Fresh privacy fears over IE 8
Received:: February 4, 2009 | Category:: rorret
A top security researcher has called for Microsoft to rethink aspects of its Suggested Sites feature in IE8. The optional feature in the next version of Microsoft’s browser allows users to “discover websites you might like based on sites you’ve visited”, as Microsoft explains it.
When the feature is activated, the addresses of sites visited are sent to Microsoft, alongside informations such as IP address, browser type, regional and language settings, in an encrypted form. Microsoft draft IE8 privacy policy explains that “information associated with the web address, such as search terms or data you entered in forms might be included”.
Microsoft was able to allay concerns that data from secure sites might be sampled or that the feature might be used to serve up targeted advertising in response to our earlier queries on the technology, prompted in response to posts by privacy activists on the No Deep Packet Inspection campaign website. However, concerns about the privacy implications of the technology remain.
via Fresh privacy fears over IE 8 Suggested Sites • The Register.