Internet Explorer 9 allows users to clamp down on tracking sites

by Steven Mostyn - Dec 8 2010, 06:25

Looking to drum up interest for Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) before it pushes out a fresh release candidate (RC) during the early part of 2011, Microsoft has announced that its next-gen browsing platform will come complete with a new and unique privacy feature.

Specifically, IE9 will provide enhanced privacy via the introduction of Tracking Protection, which will allow users to decide whether their Web habits are open to tracking sites—many of which are responsible for providing targeted advertising based on the user’s Web movements.

According to Microsoft corporate vice president Dean Hachamovitch, the feature’s Tracking Protection List (TPL), “contains Web addresses that the browser will visit (or ‘call’) only if the consumer visits them directly by clicking on a link or typing their address.”

“By limiting the calls to these Web sites and resources from other Web pages, the TPL limits the information these other sites can collect,” he added. “Tracking Protection puts people in control, enabling consumers to indicate what Web sites they’d prefer to not exchange information with.”

Although not enabled in the browser by default, accessing Tracking Protection through IE9 will enable users to selectively block tracking sites, increasing their computer’s level of online privacy in the process.

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