ActiveWin.com: Partial IE 7 Feature List

Microsoft Internet Explorer (Pre-Release Version 7.0) Privacy Statement

At Microsoft, we're working hard to protect your privacy, while delivering products that bring you the performance, power and convenience you desire in your personal computing. This privacy statement explains the data collection and use practices of Internet Explorer pre-release version 7.0 ("Internet Explorer"). This is a preliminary disclosure and is not intended to be an exhaustive list. It does not apply to other online or offline Microsoft sites, products or services.

Internet Explorer is designed to make it easy to browse and interact with Web sites on your intranet or on the Internet. Certain information is sent to the Web sites you visit, such as your IP address. This information may be logged on those sites' Web servers. What information is logged and how that information is used depends on the privacy policies of the Web sites you visit.

Internet Explorer has certain features that may impact or help you to protect your privacy. The sections below describe some of these features.

Controlling Cookies

What is a Cookie?

A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web server. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.

A cookie is often used to personalize your visit to a Web site or to save you time. For example, to facilitate a purchase the cookie could contain information such as your current selection, as well as contact information such as your name or e-mail address. To help Web sites track individual visitors, cookies often contain a unique identifier. It is up to the Web site that created the cookie to disclose to you what information is stored in the cookie and how that information is used.

Blocking Cookies

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. If you decide to block one or more cookies, the Web sites that use them may not function correctly. For example, if you do not allow cookies at all, you may not be able to view some Web sites or take advantage of customization features (such as local news and weather, or stock quotes).

If you decide to block all cookies, you can use Internet Explorer's Internet Options to modify your browser settings for cookies as follows:

Removing Old Cookies

Cookies previously saved to your hard drive can still be read unless you remove them. To remove all of your existing cookies:

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Delete Browsing History

Internet Explorer's Delete Browsing History feature lets you clear with one click the cookies, Web site passwords that you asked Internet Explorer to save, entries in Internet Explorer's history folder, Web form data, and temporary Internet files that have been saved on your computer. You may also clear some of these items individually, as explained in the Removing Old Cookies, AutoComplete, and Clear History sections of this privacy statement.

To use the Delete Browsing History feature:

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Add-on Management and Crash Detection

Internet Explorer's Add-on Management feature lets you view, enable and disable the list of add-ons which can be loaded by Internet Explorer. Add-ons include browser helper objects, ActiveX controls, toolbar extensions and browser extensions.

To view or modify the add-ons on your computer by launching Manage Add-ons:

When Internet Explorer experiences an error, Internet Explorer's Add-on Crash Detection feature analyzes whether an add-on was running at the time of the crash. If so, you will be presented with a dialog box that tells you which add-on was running. If you click Advanced, the Manage Add-ons dialog will launch. If you click Continue, you will see the standard Windows Error Reporting dialog.

Add-on Crash Detection is on by default. If you are an administrator and wish to disable Add-on Management or Add-on Crash Detection, technical details are available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=21836.

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Pop-up Blocker

Internet Explorer's Pop-up Blocker helps to block some unwanted pop-up windows from appearing without blocking the pop-up windows you deliberately launch. Pop-up Blocker is turned on by default.

To turn off Pop-up Blocker:

You can customize Pop-up Blocker in several ways, including allowing the Web sites you select to launch pop-ups. To access the Pop-up Blocker settings:

Please see Internet Explorer on-line Help for more information about Pop-up Blocker.

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Phishing Filter

Phishing Filter can warn you if the Web site you are visiting might be impersonating a trusted Web site. Phishing Filter does this by first checking the address of the Web site you are visiting against a list of Web site addresses stored on your computer that have been reported to Microsoft as legitimate ("legitimate list"). The first time you attempt to visit a Web site that is not on the legitimate list, you will be asked whether you would like to have Phishing Filter automatically check all Web sites you visit. If you opt in, addresses not on the legitimate list will be sent to Microsoft and checked against a frequently updated list of Web sites that have been reported to Microsoft as phishing, suspicious, or legitimate Web sites. You may also choose to use Phishing Filter manually to verify individual sites.

When you use Phishing Filter to check Web sites automatically or manually, the address of the Web site you are visiting will be sent to Microsoft, together with some standard information from your computer such as IP address, browser type, and Phishing Filter version number. Other information sent includes the total number of Web sites you have browsed since the last time an address was sent by Phishing Filter, the total number of Web sites matched against the legitimate list since the last time an address was sent, the time since the last submission to Microsoft and the total number of times Phishing Filter has sent addresses to Microsoft.

