Don’t let your identity go unprotected.

Windows Media Player is pretty secure as is, and before you start worrying about online identity theft, I want to clarify that the Media Player never sends anyone any personally identifiable information about you to any web sites it visits. However, some information is sent out to the Internet when you’re logged on and using Windows Media Player, and you should know what it is.

When playing CDs and DVDs while online, Windows Media Player connects to the Internet and returns information about the media you’re playing, such as the songs included on the CD, album cover art, artist information, DVD information, and more. However, Microsoft doesn’t know what music you listen to or what videos you download and watch. For those who are not completely reassured by that statement and want to feel even more secure, I’ve included this section. You can configure the options to be a little stricter than those set by default. Doing so will allow you to have a say in exactly what (if any) information is sent to Microsoft or any third-party music sites. To see your privacy options and perhaps change them:

1. Open Windows Media Player, right-click the title bar, and choose

Tools | Options.

2. Click the Privacy tab. One of the options

is Send Unique Player ID To Content

Providers. Information it sends isn’t

personally identifiable, but it may send

information about connection time,

IP address, OS version, Media Player

version, player identification number, date,

protocol, and so forth. The purpose of

this, of course, is to provide your content

provider with information that will help

it serve you better and give you a better

experience and higher-quality output.

However, if sending this information seems

intrusive, you can disable it.

3. Another option that you can disable is

Update Music Files By Retrieving Media

Info From The Internet. When this is checked,

and it is by default, the Media Player will attempt

to obtain information about your CDs and DVDs from

WindowsMedia.com, including artist name, track name,

and similar data. Information about your music will be

gathered and sent to a database, for the purpose of enhancing your

musical experience. If you do not want to share information about

your CDs and DVDs, and you do not want to obtain information

from WindowsMedia.com, uncheck this box.

4. If you ever want to clear Media Player’s History, click Clear History

on the Privacy tab.

5. To clear caches for CDs, DVDs, and devices, click Clear Caches.