Microsoft Offers Free Software in Return for Your Privacy

Jimmy 2004 · Dec 11, 2007

Microsoft has made an interesting offer to PC users - in return for participating in its Windows Feedback Program, you can receive a 'free' copy of software titles including Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007, Microsoft Money Plus Premium Edition, Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008 and Microsoft Streets and Trips 2008. However, as you would expect from Microsoft, this so-called free software comes with a price. If you participate Microsoft will ask you to do a survey once a week and will collect data about the following:

We are looking for information that will help us understand problems you encounter with Windows, how you have configured your computer and Windows, what hardware you are using, and general information about how you are using Windows and Microsoft Office products on your computer.

Microsoft will basically be collecting all sorts of information, including hardware details, Control Panel settings, file and folder information and usage statistics for Windows and Office as well any problems you encounter with them. So if you value your privacy less than a copy of Windows Vista, this could be for you. Or perhaps you could just install it on a secondary system and get a free piece of software for that?!

Update: Apparently Microsoft has already had too many people register, so it's reached its limit for free software giveaways. You can still register for the program, but you won't receive anything in return.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

newtekie1 · Dec 11, 2007

Sounds good to me, I can let is sit on my rarely-used PIII laptop for a few months and get a free copy of Vista.

jocksteeluk · Dec 11, 2007

#It sounds great but how long would you be tied to doing these surveys? id expect that is the catch.

sneekypeet · Dec 11, 2007

3months was the story in the thread I subscribed to on this matter last night, but I guess its been posted 3X's now!!!!!!

dsdsdk · Dec 11, 2007

"US resident" my ...

das müffin mann · Dec 11, 2007

how do you sign up for this

surfsk8snow.jah · Dec 11, 2007

In the "Headlines" section on the forum mainpage, it only shows so many words of the thread title, and read,
"Microsoft Offers Free Software in Return for Your..."

the first thought that filled in the blank was "in Return for Your SOUL" haha

and ofcourse, it's true. But ya definitely if you have an extra system around, get Vista Ultimate fo sheezy.

Jess Stingray · Dec 11, 2007

I'll pass on this. There are other ways to get Vista free.

das müffin mann · Dec 11, 2007

Ben Clarke said:
I'll pass on this. There are other ways to get Vista free.

lol yes there are and one of them is magic...the other one takes a few days

Jess Stingray · Dec 11, 2007

das müffin mann said:
lol yes there are and one of them is magic...the other one takes a few days

Lies, took me 3 hours

FatForester · Dec 11, 2007

Ben Clarke said:
Lies, took me 3 hours

Uh, good job?

Jess Stingray · Dec 11, 2007

lol, I'm 13. I'm luaghing in the face of the (whatever the UK equivalent for the RIAA is) one download at a time man.

:laugh:

Agility · Dec 11, 2007

I S O
Hunt
Simple as A B C

VulkanBros · Dec 11, 2007

dsdsdk said:
"US resident" my ...

Right.....forskelsbehandling....... :banghead:

rhythmeister · Dec 11, 2007

When do you get yr free copy of fista ultimate? I'm not installing windoze feedback panel 'til I find out :wtf:

hat · Dec 11, 2007

Sounds like a deal with the devil to me.
"OK, allow us to monitor everything that happens on your computer and we'll give you our crap OS for free."

:banghead:

PVTCaboose1337 · Dec 11, 2007

Well... this is a good deal, but I'm gonna say the site is DOWN because so many people are hitting it.

Seany1212 · Dec 11, 2007

Yea sign your life away, who knows what information they can get from monitoring your comp. No piracy for some, bank account details on others, are microsoft going to turn out like china and monitor every move you make online? :shadedshu

PVTCaboose1337 · Dec 11, 2007

Dr. Spankenstein · Dec 11, 2007

I see no offer of free software (like Vista Ultimate or the like). Just the programs to auto-upload your information.

Where is a link to the page that states that participation in this program is rewarded with free software?!?!?

Silverel · Dec 11, 2007

I'm signed up for it. Haven't seen a big difference really. The WFP processes eat about 15megs of ram, and never take any cpu time. Small hit really. This will get me a free OS at about the time I'll be building a new box. Shaves some $$ off that build cost, yanno?

panchoman · Dec 11, 2007

i may install this on an old p2, but i would never let ms put that shit in my current rig

Agility · Dec 11, 2007

panchoman said:
i may install this on an old p2, but i would never let ms put that shit in my current rig

jadenkc · Dec 11, 2007

Where in the process does it state that you will receive a free copy of Windows Vista, Office, Money etc...?

WarEagleAU · Dec 11, 2007

So wait...Im thinking of doing this, but I dont have a back up PC to put it on.....hmm.

