Hi, David;
I had a friend who was a fan of that private web browsing. She believed her
internet visits were untraceable. She's no longer in the land of the living so
I can't tell her about this article. I never dared venturing in that type of
internet exploring. It seems awfully complicated to me. Interesting article.
Take care.
Lillian
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2018 10:06 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Article: There are a lot of misconceptions about
browsing the web in 'incognito' mode, researchers say
For those who would like to try out private browsing mode, here are the hotkeys
to enable it.
Mozilla Firefox: shift-ctrl-P
Google Chrome: shift-ctrl-N
Internet Explorer: shift-ctrl-P
Microsoft Edge: shift-ctrl-P
From cnbc.com
There are a lot of misconceptions about browsing the web in 'incognito' mode,
researchers say Todd Haselton
Browsing the web in incognito mode isn't as private as most people think.
Researchers with the University of Chicago and the Leibniz University of
Hanover recently published the results of a study that included 450
participants. It found that many participants thought "incognito mode" or
"private mode" in a web browser protected their online activity much more than
it does.
If you're unfamiliar with private or incognito mode, here's a bit of
background: typically, browsers suggest that using that option, which is
accessible through the menu bar on most modern web browsers, won't track some
of what you do online.
Google's Chrome web browser, for example, says that it doesn't save your
browsing history, cookies and site data or information entered into forms. This
doesn't mean that data — such as the websites you visit — isn't available to
your school, employer or internet provider. Google warns as much when you start
using incognito mode.
Despite this, lots of people seem to believe these options in web browsers can
do much more than they actually do.
Here are some of the misconceptions highlighted in the report:
• "46.5% of participants 'believed bookmarks saved in private mode would not
persist in later sessions,' when they actually do.
• "40.2% of participants thought websites would not be able to estimate a
user's location," while in private mode. You can make it harder to estimate
your location if you use a VPN.
• "27.1% of participants believed private mode offered more protection against
viruses and malware than standard [mode.]" This is a misconception since any
files you download and open on your computer could still be infected with
malware or viruses.
• "22.0%, 37.0%, and 22.6% of participants mistakenly believed that ISPs,
employers, and the government would be unable to track them when they used
private mode." If you're on someone's network, chances are they can see what
you're doing.
The study also suggests that 56.3% of participants incorrectly believed that
browsing in private mode would hide your search history, since Google could
still log a user's search and save a copy of that query online, not necessarily
on your computer. I tried to replicate this in Chrome and found that a search
for "How tall is Shaquille O'Neal?" wasn't logged by Google or on my local
computer.
"Using private browsing mode on Chrome and Firefox can leave behind browser
traces that could allow someone with access to the local machine to infer
browsing history, evidence that someone has used private browsing, and more,"
one of the researchers, Panya Gupta, explained to me. "As a caveat, correctly
finding and analyzing these browser traces to reconstruct browsing history
would generally require a digital forensics expert and access to the end user’s
machine."
If anything, the research shows that there are a lot of misconceptions about
what's logged and what isn't when you're using incognito or private mode on a
browser. It's probably safe to assume that what you're viewing online can be
found or viewed by others, especially if you're on a work or school network or
downloading files.
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist WWW.David-Goldfield.Com
<http://WWW.David-Goldfield.Com>
You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
for additional resources and information about assistive technology training
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