The latest nightly build of Firefox 3.1 included a first version of the long awaited private browsing feature. Private Browsing is basically browsing the Internet in a sandbox that does not write any data of that session on the computer’s hard drive. Unlike Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode Firefox will close all tabs that have been opened before starting the Private Browsing mode and restore them once the Private Browsing session is closed again. Google Chrome on the other hand is opening a new browser window keeping the previously opened tabs which makes it possible to switch between normal and private sessions.
It is important to note that private browsing is only helpful to avoid records of browsing sessions on the computer used. It does not hide the user from the Internet Provider or websites that they visit.
Private Browsing can be enabled in the Firefox Tool menu. It will display a popup that contains information that private browsing mode will be started and all currently open tabs will be saved to be reopened after the private browsing session ends.
Firefox will not record browsing history, search history, download history, web form history, cookies and temporary Internet files. Bookmarks as well as downloads on the other hand will be retained in private browsing mode.
Firefox will add the (private browsing) string to the title which is a indicator for anyone that Private Browsing is enabled. Private Browsing can be disabled from the Tools menu again by selecting the same menu entry that activated it.
Users who regularly clear data when closing Firefox might wonder why they should be using the Private Browsing mode at all. The main difference between clearing data when closing the browser and using the Private Browsing mode is that the Private Browsing mode will never store data on the hard drive. This might however happen when cleaning Firefox data by closing the browser. First, data could be recovered and second it will still be there if Firefox closes unexpectedly.
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4 Responses to “First Look At Firefox’s Private Browsing Mode”
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Private Browsing for me is a way to keep spyware and viruses (and botnets) from sneaking onto my computer. If a virus sneaks into my registry or system files without the sandbox, clearing Firefox’s history will not remove it. Sandboxing is not a guarantee that you will not need security software, but it is my first line of defense.
Private browsing is for porn :D Like in that song, Internet is for porn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GGGAJ_2TvQ
useless. i always run Firefox inside Sandboxie anyway…