back to article Microsoft's web privacy push: 'We're the anti-Google'

Signs are emerging that Microsoft has realized it can exploit concerns over what Google does with information involving where you've surfed and what you've searched for. Microsoft has apparently pledged that it won't index users' information in its web-based email service, Hotmail, to serve tailored ads - unlike Google with …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Indexing spam

    Indexing the content of my email in hotmail would not be very useful, most of the email that arrives there is spam.

    Maybe they should consider having something scan the emails so that they can send most spam to the spam bin instead of the inbox!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Horns

    Pot...kettle...

    This from the people who brought us _NSAKEY?

    It's just a typo... they meant "Ante Google", not "Anti Google".

    1. Gannon (J.) Dick
      FAIL

      "Ante Google"

      Good one. :)

      And more true than generally imagined. From China to the EU and everywhere in between no Government has a Policy that their citizens' actions are subject to monitoring by Commercial Interests. At very least they think that is their job - which is another problem all together. Unless you irritate them, Governments have been keeping your private stuff private for centuries.

      Of course if you were Google, its Antecedents, or just had a Web 2.0 wailing cat on your head, it might not have ever occurred to you that other people are not for sale just because they might buy things.

  3. Quxy

    Doesn't Hotmail already do this?

    On my rarely-used Gmail account, I notice that about 400 messages a month get redirected into the (auto-expiring) spam folder.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    OK Mephistopheles

    Where do I sign?

  5. Charles Manning

    This is why they bought Danger

    With the Sidekick data loss, Danger have perfected Volatile Server Technology (VST). VST protects the user by ensuring that no sensitive data is kept for too long. Microsoft plans to roll out VST-enabled clusters to support all their Cloud Innovations.

  6. Phil Rigby
    Gates Horns

    Revenue?

    "Microsoft's CEO had claimed Microsoft produced little ad revenue of Hotmail, a problem shared by Google with Gmail."

    Great, so now they admit it doesn't make them a lot of money, how about turning ads off altogether?

    Also...

    "This is enshrined in policy across all our online services,"

    Translated: - "Every MSN-based site or portal you visit will be chock full of ads for crap no-one wants".

    Evil Bill for this, even though he's probably got nothing to do with it. Where's the Ballmer icons?

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Joke

      "Where's the Ballmer icons?"

      El Reg don't want to be sued for all those cracked monitor screens caused by having monkey boy's boat plastered all over the place.

  7. Colin Wilson
    Linux

    All those "phone home" processes ?

    If they're all for privacy, perhaps the next round of security updates will terminate all processes that "phone home" - I once saw a figure of 22 *known* processes that "phoned home" in Vista a while ago, I wonder how many more do.

    As part of this privacy push, they should ditch WGA too !

  8. Fred Flintstone Gold badge
    FAIL

    Whoehaha, pull the other one

    I think that MS would contribute a lot more to our privacy if they actualy managed to produce a secure OS. Even the latest and greatest (*cough*) needs the crutch of anti-virus to be Internet ready, and we're 2010 now. There are *NO* excuses for that.

    Let's start with cleaning up the root of the problem: gazillions of compromised systems supporting a complete second economy of crime by copying bank details, trafficking porn, spam and malware and supporting DDoS blackmail campaigns. Even Google can't break privacy to that scale.

  9. Goat Jam
    Gates Horns

    Oh thanks for that

    "Microsoft has apparently pledged that it won't index users' information in its web-based email servuce, Hotmail, to serve tailored ads - unlike Google with Gmail."

    They may not index your mail like the evil G, but will they continue to spam your contacts with those godawful advertisments that are injected into every email you send?

    Where is the evil Ballmer icon?

  10. David Sidebotham
    Jobs Halo

    Anti-Google as in Anti-Christ?

    Tsne! Tsne! Tsne!

    Look for 666 tattooed somewhere.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    In other words ...

    In other words:

    "Hey, I am still gonna invade your privacy by collecting lots of information about you but don't worry, I won't do anything with it. Honest. Well, not at this time. Maybe in the future."

  12. pitagora
    WTF?

    WTF???

    I didn't know google is reading my mail :( I guess I have to announce all my contacts that I'm changeing my email address. How about yahoo? Is it safe?

    1. OffBeatMammal

      alternatives...

      Hotmail is, as they say, held to a much higher standard though if you want more certainty check out ISPs like Apps4Rent.com who offer hosted Exchange ... it'll cost you a bit but no adverts and proper enterprise level capabilities (we actually use it for our family to share calendars, contacts etc)

    2. Mike48US

      Is It Safe?

      HeHe...did you ever see the movie "Marathon Man"? hehe...

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Alien

    Call me crazeeeee

    I would rather have targeted ad's than random ads. As long as the terms of the data (email) trawl are robot only.

    Privacy? no harm, no foul.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    See now

    Isn't competition a useful thing!

    An intelligent move from Microsoft

    I stopped using Google Chrome and moved back to IE8 (IE8 is a decent browser even more so when sandboxed, I don't care about the chuntering of fanbois), simply because the idea of all my searches and history and whatever else being sent back to Google creeped me out and made me ever so slightly uneasy when using the browser, I'm sure I'm not alone in that respect.

    Then Google photographed everyone's houses, it's all a bit too much.

    I used to like Google, now I'm not so sure. I'm getting the impression that Google's original good intentions are on the verge of becoming blurred.

    It's also apparent that from now on, if you want privacy on the net, you'd better be prepared to pay for it, so if it helps to pay for my privacy by choosing to click a few ads every now and then, I'll do it.

  15. william henderson 1

    scroogle

    and pgp otherwise, write a letter.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      scroogle

      Would have been nice to add the .org at the end unless you want a porn site...

      Or was the pgp an abbreviation for pretty good porn???

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like