The information listed above is used for statistical analysis and to improve the performance of the Phishing Filter service. When Phishing Filter sends Web site addresses to Microsoft over the Internet, they are protected through the use of encryption with the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol.

Automatic checking of all Web sites by Phishing Filter is off by default. Phishing Filter can be turned on and off from the Internet Explorer Tools menu. For example, to turn off automatic checking of all Web sites:

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Untrusted Publishers

When you choose to download software from the Internet to your computer with Internet Explorer, Microsoft Authenticode technology is used to help verify the identity of the software's publisher. Authenticode technology checks the software for a valid certificate or signature (that the identity of the software publisher matches the signature and that the signature is still valid). Note that this does not prevent a poorly written program from being downloaded or run on your computer.

Internet Explorer's Untrusted Publishers feature allows you to block the installation of software from publishers you do not trust. When signed software (such as an ActiveX control) is about to be installed from a Web site, Internet Explorer's Authenticode dialog will ask you whether you want to install the software. You may choose to:

When you indicate software should be blocked, the certificate used to sign the software is placed on a block list. Any software signed with a blocked certificate will not be installed. Some publishers use different certificates to sign their software so you may be asked multiple times whether you wish to block software from a given publisher. The block list applies to all users of your computer and can only be modified by a user who is an administrator.

To unblock a software publisher:

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AutoComplete

Internet Explorer's AutoComplete feature lets you more quickly fill out Web forms and navigate to Web sites you have visited in the past. AutoComplete collects and stores in the registry on your computer the data you type in Web form text boxes and the address bar. If you choose to use AutoComplete for passwords, they will be stored encrypted on your computer. AutoComplete information is not shared with other users of your computer.

The first time you submit a Web form, you will see a message box that asks if you'd like to turn the AutoComplete functionality on. To turn AutoComplete off and clear AutoComplete's history:

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Clear History

Internet Explorer's History folder contains a list of links to the Web sites and Windows shell locations you have visited recently. None of this history is sent to Microsoft.

To clear the History folder:

To no longer retain history:

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AutoSearch from the Address Bar

If you enter text in Internet Explorer's address bar that does not resolve as a valid Web address, the AutoSearch functionality will redirect you to MSN Search to provide you with some Web addresses that may help you locate the site you are looking for. To provide this feature, Internet Explorer sends the invalid Web address (i.e. the text you typed in the address bar that did not resolve into a valid Web address) to an MSN server which returns Web address options to your computer. MSN collects certain information about your computer hardware and software. This information may include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring Web site addresses. For more information about MSN Search and how MSN uses your information, please see the MSN privacy statement at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=31493.

To turn AutoSearch off:

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Profile Assistant

Internet Explorer's Profile Assistant feature can save you from having to enter the same information (such as your address or e-mail name) each time you visit a new Web site that requests such information. It does this by storing the information on your computer. None of this information is shared with others without your permission.

When a Web site requests information from Profile Assistant, the request will tell you:

To store personal information for Web sites

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P3P Privacy Policies

Internet Explorer gives you the ability to view a Web site's P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences standard) privacy policy and compare it to the privacy preferences you have set. Even if a Web site does not have a P3P privacy policy, it may have a written privacy statement that you can view.

To view a Web site's P3P privacy policy

After reviewing the P3P privacy policy, you can specify how you want Internet Explorer to handle cookies from the selected Web site. If you want Internet Explorer to determine whether or not to allow this Web site to save cookies on your computer by comparing the privacy policy with your privacy settings, select Use my privacy settings. If you want Internet Explorer to always allow cookies from this Web site to be saved on your computer, select Always allow this site to use cookies. If you want Internet Explorer to never allow cookies from this Web site to be saved on your computer, select Never allow this site to use cookies.

Please note that although Internet Explorer can display a Web site's P3P privacy policy, Internet Explorer cannot verify that the Web site complies with its own privacy policy.

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Security and Storage of Your Information

Microsoft is committed to protecting the security of your information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

Information collected by Microsoft as part of providing you with Internet Explorer's features may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or agents maintain facilities. Microsoft abides by the safe harbor framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union. Microsoft may access and/or disclose information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Microsoft; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Microsoft and its family of Web sites, or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, users of Microsoft products or services, or members of the public.

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Changes to the Privacy Statement

We may occasionally update this privacy statement. When we do, we will revise the "last updated" date at the top of the privacy statement. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Statement to be informed of how Microsoft is protecting your information.

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For More Information

If you have questions about this privacy statement, please contact us by clicking here.

Windows XP Privacy
Microsoft Corporation
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Redmond WA 98052
USA