Microsoft Corp is offering patches to strip out the global unique identifier that was fingered as a major privacy problem earlier this month (CI No 3,614). Windows 98 generates a unique serial number for every computer that runs it. The number is embedded within Office 97 documents, enabling the company to identify the authors of certain files. A problem with Win98 registration meant customers were divulging the identifying number to Microsoft even when they had explicitly elected not to do so.
Microsoft now promises to get rid of these records. It denies that it has tracked documents using illegitimately obtained numbers, but privacy advocates are outraged that the capability exists at all. Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters Corp, filed a formal complaint with Trust-E over the matter.
Trust-E responded quickly, saying: One question I have on the basis of your letter is whether the possible problem is outside the terms of the licensing agreement. Our mission – protecting online privacy rights – is web-centric. Trust-E’s hesitation becomes more comprehensible when you take into account the fact that it receives an estimated $100,000 per year from a high- profile corporate partner – none other than Microsoft Corp.
