"New Private Window" [RESOLVED]

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NTxLS
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:59 pm

"New Private Window" [RESOLVED]

Post by NTxLS » Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:36 pm

[b]Greetings[/b] from the [b][u]Great[/u] [u]Country[/u][/b] of [b][quote]TEXAS[/quote][/b],

When opening FireFox as "New Private Window," why is the body of that filled in with much about what FF is doing for that particular operation? NONE of the additional tabs opened have any of this information. Does this mean that none of that info is used in any of the added tabs? OR do we just not use that feature at all?
TIA, CU L8R,
'd' "Lone Wanderer"
O/S Win7 x64 SP1, FF v45.0.x + several Security Monitors and scanners

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DaveG
Flagfox Developer
Posts: 723
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:06 pm
Location: Philadelphia, USA

Re: "New Private Window"

Post by DaveG » Tue Apr 12, 2016 6:30 am

This is a forum for the Flagfox addon, which can be installed in Firefox. It is not a general Firefox support forum.

That said, I can answer your question easily. ;)

TL;DR: In a "Private Browsing Window", yes, the other tabs in that particular window also are running in private browsing mode, with the same features stated when first opened. Private Browsing windows have a little purple mask icon on their tab strips indicating them as such.

When you open a private browsing window, it presents you with an explanation of what a private browsing window does. This is not just for people who don't know what it is, but also to state what it is not. For everything within that window, including new tabs within that window (opening a blank one shows the same message), Firefox will not save anything to your hard drive unless you explicitly tell it to. No cookies or cache; no logins or history. If you intentionally bookmark/favorite something, it will do so and that will persist outside of private browsing mode. Likewise, if you download a file and save it somewhere, Firefox will happily oblige. When you close that window, the record of what you did and any open logins or other site settings will be forgotten. It's important to note that if you have on your computer or network some traffic monitoring software, e.g. your work keeps track of what you're doing on its computer, Firefox is incapable of avoiding that. Basically all of the various different browsers' private browsing modes operate similarly.

Standard example: If you use someone else's computer to check your email/facebook/whatever, say in a library or at a friends house, it would be best to use a private browsing window. Close the window when you're done and you don't have to worry about logging out or leaving bits of personal information someone could dig into to steal account information.

Click here for Mozilla's support article on the topic.

NTxLS
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:59 pm

Re: "New Private Window"

Post by NTxLS » Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:32 am

Excuse me, please? I did not realize this was FlagFox's forum. Also would like to thank you very muchly for this information.

This is one point I have seen before with other Forums, being very wise and willing to assist if they can answer a question. Also note you provided a link to the FireFox Forum, Mozillazine. Reason for my ERROR: was very tired and did not watch close enough to prevent this mistake. Will be more watchful in future . .
TIA, CU L8R,
'd' "Lone Wanderer"
O/S Win7 x64 SP1, FF v45.0.x + several Security Monitors and scanners

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DaveG
Flagfox Developer
Posts: 723
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:06 pm
Location: Philadelphia, USA

Re: "New Private Window"

Post by DaveG » Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:41 am

The link I posted above is to Mozilla Support (support.mozilla.com), whereas MozillaZine (forums.mozillazine.org) is a community forum not run by Mozilla. That get's mixed up all the time, though they try to state the distinction where they can. Both have Firefox forums, but the latter is unofficial.

Don't worry; you're not the first and will probably not the last to post a general Firefox support question here by mistake. Not a problem. ;)

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