About 9 months ago I wrote a posting about Microsoft Online Crash Analysis. It linked to various resources that explain how the Microsoft Error Reporting works, and whether or not you should send off the error messages to Microsoft. My recommendation at the time was:
So if you usually click “Don’t Sendâ€, I’d suggest you rethink that and click “Sendâ€.
Well, the other day I had an experience that shows that this is good advice. I was using SecureFX (software that allows you to connect securely to servers). I was connecting to an ftp site, and the software crashed. As is usually the case, Windows told me that it could send information. I did, and after transmitting it said to visit their web site for further information. The web page told me that the version of the Van Dyke software I was using had a problem and linked to a special page at the Van Dyke web site. Their site then said that there had been some errors in their software, and suggested I upgrade. I was using 2.x of the software, and I was able to upgrade to version 3.0 for free.