Microsoft Patch Tuesday also delivered telemetry package

ZD Net reports this month's round of Patch Tuesday updates from Microsoft included more than just security updates. Observers were surprised to see the inclusion of Compatibility Appraiser (KB2952664), a tool that captures data and sends it back to Microsoft. The tool is designed to identify issues that could prevent a Windows 7 PC from updating to Windows 10.

Asked for more details, Microsoft refused to comment on this update. ZD Net's Ed Bott speculates that some part of the Appraiser component on Windows 7 SP1 may have had a security vulnerability, but it's hard to know for sure as Microsoft is keeping its lips shut:

My research did, however, confirm that this is not a mistake, and it led me to a theory for why these mysterious files are shipping in an unexpected location. I strongly suspect that some part of the Appraiser component on Windows 7 SP1 had a security issue of its own. If that's the case, then the updates indisputably belong in a Security-only update.