Do Not Track (DNT) signals whether a user wants online advertisers and websites to track his or her movements. All five major browsers -- Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari -- can send a DNT signal.

In May, Microsoft announced that DNT would be switched on by default for IE10. That stance has not changed -- if users take no action, the feature will be enabled -- but today the company's chief privacy officer noted that customers can modify the setting if they want.

Setting choices after installation but before software runs is often described as a "first-run" option.

"DNT will be enabled in the 'Express Settings' portion of the Windows 8 set-up experience," Brendon Lynch, Microsoft's chief privacy officer, said in a Tuesday post to a . "There, customers will also be given a 'Customize' option, allowing them to easily switch DNT off if they'd like."

Like earlier editions of the operating system, Windows 8 will offer users alternatives when they first run the software. The Express option accepts the defaults Microsoft has set, including DNT, and is assumed if the user does nothing but proceed with the setup.