Microsoft Not Budging on "No Tracking" Default Internet Explorer Settings

Web advertisers would prefer it be easier to follow users online

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is sticking with a decision to make it harder to track users' online behavior, earning plaudits from privacy groups while drawing fire from the advertisers its money-losing Web unit needs most.

After months of criticism that the new tools cut off valuable customer-targeting information, the software maker has no plans to change the automatic setting in its newest Internet Explorer browser that tells websites not to track user behavior, General Counsel Brad Smith said in an interview.