Friday, December 31, 2010

IE9 gets web anti-tracking tool

Web anti-tracking tool:







Microsoft has just announced that it will be implementing an anti-tracking tool to its IE9 (Internet Explorer 9) browser, which should mean websites will be unable to share or learn about your browsing history.

The new anti-tracking addition to IE9, which should be released in early 2011, will work in a similar way to that of "Do Not Call" lists that stops marketing firms from cold calling. In effect it will limit the data requests by third-party sites, and therefore your personal information will not be shared with them.

The fact that many websites share data in this way may come as a surprise to some, as Microsoft stated: "consumers share information with more websites than the ones they see in the address bar in their browser. This is inherent in the design of the web and simply how the web works, and it has potentially unintended consequences".

This news comes in the wake of the US Federal Trade Commission's report, which highlighted the inherent lack of protection given to people, with regards to the data being collected about them.

The IE9 anti-tracking function will be able to be tweaked, so you can choose which sites you're happy to share data with - although certain adverts and functions may be missing from the site when turned on.