When you participate in the VMware User Experience Improvement Program, your computer sends anonymous information to VMware. Participation in the program is voluntary and you can opt out at any time.
Types of Data Collected
The data collected by the VMware User Experience Improvement Program might include product data, product usage information, product performance information, and system configuration information.
Product data typically includes information such as the product name, version, build number, and configuration settings. This information helps VMware compare data from identical installations and determine popular configurations.
Product usage information might include menu items selected, toolbar buttons pressed, virtual machines run, and virtual machine configuration settings. This information helps VMware identify usage patterns, such as the most popular features, how many virtual machines users create, how many virtual machines are run concurrently, which operating systems are the most popular, and what virtual machine settings are typically selected.
Product performance data might include errors that occur and measurements, such as virtual machine suspend and resume times, uptime, or application startup time.
System configuration information might include the operating system that your computer is currently running, how many processors are in your computer and the processor models, how much memory is installed, how many network connections are available, the video cards and video drivers that are installed, and screen resolutions for display devices. This information helps VMware identify the system configurations that best match customer environments during testing and to plan future development based on hardware industry trends and the adoption of new technologies.
Not all of the available information is collected from every system every time data is sent to VMware. Some information is included only from select installations and certain information, such as error messages, is collected only when it is generated.
VMware uses a universal unique identifier (UUID) to identify information from different machines.
When the Data Is Transmitted to VMware
Data is typically collected on your system and transmitted to VMware when you start Workstation Pro. If your computer does not have access to the Internet, the information is collected and sent to VMware the next time you start Workstation Pro. Data might also be sent to VMware at other times, such as during a check for software updates. Data is encrypted and transmitted over a secure SSL connection so that it cannot be read by other Internet users.
Workstation Pro stores all of the information that it sends to VMware on your system in clear text. The files are located in the same directory as your log files and are named productnameUploadedData.log.
Privacy Protection
VMware does not collect any personal data, such as your name, address, telephone number, or mail address. Your product license key and MAC address are not sent to VMware, and VMware does not store your IP address with the data that it receives from you.
VMware limits access to your data and uses industry-standard controls to protect your information, including physical access controls, Internet firewalls, intrusion detection, and network monitoring. The information collected by the VMware User Experience Improvement Program is handled in accordance with VMware Privacy Policy.
The User Improvement Program is not Spyware. Spyware collects information or acts on your computer without your full knowledge or consent.
Opting Out of the Program
You can join or end participation in the VMware User Experience Improvement Program at any time by changing Workstation Pro preference settings.
See Sending System Data and Usage Statistics to VMware for more information.
