Microsoft has unveiled Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, and is available for download.

The big new feature is InPrivate, which comes in two forms.

InPrivate browsing is for when people don’t want to leave any traces when they’re browsing websites – so no temporary internet files, no form data, no cookies, no browsing history. InPrivate Blocking is slightly different again. This answers the problem, according to Microsoft, of third parties having access to your information without your knowledge.

Other security features include an automatic filter that prevents cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks by scanning link query strings for external code. Rather than blocking the link, the tool simply removes the code link to render the site safe.