Greetings all - I just wanted to take a moment to offer up a brief description of why Microsoft Support uses "diagnostics" during a support case and how our goal of using these diagnostics is to solve cases as quickly as possible.
Diagnostic packages are a key component of support delivery to help resolve issues faster and with fewer interactions to request important configuration information. Our diagnostic packages collect relevant data (configuration, log files, traces, etc.) for specific categories of problems, and also check for a number of known configuration issues at the same time. Diagnostic packages do not run any updates or make any changes to your systems without your consent, and will generally leave your system in the same state it was originally. If PowerShell is not present on the machine running the diagnostic, the diagnostic does not remove PowerShell, but other components will be removed when the diagnostic is complete.
The data that is uploaded by a diagnostic package is used for troubleshooting. We will not disclose any information that is included in the results outside of Microsoft, its controlled subsidiaries, and its affiliates without your consent.
Microsoft is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We use many different security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Using diagnostics is a much more secure way of sending information back and forth than an email conversation. For example, we store the personal information that we collect on computer systems with limited access, which are located in controlled facilities. When we transmit highly confidential information over the Internet, we protect it by using encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. Please read the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement for additional information on Microsoft's commitment to protecting your privacy: http://www.microsoft.com/privacy
For more information about our support diagnostic platform including a list of Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting tips, please visit the following link: Information about Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services and Support Diagnostic Platform
If you have any questions about a diagnostic while involved in a support case, please don't hesitate to ask the engineer for details or check out the specific KB Article for the diagnostic which describes what information is collected. Click the following link to see an example of a KB article for a specific diagnostic package related to our Dynamics AX AOS diagnostic - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2416076
Thank you for helping us to solve cases faster by using our diagnostic framework,
Kevin Kidder