REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 9, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today confirmed that Deloitte & Touche LLP, one of the worlds premier accounting and auditing firms, has completed an independent audit on the product-activation process contained within Microsoft® Windows® XP, Office XP and Visio®
2002 products. Microsoft Product Activation is an anti-piracy technology designed to verify that software products have been legitimately licensed. Product Activation works by verifying that a software programs product key has not been used on more personal computers than intended under the softwares license and collects and transfers only the information required to activate the software.
Deloitte & Touche conducted an examination, in accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants attestation standards, of Microsoft assertions regarding the product activation process. Those assertions and the examination report of Deloitte & Touche can be viewed at http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/xp_activation.asp .
Richard Purcell, director of corporate privacy for Microsoft, confirmed that procedures to guide information collection and use for all new technologies and products are in place.
“Our overarching goal is to ensure that consumers have complete control over their information,”
Purcell said.
“Microsofts adherence to the fair information principles dictates that processes such as product activation collect only whats necessary for the task at hand.”
User privacy was a paramount design goal in the building of Product Activation technology. The product activation process is designed to ensure the privacy of those users who do not wish to release their personal information. For telephone activation, only the installation ID is required for activation. For Internet activation, only the installation ID and other information necessary to make an Internet connection are required. For Office and Visio drawing and diagramming software products, the name of the country in which the product is being activated is also required.
Microsoft successfully implemented Product Activation in retail versions of Office more than two years ago in Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Over the past two years, implementation in the United States and Canada has been carried out. Since the introduction of activation technology with Office 2000, nearly 18 million activation requests have been processed.
The company has made several enhancements to the technology based on consumer feedback, resulting in an even more seamless activation process. For example, most consumers who acquire their Microsoft Windows XP operating system preinstalled on a new PC will find the software has already been activated.
Individuals with questions about Microsoft Product Activation or software piracy can find more information by viewing the companys piracy Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/ .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, Windows and Visio are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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