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Microsoft Wants To Learn Your Life
David Utter
Staff Writer
2007-05-25
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Through the wonders of technology, Microsoft thinks it can figure you out based on your web browsing history.
 | | Microsoft Wants To Learn Your Life |  |
The concept of Microsoft being able to tell a lot about you just through a lengthy look at what sites have been browsed may elicit a yawn or a frightened gasp, depending on who you are.
Microsoft Research's Jian Hu in Beijing told New Scientist there's a "strong correlation" between web browsing and personal characteristics.
"The computing giant is developing software that could accurately guess your name, age, gender and potentially even your location, by analysing telltale patterns in your web browsing history," New Scientist said.
It echoes comments by Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who suggested his company's technology could reach a level of personalization that it could recommend a career path for someone. Or just recommend what someone could do on a nice day.
Microsoft's researchers see several ways they could grab enough information to figure you out. Special cookies, web page caches, and proxy servers could be employed.
Then they would look at certain searches and work out the gender and age of the surfer, based on trends in browsing behavior observed among people already. More women than men search online for medical and religious information, for example.
Such ideas are conceptual today, and would face legal challenges if and when they emerge. Should the technology become available, it really changes the meaning of Microsoft's "Where do you want to go today?" slogan, because they will answer that for you in another sentence.
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Tag: Microsoft
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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