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IP: MICROSOFT QUIETLY SHADOWS WEB SURFERS ACROSS MSN SITES Edupage, September 18 2000
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 21:32:58 -0400
Microsoft said last week that its privacy policy does not address its method of identifying people who surf its online network. The issue is central to one of the latest worries over Internet privacy--companies' ability to identify surfers who travel across various sites. After Washington-based consultancy PCHelp posted an advisory, Microsoft disclosed that cross-domain visitors are redirected to a single server that gives them an MSID identifier, which in turn tracks each visitor over the company's Web sites. "This mechanism of redirects allows cookie data to be carried invisibly from one domain to another, and for matching cookies to be created," wrote PCHelp in its advisory. Following a complaint that Microsoft was using third-party cookies working across different domains, Microsoft patched its Internet Explorer browser to give users better understanding and more control. Microsoft promised that a new version of its privacy policy, due in early October, will clarify the tracking method. (CNet, September 13 2000)
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- IP: MICROSOFT QUIETLY SHADOWS WEB SURFERS ACROSS MSN SITES Edupage, September 18 2000 Dave Farber (Sep 18)