NSA and Vista

I have read that the NSA helped in developing Windows Vista OS but would not disclose what they helped with. Anyone have any clues?

Probably the Vista version of the NSA backdoor that was discovered in previous versions of Windows OS's.

NSAKEY Wikipedia Entry

This is not the first time that the NSA has helped Microsoft (and other vendors by the way), they "reportedly" helped MS back in 1999. What the NSA did was to contribute to the cryptography (security) of the operating system.
Here is a news link for more information
Windows VISTA and the NSA
The reason that this is getting such airtime is because of the recent eavesdropping scandal where the NSA has been listening in on overseas calls etc.

I have nothing to hide, but Im wondering if there is tech built in or programs written to gather information about an individual.

That is fairly easy to check.
Install VISTA on to a system that has it's own internal network. Put a sniffer on it (like SNORT) and see if there are any suspicious traffic eminating from the system.

I've started a thread on the subject recently. Please check there:

www.abovetopsecret.com...