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private 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

Flash 10.1 debuts amid debates about its future

While Apple continues its aggressive campaign to call the future of Flash into doubt, Adobe has released its latest version of the content platform. Adobe Flash 10.1 is now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

By some estimates, Flash powers more than three-quarters of the Internet's video and games. Adobe has had release candidates out for months, going through six previous release candidate versions, not to mention multiple beta releases. The most important improvement for Windows users is that the new version offers hardware acceleration, but the feature isn't fully supported yet on Macs. Adobe plans on supporting … Read more

Force your browser to always start in private mode

Google goes "Incognito," Microsoft's is "InPrivate," the other browsers call it "Private Mode," and colloquially it's known as "porn mode." Whatever you call the tracks-free way to browse, watch this how-to video to force your favorite browser to always start with its privacy protocols activated.