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Et Tu, Mozilla? Firefox 3 To Get Privacy Mode

CWmike writes "Mozilla will respond to Google's Chrome and Microsoft's IE8 with its own private-browsing, or 'porn' mode in Firefox, according to notes posted on its Web site, and is on track to deliver one in 3.1, the version that will likely go beta next month."

22 of 326 comments (clear)

  1. And Responding to Safari... by overeduc8ed · · Score: 5, Informative

    Safari has had a private/pr0n browsing mode for 3+ years...

  2. There have been plugins for this for a long time. by HungryHobo · · Score: 4, Informative

    firefox has had plugins for this for some time, they just weren't there by default.

  3. Re:There have been plugins for this for a long tim by Daimanta · · Score: 4, Informative

    True.

    First page I found in Google:

    http://lifehacker.com/software/privacy/download-of-the-day-stealther-firefox-extension-174752.php

    When you have a good extension system, not everything needs to be incorporated anymore. Like an Adblocker...

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
  4. Eh,new? by miffo.swe · · Score: 1, Informative

    Just press CTRL-SHIFT-DEL after youre done with the pr0n. It can also be done automagically every time you logout.

    --
    HTTP/1.1 400
  5. Once again... by MyLongNickName · · Score: 2, Informative

    Mozilla follows Microsoft's lead.

    (takes wagers on how this gets modded)

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  6. Links? by consonant · · Score: 4, Informative

    Uh, I know CWmike wants to promote Computerworld and all, but really a link to at least one of the "notes posted on its website" would have also been helpful..

  7. Re:Mind your French by kshade · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dude, Latin, not French.

  8. Actually by tmk · · Score: 4, Informative

    The privacy mode was included in some alphas of Firefox 3.0. The developers decided to postpone this feature because the release of 3.0 was already delayed.

  9. Re:There have been plugins for this for a long tim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    True.

    First page I found in Google:

    http://lifehacker.com/software/privacy/download-of-the-day-stealther-firefox-extension-174752.php

    When you have a good extension system, not everything needs to be incorporated anymore. Like an Adblocker...

    Absolutely. I've used Stealther for a long while. It's the first thing I download (followed by NoScript) and... Well... I don't see a reason to incorporate that to FF. It's quick to get it and easy to find for anyone who wishes to have such... It works just like the extensions are supposed to work in FF!

    (That said, the stealther should get some bug fixes. It doesn't remove whole history but if visiting example.com and example2.com before putting it on, then visiting example2.com and example3.com and turning it off again, example 2 has been removed from history, etc.)

  10. Re:There have been plugins for this for a long tim by techstar25 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, aren't most of these features built in already? It's built into the Options -> Privacy tab.
    According to the article, "privacy mode" would do the following:

    * Discard all cookies acquired during the private session.
    * Not record sites visited to the browser's history.
    * Not autofill passwords, and not prompt the user to save passwords.
    * Remove all downloads done during the session from the browser's download manager.

    All of those things can be set on the Privacy tab, in Options. Am I wrong?

  11. Re:There have been plugins for this for a long tim by diegocgteleline.es · · Score: 4, Informative

    direct link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1306

    It has 820.000 downloads, so it's not like people have been missing this functionality from firefox...

  12. Well technically by DrYak · · Score: 4, Informative

    FireFox/FireBird/Phoenix/FireWhatever has from day one featured an option for scraping any traces (and same for Mozilla and Netscape).

    The subtlety is that until now the control was rather coarse (you could either remove most of the traces or leave all of them. You could chose *which traces* : history, cache, cookies, etc. but *not wich tabs* you removed all cookies or all urls etc.).
    Whereas now you can fine tune for only some tabs.
    (although cookies could be changed from permanent to session-only for specific URLs)

    On the other hand, I was under the impression that Inter Explorer until very recently had the capability to only remove some traces (it was possible to purge the cache with a simple button click, but not all other forms of traces). But I haven't been a regular IE user, so I can't reliably assert whether or not IE could scrap all traces.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  13. Not Convinced Until.... by FooMasterZero · · Score: 2, Informative

    I will not be convinced of browser privacy modes to be fully effective until browsers decide to also have that carried over into the flash realm. I have confirmed that even in Safari's private mode; flash ads and programs still set cookies, and they are not erased when the session is closed like everything else. I find it also more frustrating that because it is flash; this cookie information goes across browsers since it is stored outside the realm of the browser. For the record i also find it frustrating and convoluted on how one must actually go to some web site on adobe.com to remove flash data like that.

