Consolidator task (wsqmcons.exe) enabled by default ?

[maa]

Hi all,

I don't think I give permission to Windows to start this task "every 19:00:00 indefinitely".

Please check by yourself : "Administrative tools" -> "Task scheduler" under the name "Consolidator" or "Customer Experience Improvement Program".

:crazy:

[SkywalkerPD]

Hi all,

I don't think I give permission to Windows to start this task "every 19:00:00 indefinitely".

Please check by yourself : "Administrative tools" -> "Task scheduler" under the name "Consolidator" or "Customer Experience Improvement Program".

:crazy:

It says it will only run if the user accepted to join the customer improvement program. So if you didn't approve to that it won't run.

[maa]

Thanks for your reply.

I saw that but I didn't give my consent for that and :

- It's not disabled in the statut column

- When I look in the History tab, it says that it already runned several times (I installed Vista a few days ago)

[Mr. Gibs]

Other programs like office 2007, and the live series of products can use this tool too. If you accepted it for anyone of those programs thats why its prob there.

[maa]

Hi, I reinstalled Windows Vista yesterday and the same task "consolidator" is once again activated. I didn't give any consent for that nor I installed any other Microsoft software.

Last night my pc was activated since the afternoon and no software was working (also Windows Search and Windows Defender services are disabled by me), and in the night my two hard drives began to working for more than one hour, so I decided to turn off the pc.

Is it normal ? Do you have the same task "consolidator" activated in the Task scheduler ?

[majmac]

Hi, I reinstalled Windows Vista yesterday and the same task "consolidator" is once again activated. I didn't give any consent for that nor I installed any other Microsoft software.

Last night my pc was activated since the afternoon and no software was working (also Windows Search and Windows Defender services are disabled by me), and in the night my two hard drives began to working for more than one hour, so I decided to turn off the pc.

Is it normal ? Do you have the same task "consolidator" activated in the Task scheduler ?

Deactivate it and get on with life!

Or, you could just keep an eye out your window for the black helicopters!!!! :-)

[maa]

It's not ok for me to have an operating system checking all personal and job mails, passwords for the servers I'm working on, passwords for the websites of my customers, personnal photos, the personal discussions I may have in the forums by the internet history, etc. and which can connect to a private company by Internet.

No it's not ok for me and you should understand that.

[majmac]

It's not ok for me to have an operating system checking all personal and job mails, passwords for the servers I'm working on, passwords for the websites of my customers, personnal photos, the personal discussions I may have in the forums by the internet history, etc. and which can connect to a private company by Internet.

No it's not ok for me and you should understand that.

Where does the documentation state that it is doing that?

So, you are saying that MS is collecting/checking your passwords etc and then storing that information on their servers?

Sounds like you need to back that up with hard evidence.

If you can, then I would be concerned as well, so please pass on to all of us your evidence as it would be very disconcerting if it is indeed doing what you say it is doing. We all need to disable it then and perhaps bring a class action suit against MS.

I wait for your reply and evidence.

[maa]

First, having a task which "collects and sends usage data to Microsoft" without having my autorisation is not a good thing. It's not "normal" according to me.

Then, any service, which is executed inside a svchost.exe (service host) process, can communicate with any web server, even with a firewall filtering the outbound traffic, because you must allow svchost.exe if you want to use Internet. So you don't have any idea what part of the operating system is using Internet. In other words you can't define what you want to allow to use Internet or not in your own pc.

It's a big concern according to me.

The only way to discover evidence is using a packet sniffer (network analyzer) and analyse all the network during a long time, let's say at minimum one week, but maybe it's not sufficient, maybe one month should be better, because the task scheduler can delay many tasks. And maybe some system processes are not even listed in the task scheduler. This is a enormous amount of data to analyse ! I don't even mention the fact that the network data can be encrypted...

According to me it's very hard or impossible to discover evidence for that. Maybe a big security company could do that work, but not me.

[argonite]

It's harmless, let it be.

[Lawliet]

It probably runs and then checks whatever things you have set to send MS information, does the sending and then exits. So if you haven't enabled anything, it'll just exit.

[TurboTuna]

Go grab your tin foil hat, they're watching you as you read this!! zomg11ONE!!1

Seriously, disable it and move on.

[maa]

I'm not convinced. The facts are the facts. I explained how the operating system can communicate with any web server even if you have installed a firewall which filters the outbound data.

If it is not a problem for you, maybe you don't have any clue about personal data integrity and the concept of private information.

Do you want to send me any of your private data stored on your computer ? So why let a private company the opportunity to send any information on his web server ? It amazes me. Seriously.

[BajiRav]

Why don't you just delete/disable it ? If MS wanted to secretly know about you, they're smart enough to put in something more discrete ;)

[maa]

Why don't you just delete/disable it ? If MS wanted to secretly know about you, they're smart enough to put in something more discrete ;)

I think MS can't send some private data without the possibility to the user to know or disable it somewhere, because of the risk of a trial. But, who knows... The IPSec service, by example, allow direct communications with data encryption (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Security).

I think an independent organization should control that kind of security issue, with the possibility to access the entire source code.

[Squirrelington]

-_- Microsoft is in ur base, h4xin ur compz!!!1

[maa]

It seems there are some children here... Go to school ! :)

Edit : oops, you're 20. Then, go to your university or whatever lol !

Edited February 26, 2007 by maa

[salterbomb]

here's a hint......

UNINSTALL VISTA AND INSTALL LINUX!

at least there microsoft won't be in ur basez, stealing ur pazzwordz.

and if you at least wanted some help on this:

http://ms.helifan.net/products/ceip/en-us/privacypolicy.mspx

CEIP reports generally include information about:

?

