The company is jumping on a Wall Street Journal story accusing Google of sneaking past Safari's privacy settings to lash out at its rival.
Microsoft now has more ammunition in its battle against Google to win over Internet users.
The company today criticized its frequent rival following a Wall Street Journal story accusing Google of sidestepping the privacy settings in Apple's Safari to track Internet users. The Journal said today that the search giant and other ad companies used special code to get around Safari's privacy controls in order to track users on computers and mobile devices.
Swooping in just as the news was fresh, Microsoft naturally took advantage of the report to its own benefit.
"Apparently, Google has been able to track users of Apple's Safari browser while they surf the web on their Apple iPhones, iPads and Macs," Ryan Gavin, General Manager for Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, wrote in a blog posted today. "This type of tracking by Google is not new. The novelty here is that Google apparently circumvented the privacy protections built into Apple's Safari browser in a deliberate, and ultimately, successful fashion."
Beyond getting in yet another dig at Google over privacy concerns, Gavin took the opportunity to tout Microsoft's own browser.
"If you find this type of behavior alarming and want to protect your confidential information and privacy while you're online, there are alternatives for you," Gavin wrote. "Windows Internet Explorer is the browser that respects your privacy. Through unique built in features like Tracking Protection and other privacy features in IE9, you are in control of who is tracking your actions online."
Of course, Microsoft is also criticizing Safari for apparently being vulnerable enough to let Google bypass its security settings.
But the assertion here is that Internet Explorer is so strong that it wouldn't have been compromised by Google's code as was Safari. The only limitation is that IE isn't available on Macs or on Apple's mobile devices, so the point is essentially moot.
Still, the main battle, as always, is between Microsoft and Google.
The two companies have competed and traded virtual blows on a variety of fronts. Microsoft recently pounced on its rival over the search giant's proposed changes to its privacy policies, asserting that Hotmail and Office 365 are safer and more secure than the alternatives offered by Google.
The company today criticized its frequent rival following a Wall Street Journal story accusing Google of sidestepping the privacy settings in Apple's Safari to track Internet users. The Journal said today that the search giant and other ad companies used special code to get around Safari's privacy controls in order to track users on computers and mobile devices.
Swooping in just as the news was fresh, Microsoft naturally took advantage of the report to its own benefit.
"Apparently, Google has been able to track users of Apple's Safari browser while they surf the web on their Apple iPhones, iPads and Macs," Ryan Gavin, General Manager for Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, wrote in a blog posted today. "This type of tracking by Google is not new. The novelty here is that Google apparently circumvented the privacy protections built into Apple's Safari browser in a deliberate, and ultimately, successful fashion."
Beyond getting in yet another dig at Google over privacy concerns, Gavin took the opportunity to tout Microsoft's own browser.
"If you find this type of behavior alarming and want to protect your confidential information and privacy while you're online, there are alternatives for you," Gavin wrote. "Windows Internet Explorer is the browser that respects your privacy. Through unique built in features like Tracking Protection and other privacy features in IE9, you are in control of who is tracking your actions online."
Of course, Microsoft is also criticizing Safari for apparently being vulnerable enough to let Google bypass its security settings.
But the assertion here is that Internet Explorer is so strong that it wouldn't have been compromised by Google's code as was Safari. The only limitation is that IE isn't available on Macs or on Apple's mobile devices, so the point is essentially moot.
Still, the main battle, as always, is between Microsoft and Google.
The two companies have competed and traded virtual blows on a variety of fronts. Microsoft recently pounced on its rival over the search giant's proposed changes to its privacy policies, asserting that Hotmail and Office 365 are safer and more secure than the alternatives offered by Google.