Microsoft accuses Google of circumventing IE privacy settings to track user behavior

Beijing time February 21, Microsoft wrote on the official blog in Monday, accusing Google of circumventing Internet Explorer's privacy settings to track user browsing behavior. It has already been reported that Google's privacy setting around Apple's Safari web browser tracks user browsing habits, and Microsoft believes Google has taken a similar approach to its ie.

But the IE platform will be different, and the issues it covers have been known to Microsoft and privacy researchers for some time. Because by default, IE is designed to block "cookie" files from the tracking company, but the rationale is quite complex. In general, no one will stop this behavior, but Microsoft said in Monday that they were "actively investigating" whether to prevent the cookie file setting in the case.

IE uses P3P (Platform for privacy Preferences) privacy protection technology. The computer protocol allows websites to share their privacy policies with web browsers, rather than forcing users to read each article. P3P's idea is good but never really popular, and other Web browsers don't support this technology.

But IE defaults on P3P technology, and if a network company tells IE they are tracking users, or has not set P3P terms at all, IE will prevent them from setting up "Third-party" cookie files. Advertisers and tracking companies often use this method to track user habits.

But one big flaw in this setting is that if a network company does not comply with the appropriate format in the P3P protocol, they can set the cookie file arbitrarily. For the Google site, they will assume that "this is not a P3P agreement," and then provide a link to explain the explanation.

Privacy researchers have complained over the years about the vulnerability of IE, and other companies are exploiting it. Rolli Kranna Lorrie Cranor, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said in his blog, "Many companies exploit this vulnerability", including Google and Facebook.

Looking back to 2010, Kranna's study found that thousands of websites, including Microsoft's, had problems with the P3P policy, which allowed them to create cookies in IE. Most of these problems are caused by false seeding and other errors, but some are deliberately false.

Google's Web site did not comply with the P3P rules because it would interfere with gadgets such as +1 social buttons and igoogle, the company said in an explanation of the links provided. According to the Wall Street Journal test, Doubleclick.net and googleadservices.com Web sites adhere to the P3P protocol, which makes IE different from Safari, although the latter has privacy settings, but Google's doubleclick.net will still track Safari users ' computers.

Google did not immediately comment. This behavior is akin to "circumvention", Kranna said.

For the P3P protocol, the Facebook page says: "The P3P standard is outdated and does not reflect the technology that appears on the Web." "It should be noted that Microsoft has been eager to attack Google's privacy lapses, or even to extract Google's new privacy policy ads."

Every time a tool is ready to block an action, such as blocking the tracking of cookie files, other companies will come up with workarounds. In some cases, these privacy tools can also complicate issues by creating trouble for loyal Web developers.

Microsoft has used the controversy to set up a tracking protection list for users, and IE9 's latest feature is to allow users to create lists to block the tracker. Microsoft even unveiled a new approach in Monday to block Google's tracking, which will not only block cookies, but also target arbitrary requests from tracking companies. The industry's privacy competition seems increasingly fierce.