VoIP In Detail covers everything related to VOIP, software, hardware, service providers, reviews, configurations, standards, tips & tricks and everything else related to voice over IP networks, IP telephony and Internet Telephony. Microsoft’s release of the final version of Internet Explorer 8 has sparked controversy on everything from glitches to market share. Now user privacy has joined the list.
When Microsoft released IE8 last Thursday it included features that can block advertising networks from tracking a user’s Web surfing. The features are InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Filtering.
InPrivate Filtering (InPrivate Blocking in beta versions of IE8) allows users to block third-party content, including Microsoft’s, from detecting a user’s online behavior. The filter is off by default and must be turned on with each browsing session.
Blocking Is Cumbersome
“Because InPrivate Filtering is designed to watch for and block only third-party content that appears with a high frequency across sites you visit, no content is blocked until such levels are detected, nor is any such content blocked which is served directly by the site you are visiting,” according to Microsoft’s IE8 Web site.
To use the feature, users must select it from the Safety menu. Users also have to customize which third-party content is blocked or allowed in the InPrivate Filtering settings.
InPrivate Browsing lets users control whether or not IE8 saves browsing history, temporary Internet files, cookies, usernames, passwords or other data. If used correctly, IE8 leaves no evidence of a user’s browsing or search history.
It also prevents Web sites and advertising networks from dropping cookies, or small pieces of code, onto a user’s computer. Cookies allow ad networks to see what sites a user has visited.
While both features give control to the user, analysts say many users will avoid turning them on because they are cumbersome and can’t be turned on with a single click.
Users Getting Accustomed
Web sites continue to pull tracking data, often without the user being aware. Sixty-eight percent of users, however, are aware that their browsing information may…
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IE8’s Cumbersome Privacy Controls May Discourage Use
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