Windows 8 setup shows 'Do Not Track' options

With Windows 8 RTM, Microsoft has revealed how it will notify users of the "Do Not Track" privacy setting for Internet Explorer 10 (IE10).

Last week, Microsoft's chief privacy officer repeated the company's position on Do Not Track (DNT), saying that the signal would be automatically turned on if users relied on the default settings listed during the operating system's setup.

But as a sop to critics of IE10's on-by-default DNT setting, users would be able to switch it off during the setup process, said Brendon Lynch, Microsoft' top privacy executive.

The DNT notification appears during the setup stages of Windows 8 RTM (release to manufacturing), the final code Microsoft issued to developers, IT professionals and enterprises that license the OS in volume.

When Windows 8 setup pauses to collect user settings, it lists DNT as the third item out of seven total.

"Turn on Do Not Track in Internet Explorer," the notice reads.

By clicking the "Use express settings" button to continue, the user accepts Microsoft's defaults, including DNT as switched on.

Users can, as Lynch promised, turn off DNT by choosing the Customize option. There, DNT is listed on the second of two screens, and can be switched off by toggling "Send a Do Not Track request to websites you visit with Internet Explorer."

Windows 8 users can change their minds at any time on DNT, and alter the setting through IE10's Internet Options dialog box. The DNT option is listed as "Always send Do Not Track header" under the Advanced tab of that dialog.

:story: Computerworld