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No you aren’t being paranoid. When you use a
browser and visit a website, the odds are, you
are being tracked. Could be it’s your browsing
habits and interests being tracked. It could be
the collection of data is about the device you are
using. Or, it could be that the website is simply
counting the number of people visiting their
web page. Private browsing, or incognito mode,
is a useful feature that can come in handy in a
variety of situations. Essentially, private browsing
involves a setting on the browser that disables
several standard tracking and data collection
features that most browsers commonly use.
Did you ever wonder how companies are able
to display “Your Recently Viewed Items” or
“Others interested in this product also viewed…?”
Cookies! Used in this manner, some may consider
browser tracking helpful. If you browse in the
typical normal mode, cookies can be used by
sites to track visitors and save your password for
that website. Cookies, though, can also be used
to track your search and web history. Beware the
functionality of cookies if you are using a shared
login in a classroom, on an employee machine, or
a friend’s computer. Instead, consider browsing
in a more private manner. Below are situations
where private browsing is suggested.
1) Logging into your accounts on someone
else’s computer.
2) Avoiding autofill history on public computers.
If you are using someone else’s machine
and would like to get on Facebook, Moodle,
or the Portal, IT suggests using the private
browsing mode because chances are, the
owner of the machine uses these sites as
well. Private browsing can help prevent the
saving of passwords and history, as well
as automatically logging you out when the
private browsing session is closed. This
means that the owner of the machine can’t
access your accounts because the history
or passwords were not saved.
Since the classrooms that contain
technology packages have a shared login,
the possibility of a browser saving and or
populating your passwords or other information
automatically is very real.
3) Leave a smaller footprint.
Using the private browsing feature is just a
simple way you can protect yourself and your
information. To activate the private browsing
feature on any browser, just right click your
browser icon on your task bar at the bottom of
the computer screen and select new private or
incognito window from the menu.
If you would like to use this feature and need
assistance, contact the IT Help Desk via chat, by
), by phone (573-651-
4357), or by visiting the Help Desk in Memorial
Hall, room 107, or Towers Complex, room 108.
- Alexsis Whitworth, Help Desk
While private browsing will not hide your
tracks from the network provider, private
browsing can help you by logging out of all
your accounts, not saving your passwords,
and erasing your history.
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