Microsoft’s flagship Web browser, Internet Explorer, is due for a major update this year. The Seattle-based company has confirmed that Internet Explorer 8 will come with a series of new features designed to protect the security and privacy of Web browsers, including a mode that allows surfers to anonymously view web sites.
Microsoft representatives say that Internet Explorer 8 will feature four all new Web privacy tools. The update is expected to be available later this year, though Microsoft has yet to set an exact release date.
One feature that has raised eyebrows among Web professionals is called InPrivate Browsing. According to Microsoft, this tool allows users to control whether Internet Explorer stores their web browsing history, and keeps cookies and other information. This feature in particular it is troubling to many in online marketing, as the use of “cookies,” or small informational files that are stored on the user’s computer, have become an important part of tracking the use of products and services online.
Internet Explorer 8 will also feature a Delete Browsing tool, which helps users to control their browsing history immediately after visiting a web site that gathers user information. The downside of this feature is that it could easily become quite annoying. These days, pretty much every web site online collects statistical user information. Most of this information is used only for statistical analysis of web page popularity, to determine the global location of visitors, or to understand which search terms they used in order to find a web page.
This kind of statistical information is invaluable to webmasters who seek to improve their online standing and attract more visitors. But the new privacy features in Internet Explorer 8 could make collecting even basic statistical data about web site users next to impossible — assuming of course, that the new security features in IE 8 are user-friendly, and not hidden away out of plain sight.
Another feature of the new Internet Explorer that could be troubling to webmasters is a tool called Cleartracks. According to Microsoft, this feature effectively erases the user’s tracks online, allowing them to surf the Web anonymously.
While this sounds like a powerful privacy protection feature, if used consistently, it could also make it impossible for webmasters to gather statistical information that helps improve their web site, resulting in a more enjoyable surfing experience. In other words, it’s a double-edged sword. We all want our privacy and security to remain intact online, but user feedback is also the lifeblood of any business or service — including web sites.
Any browser update that eliminates the possibility of gathering statistical information about users could inadvertently cause the Web to be a less user-friendly place.
Internet Explorer 8 will also feature a Delete Browsing tool, which helps users to control their browsing history immediately after visiting a web site that gathers user information.
Comment by Xerobank — February 9, 2009 @ 12:52 pm