Privacy Digest

IE8's 'privacy' mode leaks your private data - Via PC Advisor(UK) :

Information concealed by the InPrivateBrowsing feature of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8.0 can easily be recovered by forensic experts, a Dutch website has found.

The InPrivate Browsing feature in Microsoft's latest browser is designed to delete a user's browsing history and other personal data that is gathered and stored during regular browsing sessions. The feature is commonly referred to as 'porn mode' for its ability to hide which websites have been visited from nosy spouses or employers.

Forensic experts however found it trivial to retrieve the history, according to a test by Webwereld.nl, an affiliate of PC Advisor in the Netherlands, and Fox IT, a Dutch firm specialising in IT security and forensic research.

"The privacy option in this beta is mainly cosmetic. For a forensic investigator, retrieving the browsing history should be regarded as peanuts," said Christian Prickaerts, forensic IT expert with Fox IT.

To prevent login details, online orders and other sensitive information from leaking out, the privacy feature prevents Internet Explorer 8.0 Beta 2 from storing any cookies. The browser furthermore refrains from storing the browsing history in the Windows registry.

But researchers were able to retrieve data displaying general information about the browser's behavior. Although URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) aren't stored, Prickaerts was still able to restore the browsing history.

"The remaining records in the history file still enable me to deduce which websites have been visited," said Prickaerts.

(Read Original Article - Via PC Advisor(UK) .)