Privacy group: Microsoft programs track email readers

Reuters reports on Microsoft’s email tracking bug: Documents created with some Microsoft Corp. software can be rigged to “phone home” to another computer and report where and how often a document is read, a privacy organization said Wednesday. The technique, known as a “Web bug,” takes advantage of a shortcut for including images in Microsoft’s Word word processor, Excel spreadsheet software and PowerPoint presentation program, the Denver-based Privacy Foundation said on its Web site.