Privacy Statement for System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager

Applies To: System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager

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 System Center - Virtual Machine Manager (VMM).  This is a 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.

Collection and Use of Your Personal Information

When we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you, we will explicitly ask you for it. The personal information we collect from you will be used by Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates to provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you have requested or authorized, and may also be used to request additional information on feedback that you provide about the product or service that you are using; to provide important notifications regarding the software; to improve the product or service, for example bug and survey form inquiries; to provide you with advance notice of events; or to tell you about new product releases.

Except as described in this statement, personal information you provide will not 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 will 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.

Information that is collected by or sent to Microsoft may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities, and by using a Microsoft site or service, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country. 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. Microsoft may disclose personal information about you if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Microsoft; (b) protect and defend the rights of Microsoft (including enforcement of our agreements); or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, users of Microsoft products or services, or members of the public.

Collection and Use of Information about Your Computer

VMM contains Internet enabled features that can collect information from your computer ("standard computer information") and send it to Microsoft. This information is generally not personally identifiable. Standard computer information typically includes information such as your IP address, operating system version, browser version, your hardware ID which indicates the device manufacturer, device name, and version and your regional and language settings. If a particular feature or service sends information to Microsoft, standard computer information will be sent as well.

The privacy details for each VMM feature, software or service listed here will disclose what additional information is collected and how it is used.

Security of your information

Microsoft is committed to protecting 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 will occasionally update this privacy statement to reflect changes in our products and services and customer feedback. When we post changes to this Statement, we will 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 will notify you either by prominently 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 believe that Microsoft has not adhered to this statement, please contact us via email (vmmconn@microsoft.com) or using the address below and we will use commercially reasonably efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.

Microsoft Privacy
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Specific Features:

The remainder of this document will address the following specific features:

Microsoft Update

What This Feature Does:

Microsoft Update is a service that provides Windows updates as well as updates for other Microsoft software.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

For details about what information is collected and how it is used, see the Update Services Privacy Statement at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=115475.

Use of Information:

For details about what information is collected and how it is used, see the Update Services Privacy Statement at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=115475.

Choice/Control:

If you are running a VMM management server, the VMM Console, or the Self-Service Portal on a Windows server, this feature is controlled by your Windows server settings. You can turn this feature on or off in Windows Update by clicking Change settings.

If you are running the VMM Console on a Windows client, see the Update Services Privacy Statement at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=115475 for details about controlling this feature.

Customer Experience Improvement Program

What This Feature Does:

The anonymous information CEIP collects includes the type and number of errors console users encounter, software and hardware performance, and the speed of services. We do not collect names, addresses or other contact information.

This feature generates a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) that is stored on your computer to uniquely identify it. The GUID is a randomly generated number; it does not contain any personal information and will not be used to identify console users. CEIP uses the GUID to distinguish how widespread the feedback we receive is and how to prioritize it. For example, this number allows Microsoft to distinguish between one customer having an error 100 times and 100 customers having the same error once. The GUID is persistent.

Use of Information:

We use this information to improve the quality, reliability, and performance of Microsoft software and services.

Choice/Control:

During VMM management server install, the wizard will let you choose to opt-in or opt-out of the CEIP.

The VMM Console will use the same settings that have been chosen during VMM server installation. For example, if a user utilizes the VMM Console to connect to a VMM management server that is participating in the CEIP, the VMM Console will be automatically involved in CEIP.

To turn CEIP on or off later:

  1. Start Virtual Machine Manager Console.

  2. Navigate to the Settings workspace.

  3. Select General.

  4. Select Customer Experience Improvement Program Settings.

  5. To turn CEIP on:

    1. Select “Yes, I am willing to participate in CEIP
  6. To turn CEIP off:

    1. Select “No, I prefer not to participate in CEIP
  7. Click OK

For additional privacy information about CEIP, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52097.

Error Reporting

What This Feature Does:

The Error Reporting feature provides a service which allows you to report problems you may be having with VMM to Microsoft and to receive information that may help you get around or solve such problems.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

The Error Reporting feature collects Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, which are not used to identify users. It does not intentionally collect anyone's name, address, email address, computer name, or any information that will be used to identify you or contact you. It is possible that such information may be captured in memory or in the data collected from open files, but Microsoft does not use it to identify or contact you.

In rare cases, such as problems that are especially difficult to solve, Microsoft may request additional data, including sections of memory (which may include memory shared by any or all applications running at the time the problem occurred), some registry settings, and one or more files from your computer. Your current documents may also be included. For more details on what information is collected and how it is used, see the Error Reporting privacy information at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=31490.

Use of Information:

We use the error reporting data to solve customer problems and improve our software and services.

Choice/Control:

On Windows Server 2008 family operating systems, error reporting is enabled by default but you can configure or disable error reporting any time through Enable automatic updating and feedback in the Initial Configuration Tasks window, or through Windows Error Reporting in the Resources and Support area of Server Manager.

Enterprise customers can use Group Policy to configure how Error Reporting behaves on their computers. Configuration options include the ability to completely turn off Error Reporting. If you are an administrator and wish to configure Group Policy for Error Reporting, technical details are available at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=120553 for Windows Server 2008.

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For additional resources, see Information and Support for System Center 2012.

Tip: Use this query to find online documentation in the TechNet Library for System Center 2012. For instructions and examples, see Search the System Center 2012 Documentation Library.
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