Internet Explorer provides a number of features that help to protect your privacy and make your computer and your personally identifiable information more secure.

Privacy features allow you to protect your personally identifiable information by helping you to understand how Web sites you view may be using this information and by allowing you to specify privacy settings that determine whether or not you want to allow Web sites to save cookies on your computer.

Privacy features in Internet Explorer include:

• Privacy settings that specify how your computer deals with cookies. Cookies are files created by a Web site that store information on your computer, such as your preferences when visiting that site. Cookies may also store personally identifiable information, such as your name or e-mail address.
• Privacy alerts that let you know when you try to gain access to a site that doesn't meet the criteria in your privacy settings.
• The ability to view a Web site's P3P privacy policy.

Security features help to prevent people from gaining access to information that you have not given them permission to access, such as credit card information you enter when shopping on the Internet. Security features can also protect your computer from unsafe software.

Security features in Internet Explorer include:

• The ability to block most pop-up windows.
• The ability to update, disable, or re-enable Web browser add-ons.
• Enhanced security features to warn you when a Web site is trying to download files or software to your computer.
• Digital signatures, which verify that a file comes from the person or publisher it claims to be from, and that no one has tampered with it since it was digitally signed.
• 128-bit secure connection for using secure Web sites.

For more information about protecting your computer and your privacy online, visit the Microsoft Security and Privacy Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/) and the Microsoft Protect your PC Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/).