Industry guru Dave Taylor offers free tech support on a wide variety of technical and business topics, including HTML, Apple iPhone, online advertising, Cascading Style Sheets, Web design, management, Unix, Linux, search engine optimization, online dating, Mac OS X, shell script programming and Microsoft Windows.

Does Firefox support private Web browsing?

My parents are always checking up on what Web sites I visit and it's getting really old. Is there some way to have Firefox hide where I go so they can't keep tab on me?


Dave's Answer:

First off, yeah, I'm a parent, so let me say that if you're going places that your parents prefer you didn't, then maybe you should respect their wishes or work with them to create the trust that will let them allow you to visit the site or sites without any duplicitousness?

No? You'd rather just hide your tracks? Well, I can reluctantly show you one very cool Firefox feature that'll let you do exactly what you seek, use it to surf the Web without leaving any crumbs or clues...

Launch Firefox and go to Preferences --> Privacy. You'll see this:

Firefox Preferences: Privacy

Look closely near the bottom and you'll see "Always clear my private data when I close Firefox". That's what you want to set, so check that, then click on "Settings..." immediately adjacent. Now you'll see that you can specify which data should be wiped:

Firefox Preferences: Privacy: Private Data Settings

Check all of these and then each time you quit Firefox you'll leave no trace of cookies, password settings, browser history, download history, saved forms, etc etc etc. No trail.

That's what you want, right? Good luck.



Help others find this article at Del.icio.us, Digg, Netscape, Reddit, and Stumble Upon    

Subscribe!

Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader.

Comments

Tune in next week for... How do I track my kid's Internet usage after Firefox wipes the tracking data? ;)

Posted by: Carol at November 14, 2007 2:57 PM

Right on, Carol -- my question exactly!

(I suppose you can pretend you are Homeland Security and simply email Verizon/ATT -- you'll get all the info you ever wanted -- and plenny more -- on your child's personal behaviors...)

Posted by: Jake at November 15, 2007 3:15 PM

You'd have to do really good pretending. The ISP NOCs require a warrant before releasing private information about a user.

Posted by: Winston at November 19, 2007 4:01 PM

duplicitousness, is not a word. duplicity is the word youre looking for.

Posted by: jp at December 17, 2008 12:39 PM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











Remember personal info?


Please note that I will never send you any unsolicited email. Ever.

While I'm at it, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site.








Ask Dave Taylor: The iPhone App: Advertisement



Follow me on Twitter @DaveTaylor

Search
Find just the answers you seek from among our 2300+ free tech support articles by using our Lijit search engine.


Help!





Subscribe to
Ask Dave Taylor!

Add to Google Reader
Add to My Yahoo!
Subscribe in NewsGator Online

RDF   XML

Free Updates!
Sign up and get free weekly updates and special offers on books, seminars, workshops and more.


Recent Entries
Book Links
© 2002 - 2010 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site.

[whiteboard marker tray]
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.