System Name	Jimmy 2004's PC
Processor	S754 AMD Athlon64 3200+ @ 2640MHz
Motherboard	ASUS K8N
Cooling	AC Freezer 64 Pro + Zalman VF1000 + 5x120mm Antec TriCool Case Fans
Memory	1GB Kingston PC3200 (2x512MB)
Video Card(s)	Saphire 256MB X800 GTO @ 450MHz/560MHz (Core/Memory)
Storage	500GB Western Digital SATA II + 80GB Maxtor DiamondMax SATA
Display(s)	Digimate 17" TFT (1280x1024)
Case	Antec P182
Audio Device(s)	Audigy 4 + Creative Inspire T7900 7.1 Speakers
Power Supply	Corsair HX520W
Software	Windows XP Home

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

Processor	custom dupont risk chip cpu prototype
Motherboard	custom ibm x5 solid state carbon mainboard
Cooling	industrial technologies prototype dupont custom heat transfer unit
Memory	6x 2gig prototype ecc hnc ddr4
Video Card(s)	prototype low energy version nvidia 9 series unnumberd card
Storage	1tb solid state hdd
Display(s)	44 inch samsung plasma screen tv/monitor
Case	custom ibm mobile home server case
Audio Device(s)	custom Yamaha sound processing processor in spm format
Power Supply	1200watt deli cord custom made dupont type psu
Software	sun unix/windows type v

System Name	EVA-01
Processor	Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard	Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling	ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory	PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage	Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s)	Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply	be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse	ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard	ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software	Windows 11

System Name	MUFFIN_MACHINE
Processor	i7 920
Motherboard	E760 Classified
Cooling	cooler master gemini II
Memory	6gb ddr3 crucial ballistix
Video Card(s)	TFIII 6950
Storage	500gb wd, samsung spinpoint t series 500gb, 2 tb samsung somthing or other
Display(s)	syncmaster 940bw 19"
Case	Corsair Carbide Series 500R
Audio Device(s)	X-fi extrememusic
Power Supply	Corsair HX 850W
Software	windows 7 64bit
Benchmark Scores	i can drink a pint in 5 seconds flat.

Microsoft Offers Free Software in Return for Your Privacy

Jimmy 2004

New Member

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

jocksteeluk

New Member

sneekypeet

not-so supermod

dsdsdk

New Member

das müffin mann

surfsk8snow.jah

Jess Stingray

das müffin mann

Jess Stingray

FatForester

New Member

Jess Stingray

Agility

VulkanBros

rhythmeister

hat

Enthusiast

PVTCaboose1337

Graphical Hacker

Seany1212

PVTCaboose1337

Graphical Hacker

Dr. Spankenstein

Silverel

panchoman

Sold my stars!

Agility

jadenkc

New Member

WarEagleAU

Bird of Prey

System Name	My3yrOldBaby
Processor	Intel C2Q Q6600 G0 2.4GHz (3.6 Ghz @ 1.400V)
Motherboard	eVGA 790 FTW (Analogue) 132-YW-E179-A1
Cooling	Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (Push+Pull: Silverstone 120mm)
Memory	8GB G.Skill DDR3 2x4GB 1866 (running 1600) + 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1x2GB 1333 (running 1600)
Video Card(s)	eVGA 8800GTX 768MB
Storage	(2) WD Raptor 150GB SATA [RAID 0], (4) Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA [RAID 0+1]
Display(s)	Acer 20" - AL2017, Acer 22"W - AL2216WBD
Case	Thermaltake Armor w/ 25cm Fan & Extra Front iCage
Audio Device(s)	OnBoard
Power Supply	Silverstone 1000W - ST1000
Software	Windows XP Pro x64

Processor	Intel Core i7-7700K
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix Z270E Gaming
Cooling	Arctic Cooling Freezer i11
Memory	4x 8GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX @ 2133MHz
Video Card(s)	2x NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti FEs
Storage	512GB SSD, 2x2TB HDD
Display(s)	AOC U2879VF, AOC G2260VWQ6
Case	Corsair 750D Airflow Edition
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 850G
Software	Windows 10 x64 Pro

Processor	Intel e2180 2.0ghz @ 2.8ghz w/ stock volts
Motherboard	ASUS P5K-e Wifi-AP
Cooling	Zalman 9500 w/ AS5
Memory	G.Skill Black PI's DDR2 @ 896MHz 4-4-4-12 1.9v
Video Card(s)	EVGA 8800GT w/ Zalman VF-900
Storage	2x Crucial C300 64GB, Samsung F3 2TB & 1TB, F1 1TB & 750GB
Display(s)	ASUS VW246H 24" 16:9
Case	Ultra / Chieftec Black Tower
Audio Device(s)	X-fi XtremeMusic -> Z-5300e's
Power Supply	PCP&C 610 Silencer
Software	Windows 7 x64

