PressPass spoke with Richard Purcell, Microsoft director of corporate privacy, and Steve Lipner, manager of the Microsoft Security Response Center, to find out more about the objectives behind the consumer privacy and security Web site. The distinction between privacy issues and security issues can be tough to discern, because the two are somewhat joined at the hip. A breach in security can lead to a privacy breach, but they're not necessarily one and the same. Also, measuring security is generally more objective than measuring privacy. Security is really an issue of how your information is protected from unauthorized or unexpected access, while privacy is more of an issue of how outside operators obtain access to your information and what they do with it.
Privacy is more subjective, since it's largely behavior-driven, and it is more of a continuum.
Security can be thought of as whether a lock is on the door or not, while privacy is more about whether or not somebody is peeking in through the blinds, and whether you care or not. Everyone has their own preferred level of privacy. Microsoft doesn't want to determine on people's behalf what those levels should be, but instead give people enough information and flexible tools to help them make their own decisions. Most at-home Internet users are concerned about privacy and security, yet many of them lack adequate information about how to make their Web experiences safer. People need to take basic precautions associated with using their computers, such as having anti-virus software installed, keeping it up to date, and using strong, distinct passwords wherever they operate.