I just got an email thanking me for participation in the testing of Windows 7 and it told me to install the Windows Feedback Program software by clicking on a link. I did, and download an application set up program to my desktop. I ran it and it appeared to install, but there is no new program showing up under my program list in the start menu, and no new icon on the desktop. Is this email and the Windows Feedback Program I installed (I think) legitimate? And, if it is legit, where is the program at and what does it do? Is it different than the feedback tool in the Beta version where you can submit feedback? Intel Pentium 4 @ 3Ghz, 2GB DDR Ram, Nvidia 7600GS - AGP type.

Does the link point to a microsoft site, i.e. somthing.microsoft.com, or somthing.live.com.Post the target of the link, just the part between the // and the first /.

There are provisions for Connect participants to submit feedback, and it doesn't involve a download.A quick search of the web didn't reveal any downloads either (although I may be mistaken).I'd suggest first scanning your system for infections.You can check the email to see if it's been spoofed, and can check the download site to see if it's legit.- John

It won't show up in the start menu. It runs automatically as a service, which you can see if you run services.msc. Also, under task manager you can see it running as WFPService.exe. Asrock K8NF6P, AMD64 3200+, 1.5GB RAM, Palit Geforce 8400GS 256MB, 500GB Maxtor SataII, Asus 1814BLT optical

It won't show up in the start menu. It runs automatically as a service, which you can see if you run services.msc. Also, under task manager you can see it running as WFPService.exe. Asrock K8NF6P, AMD64 3200+, 1.5GB RAM, Palit Geforce 8400GS 256MB, 500GB Maxtor SataII, Asus 1814BLT optical yeah, it's running as a service in task manager....it's listed as wfpservice. email was from winpanel@microsoft.com, so I assume it's legit, just wanted to double check on here since I didn't see any new program installed after installation. (a warning during installation that you will not see any new program installed in your program list after installation completes would have been nice, explaining that it only runs a a service that can be verified in task manager) Intel Pentium 4 @ 3Ghz, 2GB DDR Ram, Nvidia 7600GS - AGP type.

usasma, Below is a copy of the email I received and I have also checked the installation folder and all programs are digitally signed by Microsoft. Hello Ian Brown We would like to thank you for your participation in the Windows Feedback Program during Windows 7 Beta. As you may be aware, Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) is now available and can be obtained by clicking on the following link: http://microsoft.com/windows/windows7 We greatly value your participation in the Windows Feedback Program and would like to take this opportunity to remind you to please install the Windows Feedback Program software on your machine(s) running Windows 7 RC. The Windows Feedback Program software can be installed by clicking on the following link : https://wfp.microsoft.com/app_client/setup.exe During the installation process, please use the same email address that you used when you signed up for our program. To encourage your continued participation in the Windows Feedback Program using Windows 7 RC, we will send you a copy of the commercially released version of Windows 7 Ultimate as a gift* within 3 months of its general availability in the US provided that: 1. You are a US resident of age 18 or older; 2. You signed up for the Windows Feedback Program through the Windows 7 beta Community Preview Program; and 3. You have sent data using the Windows Feedback Program automated instrumentation software from Windows 7 RC for at least 4 months. We would appreciate it if you continue your participation in the Windows Feedback Program after receipt of the gift and send us data using the automated instrumentation software on the commercially released version of Windows 7. However, it is not a condition of the gift. We may offer more incentives if you do. Thank You The Windows Experience Team Privacy Microsoft respects your privacy. You may go onto our website to review the privacy statement for this program. Stop receiving these emails if you would prefer to no longer receive communications from the Windows Feedback Program you must discontinue your participation in the program. To stop participating, visit our opt-out page and enter the email address at which you received this message. Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 * The gift will be sent to a postal address in the US only. It is not redeemable for cash and is non-transferrable. If the gift is returned as non-deliverable, it will not be resent Asrock K8NF6P, AMD64 3200+, 1.5GB RAM, Palit Geforce 8400GS 256MB, 500GB Maxtor SataII, Asus 1814BLT optical

It looks legit. to me. I was able to install it, even though I am not a member of the Windows 7 Feedback connection. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.

The actual Windows Feedback Program is legitimate and has been running for a while now. I know it has been running on my machine since January or thereabouts. For more information you might like to view this link: http://wfp.microsoft.com/FAQ.aspxYou won't see any icons for it because it gathers data in the background and, yes, it is completely different from the submit feedback option.John Barnett MVP: Windows XP Associate Expert: Windows Desktop Experience: Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk; Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org; Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org;

Later, I justgot a popup saying that I had to register, using the same email address I had used previously.When I tried to register, I got an error.

Bnborg,At some point Ian would have signed up for the Windows Feedback Program and may have had the software running on the Windows 7 beta build 7000. (To be honest even I forgot I had it running until I got an email asking me to cimplete a feedback survey.) This latest email is simply reminding the people who registered to install the software on the RC build. Again, if I had not been reminded, I would have completely forgotten to install it on the RC build. Obviously there is no incentive for me to really run the software because I don't reside in the US, so no free gift for me. I have simply installed it as part of the beta test program.John Barnett MVP: Windows XP Associate Expert: Windows Desktop Experience: Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk; Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org; Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org;

That's correct John. I also do not qualify for the free gift as I am resident in the UK but I see nothing wrong with giving additional telemetry back to Microsoft as they are allowing me to run the latest O/S free until March next year.Asrock K8NF6P, AMD64 3200+, 1.5GB RAM, Palit Geforce 8400GS 256MB, 500GB Maxtor SataII, Asus 1814BLT optical

Yeah, I know.I am a member of the Feedback Connections for Internet Explorer Beta, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server SP2.

I forgot all about installing it when I installed Windows 7 RC. It's too bad I just got it installed today when I got that email because it wasn't installed during my installations of all the software I use so it missed out on that info. Intel Pentium 4 @ 3Ghz, 2GB DDR Ram, Nvidia 7600GS - AGP type.

Reporting Bugs on Windows 7 RC The Windows 7 Feedback Tool is a pre-release only tool. As we work towards finalizing Windows 7 we have removed the launch UI for the Feedback Tool, however the tool itself is still in the RC build. If you need to report a bug that falls into one of the categories mentioned below, you may run the following command to start the Feedback Tool: rundll32.exe FeedbackTool.dll,ShowWizard Please note, the above is case sensitive. If you would rather, you may create a desktop shortcut to the Feedback Tool command by right-clicking on your desktop, selecting New, Shortcut, then entering "rundll32.exe FeedbackTool.dll,ShowWizard" (less the quotes) in the "Type the location of the item" field. Then click Next, provide a shortcut name (for example, "Send Feedback"), then click Finish. You may then launch the Feedback Tool from the desktop shortcut. * Note - Please be sure you have activated your copy of Windows 7 using your product key PRIOR to using the Windows Feedback Tool. To ensure proper functioning of the feedback tool you should ONLY use product keys obtained from MSDN. While our testing indicates that the Release Candidate is a very solid build we ask that you be on the lookout for any issues that might remain. When filing bugs on Windows 7 RC we request that you only report the following types of issues: Issues that prevent installation or upgrade Any issues that involve corruption or data loss Security issues Regressions from Windows Vista SP1 or Windows 7 Beta (things worked before, but do not work now) Any application or device issues that would prevent you from using Windows 7 as your primary OS. Reproducible crashes or hangs (issues that you cannot reproduce will be captured by CEIP Telemetry) ==> So create a shortcut to C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe FeedbackTool.dll,ShowWizard with icon %SystemRoot%\system32\FeedbackTool.dll Kind regards, Kikker46Kikker