You may have heard about the feature in Windows 98 and Office 97 that lets Microsoft upload users' personal data and unique ID information. Microsoft claims it didn't know about these surreptitious uploads, and says it uses the ID number only for legitimate customer-service tasks. Uh-huh.

To get the patch that prevents Windows 98's Registration Wizard from uploading your PCs configuration data, choose Start-Windows Update or visit www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com. For the Office 97 fix, download a patch from officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloadDetails/Off97uip.htm. To remove the ID from Office documents, you can download the utility at officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloadDetails/pf_setup.htm.