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Microsoft Search Companion Statement of Privacy Microsoft is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy applies to the Microsoft Search Companion Web service provided in Microsoft Windows XP. Please be aware that this Privacy Statement and the choices you make regarding the Microsoft Search Companion Web service do not necessarily apply to personal information you may have provided to Microsoft in the context of other, separately operated, Microsoft products or services. For more information and privacy policies for other Microsoft products and services, please visit the Microsoft Privacy Home Page. Collection of Information Using No information is ever collected by Search Companion when you search your local system, LAN, or intranet for any reason. When you search the Internet using the Search Companion, the following information is collected regarding your use of the service: the text of your Internet search query, grammatical information about the query, the list of tasks which the Search Companion Web service recommends, and any tasks you select from the recommendation list. Search Companion does not record your choice of Internet search engine, and does not collect or request any personal or demographic information. Information collected by the Search Companion can not be used to identify you individually, and is never used in conjunction with other data sources that may contain personal data. All information is retained for twelve months, and discarded in the thirteenth month following collection. The information collected by Search Companion when you search the Internet is used by Microsoft for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding its usage. The Search Companion Web service can not be effectively operated without the collection of this information. By using the Search Companion Web service, you consent to the data practices described in this statement. If you wish to disable the Search Companion Web service, you can do so by switching to Classic Search for the Internet. Microsoft Windows does not collect any query information when you use Classic Search. You should consult the privacy policy of your Internet search engine to determine what information that Web site retains. To use Classic Search for the Internet, follow the instructions below:
Use of Cookies Search Companion uses a session-based "cookie" to provide a consistent experience for users who send multiple Internet queries to Search Companion or select multiple tasks from the Search Companion results. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. No personal information is recorded in the cookie used by the Search Companion Web service, and the cookie is not saved on your hard disk after you close your browser. Software updates The Search Companion Web Service is designed to automatically upgrade as product bugs are discovered and fixed and new features become available. As you use the Search Companion service, it will periodically use your Internet connection to check whether certain supporting files have been updated. If an update is available, Search Companion will replace the outdated supporting files on your machine with newer versions of those files downloaded from Microsoft servers. Search Companion supporting files are very small, and downloads will only take a few seconds even on slow Internet connections. Supporting files do not contain executable code, and can not be used to infect your machine with a software virus. Search Companion may check for updates even if you are using Search Companion only to find files on your local system. For example, if you use Search Companion to find only Music files on your machine, Search Companion may check to see if there are any new types of Music files that should be included in your search. No information about your local system or the content of your search is ever sent to Microsoft during this update check. Changes to this Statement Microsoft will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect company and customer feedback. Microsoft encourages you to periodically review this Statement to be informed of how Microsoft is protecting your information. Contact Information Microsoft welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that Microsoft has not adhered to this Statement, please contact Microsoft by telephone, e-mail, or postal mail. Search Companion Privacy Click here to send e-mail. ©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. |