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Mozilla releases Thunderbird 15 with Firefox-like UI, live chat
Mozilla might be scaling back its official support of Thunderbird, but it still has love left for those who yearn for more in their e-mail clients than OS developers can give. The newly-released Thunderbird 15 update's most conspicuous change is a deliberate visual harmony with its Firefox cousin: the company wants its apps to have more in common than just a shared name on the About screen. Under the hood, there's now a live chat feature to skip the wait for e-mail, a Do Not Track option for web searches and the choice of using Ubuntu One cloud storage for large attachments. It's hard to know if future Thunderbird releases will be as substantial once the community takes the reins. For now, though, Thunderbird aficionados can relax. [Thanks, Keith]
Windows 8 RTM will include 'do not track' by default for Internet Explorer 10
Many advertisers weren't thrilled when Microsoft proclaimed that 'do not track' would be the default for Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8, but that reaction hasn't made the folks in Redmond flinch. Brendon Lynch, the company's Chief Privacy Officer, announced that the 'do not track' default is already baked into the code of the October-bound operating system that has been released to manufacturers. Upon booting Windows 8 for the first time, users will be greeted with a choice between "Express Settings" or "Customize," the former of which has "do not track" enabled. IE 10 on Windows 7 will receive a similar treatment, with a "prominent notice" about the setting being switched on appearing alongside a link to additional information. Despite Microsoft's efforts, it's possible that advertisers could ignore the web browser setting if they feel their negotiations have been for naught. Considering the response to Microsoft's initial default announcement, we suspect this won't be the last development in the saga. [Image credit: Tomas Fano, Flickr]
Explicit consent becomes mandatory with latest 'do not track' proposal, backs Microsoft into the corner
Remember how Microsoft said it'd enable the "do not track" feature by default for all users of Internet Explorer 10? Well, it's not likely to happen -- at least from the looks of things. The move caused more than an uproar in the advertising industry, which had agreed to abide by these preferences only if users could, indeed, choose for themselves. With Microsoft's bullish decision to go forward and make this setting default, advertisers argued they'd be left with no choice but to bust the deal wide open and ignore these preferences. In attempt to make sure the whole "do not track" effort isn't derailed, the latest compromise proposal -- authored by the EFF, Mozilla and Jonathan Mayer of Stanford University -- now includes a specific provision that requires users to provide explicit consent before any tracking preferences can be transmitted. The same document acknowledges that the proposal has yet to be extensively discussed with stakeholders, but from the looks of things, "do not track" by default seems headed for a quick death. It's too bad we didn't have the time to get better acquainted with Microsoft's heavy lash against advertisers, but we've a feeling that you can decide this one for yourselves, right? [Image credit: Tomas Fano, Flickr]
Microsoft sets 'do not track' as default on IE10, ruffles feathers
Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 won't be the first major browser to pack a "do not track" component, but it'll be the first to have it switched on by default. Though Microsoft doesn't yet support the feature on its own websites, it plans to help hammer out the protocols by cooperating with industry, government and standards organizations in the months ahead. With Twitter's support for the measure, the crew in Redmond isn't the only one kicking the privacy ball forward. The Digital Advertising Alliance, however, isn't pleased with the development, in no small part because it struck a deal with the White House to honor "do not track" so long as it's not a default setting. Despite the move, Microsoft said it hopes users will choose to share their data with advertisers to receive more relevant advertising. Hit the more coverage links for added details on Microsoft's feather ruffling. [Image credit: Tomas Fano, Flickr]
Twitter teams up with Mozilla to help you opt-out of tracking
What better place to announce Twitter's embrace of do not track policies than during a privacy panel at New York Internet Week? Federal Trade Commission CTO Ed Felten let the news slip today -- a fact later confirmed by Twitter and Mozilla. The service has been added to Firefox's Do Not Track feature, letting users opt-out of data-tracking cookies in the browser. More information on the feature can be found in the Mozilla source link below.
Google tests the 'do not track' waters with a Chrome extension (Update)
Well, that didn't take long. One day after agreeing to implement a do not track button as part of a new consumer bill of rights, Google has given the people what they want... sort of. Keep My Opt-Outs is a Chrome extension, developed by the Mountain View team, that will prevent advertisers from using your browsing history against you. Presumably, this function will get built straight into the browser one day but, for now, you have to go dig it up in the Chrome Web Store -- far from an ideal solution. Still, a tepid step into the shallow end is better than no step at all. You can install the extension yourself at the source.Update: As a few of you have noted, this extension has actually been available for quite some time, since Google originally announced the ad cookie blocker back in 2011. Check out the details in the team's original Public Policy blog post and combine it with a dose of web history cleaning to keep your activities to yourself.
