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Browser Private Modes Not So Private After All

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the don't-look-at-my-prvates dept.

CWmike writes "Browsing in 'private mode" isn't as private as users think, reports Gregg Keizer. 'There are some traces left behind [by all browsers] that could reveal some of the sites that you've been to,' said researcher Collin Jackson. He, along with three colleagues, will present their findings on Tuesday at the Usenix Security Symposium in DC. IE, Firefox and Safari, for instance, leave traces of SSL encryption keys even when run in private mode, while IE and Safari on Windows preserve self-signed SSL certificates in a 'vault' file that could be read by others to track the browser's path. Firefox also retains evidence of some certificates. Private mode has also been billed as a way for users to hide themselves from the prying eyes of sites that try to track habits and histories. Jackson said most users see that as the biggest attraction to private mode. 'Some browsers do a better job of protecting you from other types of scenarios, such as Web site tracking,' Jackson said. 'Safari is very much more willing to reveal you to Web sites than the others.'"

5 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Biggest Attraction by Surt · · Score: 5, Funny

    I cannot believe how lazy the porn people are. It has been like a whole minute and that site is STILL not up.

    --
    "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
  2. Re:It's good enough.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    If your wife/girlfriend is a CS major with cryptology in her repertoire though... might want to find a different 'hobby'.

    If I had a wife/girlfriend with a CS major in cryptology in her repertoire I wouldn't need a hobby.

  3. Re:It's good enough.. by ciaohound · · Score: 5, Funny

    Your wife is a CS major with cryptology in her repertoire. She just hasn't told you because you'd blow her cover.

    --
    Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
  4. Re:Clean on close by maxwell+demon · · Score: 5, Funny

    But the FBI/CIA/NSA have ways of reading even zeroed drives! (so I hear) Will we ever be safe??

    That's why I one them instead. I've never heard that they can read a oned drive. :-)

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  5. Re:Flash cookies remain too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I run a virtual machine on a live CD, then restore the snapshot, reboot the machine, snap the CD in half, attach a high powered electromagnet to the tower, then burn down the building.