"In Private" Browsing

There is a feature in found in many of our current browsers, called "InPrivate Browsing" in Internet Explorer, "Incognito mode" in Chrome, "Private Browsing" in Firefox and Safari and Private Tab / Private Window for Opera.   Private browsing allows you to surf the web without storing cookies, history items or cached pages.    Now, this feature is not completely private so don't think this will protect you from the FBI if you are browsing for bomb recipes, or your boss if you are on Facebook instead of working but it will hide your tracks if you decide to browse for your husband's Christmas present on the family computer.

To start Private Browsing in Firefox,  click CTL+Shift+P (at the same time) and it will ask if you wish to start browsing privately. While in private mode, it will show a mask in your address bar.

In Internet Explorer, you can also start InPrivate Browsing with click CTL+Shift+P (at the same time)

In Chrome,  use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N.

Safari doesn't have a built in shortcut but you can add one. Choose Safari from the Application drop-down menu, and type “Private Browsing” into the Menu Title field.  


With Opera, click on File menu, then select New Private Window. Any tab opened in the private window is a private tab. the Keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+N for a new private window. 


Happy Holiday Surfing!