More on: Microsoft on the Trail of Google (typo fixed)

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat org>
Date: July 8, 2004 4:05:38 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net, Ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: More on: Microsoft on the Trail of Google (typo fixed)

Dave:

Microsoft ought to be able to do a very good job of eclipsing Google in 
the search engine market -- but not for the reasons one might think. 
One reason Microsoft can out-Google Google is that it has long had the 
ability to collect massive amounts of information on users' browsing 
and searching habits via its Internet Explorer browser.

Most computer users don't know it, but whenever a user types an 
incomplete URL (say, "cnn.com" instead of "http://www.cnn.com/";) into 
Microsoft's browser, the browser treats the entry as a query -- which 
in turn is sent to MSN. To observe this for yourself, type a nonsense 
domain, such as "blorgschnitz.com", into the address box in Internet 
Explorer. You'll see, as you type, that the words "Search for 
blorgschnitz.com" appear below the box. And after you press Enter, the 
message you receive which indicates that the domain does not exist will 
come not from your computer's domain name resolving software but from 
MSN. The page presented by MSN offers a search box which performs a 
query via Microsoft's search engine. (There's no way to pick an 
alternative search engine which you might prefer, such as Google.) 
What's more, it attempts to steer you to a registrar -- which is no 
doubt paying Microsoft for referrals -- to register the nonexistent 
domain you entered.

Because most users -- even experienced ones -- expect the browser to 
complete URLs and do not bother to type in the "syntactic sugar" 
(http://, etc.) at the beginning, Microsoft is able to collect 
information on the vast majority of URLs that are typed into Internet 
Explorer. And because Internet Explorer is featured prominently on 
nearly every computer sold (most users don't even distinguish between 
it and "the Internet"), more URLs are typed into its browser than any 
other. Microsoft thus has had, for many years, the ability to quietly 
spy on users, collecting statistics that competitors -- including 
Google -- could only dream of having at their disposal. And while this 
(mis)feature is actually more intrusive than Verisign's "hijacking" of 
unused domains (in fact, in many experienced users' eyes, it amounts to 
spyware, because it gathers information about users' normal browsing), 
it has received little notice in either the computer trade press or in 
the mainstream press.

In short, Internet search is yet another area in which Microsoft can 
leverage its control of the platform -- and the browser which it has 
inexorably bolted to it -- to gain an advantage over competitors. Since 
there appears to be no antitrust enforcement, we can only hope that 
Google and others are nimble enough to hold their own despite the 
advantage which Microsoft gains via its control of Windows.

--Brett Glass

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