  14. Subtle difference in Granularity by DrYak · · Score: 5, Informative

    All of those things can be set on the Privacy tab, in Options. Am I wrong?

    The subtle difference is that since the old NetScape days, the pivacy can only controlled for the whole browser :
    You either scrap your whole history or you keep it.

    In Chrome, Safari and starting from version 3.1 of FireFox :
    one tab could be in private mode (for example not saving any cookie nor cache) while the next tab could be a normal tab with your usual web AJAX application running.

    Although I fail to realise who could simultaneously need to be able to fap at some p0rn in one tab while writting TPS reports at the very same time in the next tab.
    That's multitasking taken to some really weird proportion.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  15. Re:What's the use? by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Informative

    3m privacy film on you laptop/LCD? works great for me at work. they need to get very close to you to see what you are doing.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  16. Re:There have been plugins for this for a long tim by Wartburg · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can disable the "disable cookies" option in the settings, leaving all other option available then Stealther is active. I also tried adding the functionality of having a "temporary cookie store" but things got messy, so I kept the current functionality, upgrading the add-on mostly only to keep up with the Firefox releases. Looks like it will soon be obsolete anyway, so thanks to everyone for using it ;) /author

  17. The beauty of extensions by MasaMuneCyrus · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Distrust extension for Firefox DOES remove flash cookies, and it sits as a convenient toggle-button in the status-bar.
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1559

    At least in my opinion, it's a lot nicer to just click a button and browse privately, and then click it again after you're finished than to have to open up a whole new window like in Chrome. I really think the "open new Incognito window" would be more usable if it was an "open new Incognito tab", instead. Although maybe that's just my opinion.

  18. Re:Realism by SleepingWaterBear · · Score: 4, Informative

    Flashblock - don't let it run in the first place and it can't put cookies on your system.

    Actually, Flashblock doesn't prevent flash from running - it just shuts it down quickly, so it doesn't block cookies at all.

  19. That *is* a session cookie by DrYak · · Score: 2, Informative

    (although cookies could be changed from permanent to session-only for specific URLs)

    So reddit or many other sites, for example, keeps asking if you are over 18 and won't allow you past until you allow it to set a cookie. With a sandboxed approach, the site can set the cookie to its hearts content and you, the user, know that the sandbox will be wiped clean when you close the browser/tab.

    Congratulation, you successfully described a "session" cookie.

    BTW that's my default type of cookies (Setting : "consider all cookies as session cookies". Then only put exception to the couple of website where I really need cookies carying data from one session to another).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  20. Re:Realism by McBeer · · Score: 2, Informative

    its just sad that people don't have self control over their biological behavior and are driven around like horny stray dogs...

    Sexual activities has many proven health benefits such as (but not limited to):

    Decreased change of stroke/heart attack
    higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A, which is known to boost the immune system.
    Lower rates of depression
    Increased bladder control(mainly women)
    Decreased risk of prostate cancer (Men only. Still debated)
    Reduced PMS symptops (obviously women only)

    The list goes on. Obviously real sex delivers better results then solo sex, but some people don't have continuous access to the real thing. Bottom line: Porn makes you healthier and FF now helps. Demean my self control all you want. Ceteris paribus, I'm healthier then you for watching porn.

    --
    Hikery.net - The best hiking site ever. Made by yours truly.
  21. Re:Realism by Gewalt · · Score: 2, Informative

    Flashblock - don't let it run in the first place and it can't put cookies on your system.

    Actually, Flashblock doesn't prevent flash from running - it just shuts it down quickly, so it doesn't block cookies at all.

    No, but AdBlock (plus) will prevent those silly flash ads from ever being downloaded in the first place. a much better solution.

    --
    Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
  22. Re:The thing Is, Firefox used to be realistic by CSMatt · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Clear Private Data function in Firefox 3 clears the address bar as well, or at least it always has for me.