how to secure my browser
I am using firefox. I close my browser and walk away from my computer. Someone comes up to my desk. opens firefox and then immediately has access to all my accounts ! How do I get firefox to actually log out of my sync'd account when it closes ? PS. may be someone doesn't actually come to my desk but actually does it remotely. Thats what worries me.
All Replies (6)
First, when you leave your computer, lock the keyboard.
As to Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/use-master-password-protect-stored-logins Use a Master Password to protect stored logins and passwords
The password information is stored in two files in the profile folder. The files are encrypted. The Master Password adds another layer of security.
Hi stewmcghie, Firefox Sync is intended to keep locally stored data and settings in sync between your different installations of Firefox. Even if you manually disconnect Firefox from Sync, the data stays on the computer and anyone who can get hands on Firefox can access it.
There is no simple way to remove locally stored information after disconnecting from your Firefox Account. Similarly, if Sync pushes data and settings from the shared computer to all your other Firefox installations, that will be difficult to disentangle. For this reasons, it is not recommended to use Sync on computers you do not control.
At least, as Fred says, if you set a Master Password, the next person won't be able to affect your Firefox Account (i.e., if they decide to delete your bookmarks, that won't ripple back to your account and other installations of Firefox) or see your saved passwords.
so I tried that with my work PC but at home I have to create another master password. And that is on top of the Firefox password ?
It all seems a bit messy to me. Why can't it just ask me if I want to log in when I start Firefox ?
i have been playing with this and it seems impossible to actually clear everything from Firefox. I sign out from firefox and yet it still remembers my gmail login. I clear cookies etc. and it still remembers it. This just seems like a massive security hole. It is all very well saying lock your computer but I used 3 or 4 different devices to access my email. If someone gets into one of them (either physically or via Malicious software) then suddely they have access to my email and therefore that opens the door to so many accounts. I want firefox to forget everything when I log out or shut it down.
stewmcghie said
I sign out from firefox and yet it still remembers my gmail login.
Sync is merging the saved logins of all of your Firefox installations attached to your Firefox Account. Very convenient, but as mentioned before, you need to create a local Master Password to control use of saved logins.
I want firefox to forget everything when I log out or shut it down.
To submit feature suggestions, you have many choices, depending on your desired style of interaction.
Discussion Sites/Advocacy
- Mozilla Discourse: https://discourse.mozilla.org/
- If none of the categories seem to fit, try https://discourse.mozilla.org/c/firefox-development
- Reddit (monitored by Mozilla): https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/
- I saw someone created a Change.org petition but I don't know who sees those
Limited Length Comments
- Feedback site: https://qsurvey.mozilla.com/s3/FirefoxInput/
- Twitter (Mozilla official): https://twitter.com/firefox
Bug Tracking System
- Unfortunately, new feature requests tend to get a low priority: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/
- See: Bugzilla Etiquette
You also could look at carrying your browser around on a USB Flash drive to avoid leaving traces on the PC. For example, this third party build of Firefox:
Maybe consider to use the portable Firefox version that comes with its own profile folder stored on a removable USB drive.
You can install a portable (ESR) Firefox version. The portable version comes with its own profile folder and doesn't interfere with currently installed Firefox versions.