Microsoft criticizes privacy in Chrome 3.0
The latest version of Google's Chrome browser presents a privacy risk through its search-term tracking, a Microsoft security executive has said.
Microsoft general manager Amy Barzdukas, who heads up Internet Explorer and consumer security for the software company, said on Wednesday that Chrome 3.0 sends packets of information to Google every time a character is typed into its search box.
"With Google Chrome 3.0, every keystroke you type is sending a packet to Google," Barzdukas told an audience at the RSA conference in London. "Browser vendors need to be careful with privacy."
Google's browser has already come under criticism from Microsoft over privacy. In September, the software maker said Google Chrome Frame--an Internet Explorer plug-in that replaces IE's rendering engine with Google's--doubled the attack area of the Microsoft browser.
Microsoft is engaged in a competitive battle with Google, which in July introduced Chrome OS, a Web-focused operating system that goes up against desktop-focused Windows. Microsoft itself has launched its own search engine, Bing, to compete with Google's market-leading product.
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