Configuration, such as how many processors are in your computer, how many network connections you use, which version of Windows is running, and if some features such as Bluetooth wireless technology or high-speed USB connections are turned on.

?

Performance and reliability, such as how quickly a program responds when you click a button, how many problems you experience with a program or a device, and how quickly information is sent or received over a network connection.

?

Program use, such as the features that you use the most often, how often you use the Help and Support Center, and how many folders you typically create on your desktop.

This information is sent to Microsoft when you are connected to the Internet. CEIP reports do not contain any contact information about you (such as your name, address, or phone number). Although the IP address through which you access the Internet is sent to Microsoft with each CEIP report, Microsoft does not use it. CEIP 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 is not used to identify you. CEIP uses the GUID to distinguish how widespread the feedback we receive is and how to prioritize it. For example, the GUID allows Microsoft to distinguish between one customer experiencing a problem one hundred times and other customers experiencing the same problem once. The GUID is stored on your computer and sent with every CEIP report. .

[maa]

Thanks, salterbomb, I had already read that some times ago. There's also this part in the MS page :

Microsoft uses CEIP information to improve our software. We may share CEIP information with partners, but the information can not be used to identify you. No CEIP information is used or shared for advertising purposes.

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. Microsoft may disclose this information 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 or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Microsoft and its family of Web sites, or © act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, users of Microsoft software or services, or members of the public. Microsoft occasionally hires other companies to provide limited services on its behalf, such as providing customer support, processing transactions, or performing statistical analysis of reports. Microsoft will provide those companies only the information they need to deliver the service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of this information and are prohibited from using it for any other purpose.

What's the goal of "disclose this information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief" if the "the information can not be used to identify you", "CEIP reports do not contain any contact information about you" and "Although the IP address through which you access the Internet is sent to Microsoft with each CEIP report, Microsoft does not use it" ? The fact is that they can identify you and can collect all the data they want about you in a global database.

And this page only applies to the CEIP information. What about all the other ways to communicate with the MS servers ? Once again I think there should exist an independent organization to control that, don't you think ?

[salterbomb]

understand this:

microsoft is not collecting your passwords or child porn information. they aren't interested in taking the $3 to your name by holding your information hostage when they have billions. (which we already know is hardly anything vital. how many desktop folders you make? please! save me from this madness!).

stop worrying and go about your business unless you are doing something to be worried about. seems like you might be.

[maa]

Congratulations, you win one Godwin point.

Why are you so aggressive ? I know that with the partiot act you're used to be spied on. In France we don't have that kind of law. If privacy means nothing for you, what can I say ?

Can I install a camera in your home ? Come on, you have nothing to hide, don't you ?

[Aero Ultimate]

Congratulations, you win one Godwin point.

Why are you so aggressive ? I know that with the partiot act you're used to be spied on. In France we don't have that kind of law. If privacy means nothing for you, what can I say ?

Can I install a camera in your home ? Come on, you have nothing to hide, don't you ?

Indeed. Over here in Europe, the word "privacy" still has a meaning, unlike in the US.

You can either disable that task or, if you want to be diligent, shut down the task scheduler altogether. I've done this already in XP and it always has worked fine here, and in Vista it works fine as well :cool:

[Brandon Live Veteran]

It's just scheduled to send any queued SQM data. If you don't run any programs with SQM / CEIP enabled, it won't have anything to send.

Also, you should opt-in! Everything collected is completely anonymous. It just tells us things like which features people use, which buttons are clicked the most often, or which menus are never opened. It's only purpose is to help us make the product better.

[maa]

Indeed. Over here in Europe, the word "privacy" still has a meaning, unlike in the US.

You can either disable that task or, if you want to be diligent, shut down the task scheduler altogether. I've done this already in XP and it always has worked fine here, and in Vista it works fine as well :cool:

Thanks for your post ! I'm not alone :)

Beside the privacy, the noise of the hard drives, which start 15 minutes after my pc is idle, is annoying.

As you said I tried to shut down the task scheduler (2 processes taskeng.exe in Vista : 1 admin and 1 user) but after a moment the two processes reappear in the task manager. And it's impossible to stop in the service manager.

I'm going to do some research on google to see if I can find something.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

Beside the privacy, the noise of the hard drives, which start 15 minutes after my pc is idle, is annoying.

Sorry - what privacy issue are you talking about? As I said, all SQM and CEIP data is completely anonymous. There's no privacy concern there.

And hard drive activity is certainly not related to those programs. That's probably SuperFetch, defrag, or other similar optimizations. Do you have really loud hard drives or something?

As you said I tried to shut down the task scheduler (2 processes taskeng.exe in Vista : 1 admin and 1 user) but after a moment the two processes reappear in the task manager. And it's impossible to stop in the service manager.

Ack, don't terminate processes like that... you're liable to cause data corruption, leaked references, and other badness. "End task" is a last resort for hung apps, not something you should use to terminate a running service. Use the service control manager or "net stop" command for that.

Also, disabling the TaskScheduler services is a very bad idea. That's like disabling "cron" on Unix. Just leave the default configuration alone, a lot of work went into making the default configuration work for 99% of cases. I doubt you're the exception.

Oh, and TaskEng.exe isn't the scheduler itself. It's a surrogate process for the execution of tasks. You're probably killing the SystemSoundsService and multi-mon configuration processes, which are two scheduled tasks that are usually running. You can go into the Task Scheduler and click "View running tasks" on the right-hand side of the screen to see what's currently running.

Edited February 26, 2007 by Brandon Live