  • "Prodigy and Remote Access", Compaq Computer (date not provided)
  • "Microsoft and the Internet", Electronic Privacy Information Council (date not provided)