'porn' mode

'Porn mode' not necessarily anonymous

The private browsing options provided by the four major Web browser publishers aren't as anonymous and secure as most users might think, researchers at Stanford University's Computer Science Security Lab said in a new paper (PDF) to be published next week at the Usenix Security Symposium.

In tests comparing the anonymity and security of the private browsing modes in Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari, the paper concludes that "current private browsing implementations provide privacy against some local and Web attackers, but can be defeated by determined attackers."

When activated, the private … Read more

HideTab lets you cloak embarrassing tabs quickly

Besides blazing fast JavaScript benchmarks, privacy mode is the big new feature in modern browsers. The latest version of Firefox includes many privacy enhancements that can keep others from seeing what you've been up to while online. But what if a friend, family member, or boss wants to borrow and/or look at something on your computer? How do you play it cool and hide tabs you don't want them to see?

Developer Diego Ruiz has come up with a solution called HideTab that does just that. You can very quickly hide one or all open tabs with … Read more

New Firefox privacy mode released to testers

Late Monday a small, yet big Firefox feature was released to testers of Minefield, Mozilla's testbed application for new browser innovations. The new feature is private browsing, also known in some circles as "porn mode." When toggled, it takes your Web history, user names, passwords, searches, and cookies and bins them the second you close out the window, effectively making it appear that the session never existed.

Monday night's Minefield build included said privacy mode in all its glory, giving browser users the freedom to hide their browsing habits from others.

Similar to the implementation found … Read more