System Name	Half-fucked overclockedd
Processor	Intel Core i7 2600k 3.40Ghz @ 4.20Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte P67 UD7 B3
Cooling	Antec Kuhler H2O 920
Memory	G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 8GB X2 1866Mhz (Model F3-2133C9D-16GXH)
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte AORUS 1080Ti Extreme Edition
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB / Western Digital Black Cavier 2TB X2
Display(s)	Dell U2715H 2560X1440
Case	NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Professional
Power Supply	Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1000W
Mouse	Logitech G510
Keyboard	Tesoro Excalibur Spectrum
Software	Microsoft Windows 10 Professional

System Name	Commercial towing vehicle "Nostromo"
Processor	5800X3D
Motherboard	X570 Unify
Cooling	EK-AIO 360
Memory	32 GB Fury 3666 MHz
Video Card(s)	4070 Ti Eagle
Storage	SN850 NVMe 1TB + Renegade NVMe 2TB + 870 EVO 4TB
Display(s)	25" Legion Y25g-30 360Hz
Case	Lian Li LanCool 216 v2
Audio Device(s)	Razer Blackshark v2 Hyperspeed / Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
Power Supply	HX1500i
Mouse	Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition
Keyboard	Scope II 96 Wireless
Software	Windows 11 23H2 / Fedora w. KDE

System Name	Jezebelle
Processor	i5 4690K
Motherboard	MSI Z97M-G43
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12
Memory	2x8GB Ballistix Sport
Video Card(s)	GTX 1070 Ti
Storage	Sandisk Ultra II 480GB, Sammy 1TB F3
Display(s)	BenQ Xl2411Z
Case	Fractal Define Mini
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek 7.1 HD, does the job!
Power Supply	Enermax Infiniti 720W
Keyboard	Logitech G15
Software	Winblows 10 Pro

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	Whim
Processor	Intel Core i5 2500k @ 4.4ghz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z77-V LX
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory	2 x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws @ 1600mhz
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX 670 2gb
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256gb, WD 2TB Black
Display(s)	Shimian QH270 (1440p), Asus VE228 (1080p)
Case	Cooler Master 430 Elite
Audio Device(s)	Onboard > PA2V2 Amp > Senn 595's
Power Supply	Corsair 750w
Software	Windows 8.1 (Tweaked)

Processor	AMD Athlon 3800+ X2
Motherboard	ASUS A8N-SLI SE
Cooling	2 Exhaust fans
Memory	2x512MB DDR400 RAM
Video Card(s)	Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Storage	80GB Maxtor DiamondMax
Display(s)	Packard bell 17" CRT
Case	Stock
Power Supply	580W Hiper Type-R

Processor	Intel C2D E8500 @ 4.25GHz (1.36V)
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6
Cooling	(Temporary) Tuniq Tower 120
Memory	2GB Transcend aXeram 1200+
Video Card(s)	HIS HD3870 CF Volt modded
Storage	3 Seagate 320Gb Barracuda in an Intel Matrix Raid array
Display(s)	Sony GDM-FW900 24" Widescreen CRT (a.k.a "The Shiznotch")
Case	Ultra Aluminus Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	onboard Intel HD audio
Power Supply	PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750
Software	XP MCE + Vista (HP) dual-boot

Processor	Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard	Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling	Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory	2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s)	Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage	Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s)	ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case	Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s)	Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply	Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software	Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap

System Name	Pandemic 2020
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 "Gen 2" 2600X
Motherboard	AsRock X470 Killer Promontory
Cooling	CoolerMaster 240 RGB Master Cooler (Newegg Eggxpert)
Memory	32 GB Geil EVO Portenza DDR4 3200 MHz
Video Card(s)	ASUS Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 DUAL-RX580-O8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video C
Storage	WD 250 M.2, Corsair P500 M.2, OCZ Trion 500, WD Black 1TB, Assorted others.
Display(s)	ASUS MG24UQ Gaming Monitor - 23.6" 4K UHD (3840x2160) , IPS, Adaptive Sync, DisplayWidget
Case	Fractal Define R6 C
Audio Device(s)	Realtek 5.1 Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair RMX 850 Platinum PSU (Newegg Eggxpert)
Mouse	Razer Death Adder
Keyboard	Corsair K95 Mechanical & Corsair K65 Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth)
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro Wifi II
Cooling	Hyper 212 EVO v2
Memory	2x16GB G.Skill DDR4-4000
Video Card(s)	AMD RX 6750 XT
Storage	WD Black SN850 2TB, various other SSD's from ages past
Display(s)	LG 27GL850 1440@144, AG Neovo EM2701QC 1440@75
Case	Zophos EVO Silent by Raijintek
Audio Device(s)	HyperX Cloud II Wireless headphones
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x
Mouse	ProtoArc EM01
Keyboard	Razer Blackwidow X Chroma Mercury
Software	Windows 11 Pro