Understanding Windows Reporting

One of the new features of Windows XP Professional is Windows error reporting. If a program
error occurs (such as Internet Explorer crashing, but non-Microsoft programs will also do it),
a window will pop up asking if you want to report the problem to Microsoft. It only works
if you have an active Internet connection. If you choose to report the problem, then technical
information about the problem is gathered and sent to Microsoft. If others have reported the
same problem, then additional technical information will be available to you, to help you solve
the problem.
According to Microsoft, the information gathered is only used by programming groups to
help solve technical problems. Your individual information is not stored or tracked in any way.
To configure (or disable) Windows reporting, open your System properties by rightclicking
on My Computer and selecting Properties. On the Advanced tab, click on the Error
Reporting button at the bottom of the screen to open a window similar to the one shown in
Your two major choices are to disable or enable error reporting. If you choose to disable
it, you can still be notified when errors occur. After choosing to enable error reporting, you
can make the selection of reporting Windows operating system and/or program errors. By
clicking on the Programs button, you can configure which programs you want to report errors
on. By default, all program errors from all programs get reported, but you can configure the
reporting of errors on an app-by-app basis.