Browser records keystrokes, transmits them to Microsoft; data retention an issue

(Computerworld) Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) browser includes a keystroke-logging search suggestion tool similar to the one that Google Inc. modified Monday after coming under fire from consumers.

Unlike Chrome, IE8 Beta 2 does not enable the feature -- which some have compared to a keylogger -- by default. One privacy expert said that was a "huge difference."

According to IE8's revised privacy statement, Microsoft's beta browser contains a new feature, dubbed "Suggested Sites," that sends the addresses of sites visited and other information to the company's servers.

Suggested Sites is similar to the "Google Suggest" tool in Google's Chrome browser and is designed to recommend the most likely destination sites based on what the user types, the popularity of sites and Microsoft's own algorithm.

On Monday, Google reacted to criticism of the feature by promising it would render the data it collects anonymous within 24 hours.

By comparison, Microsoft's privacy statement does not spell out how long the Suggest Sites data is kept, and when, if at all, the company "anonymizes" that data.


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