White House gets behind online 'bill of rights,' companies to adopt 'do not track'
President Obama is throwing his weight behind a consumer bill of rights that includes protections against online companies in particular, and aims to safeguard customer privacy. While the plan doesn't come prepackaged with a new set of laws for companies to abide by, the Commerce Department is working to develop enforceable policies with help from the concerned parties. The bedrock of the new bill of rights is that consumers should have control over the kind of data companies collect and what they do with it. Internet firms would have to be transparent about what information is gathered and how it's used. There is also a call for limitations on the use of certain personal data. As part of the push a number of major players in the field, including Google, have agreed to include a "Do Not Track" button in their browsers and to honor the system -- the latter being a tiny detail that has made implementations of the feature ineffective until now. Hit up the source links for a few more details.
Firefox 5 for Android adds CSS animation, support for Do Not Track browsing
The Firefox team is moving as quick as a...well, you get the idea. Nearly two months after releasing its latest browser to the masses, the folks at Mozilla have unleashed Firefox 5 for Android as a beta for willing souls who happen upon it in the Market. The latest rendition will hook you up with support for CSS animations, improved canvas and JavaScript performance, and lower memory usage. You're also going to find Do Not Track included for the first time, which is a privacy setting that prevents other sites from following you around. Otherwise, for a major release, there isn't a ton of meat -- then again, Mozilla's switched things up a bit by popping out updates on a more frequent basis, making few changes to each one, so anyone feeling a bit underwhelmed should know that the team's already hard at work on Firefox 6. Head down to the source links to download the beta and learn what's new.
Chrome and Firefox adding new opt-out features to prevent third-party advertisers from tracking you
Ever been freaked out by an online ad that seemed to know you that little bit too well? It's the result of good old advertisers tracking your net-navigating habits and delivering targeted commercials to your eyeballs, but it can be prevented. Both Google and Mozilla have stepped up (or perhaps been pushed by the FTC) to try and tackle this issue of pernicious tracking cookies, but they've gone about it in different ways. The Chrome solution is a Keep My Opt-Outs browser extension that remembers the sites you don't want personalized information from, while Firefox will start beaming out a Do Not Track HTTP header that should be respected by advertisers and result in you receiving generic, repetitive ads. The important commonality between the two is that they don't rely on you preparing a cookie file with all your anti-advertiser bile contained within it (which was the FTC's original, somewhat impractical idea). Google intends to open-source its extension and bring it to other browsers as well, though obviously it's taking care of Chrome first, which can benefit from the add-on right now.
Internet Explorer 9 privacy measures to include Tracking Protection
In a nod to future FTC mandates regarding web privacy, Microsoft has announced that among its many charms, Internet Explorer 9 will introduce something called a Tracking Protective List. In essence, the TPL looks at third party elements of whichever page you may be viewing (for instance, when you're at msnbc.com and it contains elements that are hosted by another domain) and allows you to block those which track your movements. This is done by domain, and there is both a whitelist and a blacklist -- ensuring that while elements that are required for full functionality will be allowed, those which are a nuisance will be blocked. Of course, this isn't the answer to all of your security needs, but between this and properly managing your cookies it is a decent first step. IE9 will come around sometime in early 2011 -- in the meantime, check out the video after the break for more info.
FTC says it's talking to Adobe about the problem with 'Flash cookies'
We've already heard that the Federal Trade Commission is pushing for a "do not track" button of sorts to stop cookies from watching your every move, but it looks like it isn't stopping at the usual, non-edible definition of a "cookie." Speaking at a press conference on Friday, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz also dropped the rather interesting tidbit that it's been talking with Adobe about what it describes as "the Flash problem." As Paid Content reports, newly-appointed FTC Chief Technologist Ed Felten later clarified that the problem in question is actually so-called "Flash cookies," or what Adobe describes as "local shared objects." As Felten explained, those can also be used for tracking purposes, but they usually aren't affected by the privacy controls in web browsers -- Chrome is one notable exception. For it's part, Adobe says that Flash's local shared objects were never designed for tracking purposes, and that it has repeatedly condemned such practices -- the company also added that it would support "any industry initiative to foster clear, meaningful and persistent choice regarding online tracking." [Image courtesy dopefly dot com]
FTC wants to fight tracking cookies with other cookies, create delicious sugary warfare
We're not sure that fighting fire with fire actually works outside of the metaphorical realm, but don't let us tell the FTC how to do its thing. The federal body, which recently told Google "it's all good" after the company apologized for stealing people's private infos, is now asking for social networking sites and browser developers to create a sort of "do not track" cookie system. If this cookie was present the sites would not capture a user's browsing habits and not deliver customized ads, a cookie that would be created and enabled by a simple browser button. As of now the FTC is not mandating anything, but did deliver this passive-aggressive threat: With respect to 'do not track,' we are giving companies a little time, but we'd like to see them work a lot faster in making consumer choice a lot easier. So there you have it: start playing nice, companies, or the FTC might possibly do something. Meanwhile, we might possibly eat the cute looking gingerbread man in the middle up there. He sure looks tasty. [Image courtesy of Fagles]
