All Microsoft wants is to help. That’s all.

Take the new anti-phishing filter. Here’s all it does:

  • Compares sites you visit to Microsoft’s OK list on your computer;
  • Queries Microsoft servers for information on all unknown sites;
  • If all else fails, uses heuristics for an educated guess.

Nothing sinister about that, is there? Some folks think Microsoft’s getting a bit too close for comfort… claim it’s a complete handover of privacy. Microsoft will know everywhere you go. Everything you do.

Will Seattle Blue use the information against you? Naw, not on purpose. That wouldn’t be right. But with Microsoft’s spotty security record (hundreds of documented vulnerabilities), it’s not hard to imagine someone else doing it.

Soon.