Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3, Google Chrome 4, Apple's Safari 4, and Opera 10 include features that block sites known to host malware and malicious downloads. All but Opera also let you browse without leaving any tracks. But just as important as these protections is ensuring that whichever browser you use is thoroughly patched.
Filtering out bad sites
Firefox's built-in antiphishing tool claims to update its bad-site database 48 times a day, according to Mozilla's Firefox security page. Firefox 3 uses Google's Safe Browsing service to automatically block sites that are known to host malware. The Google Code site describes how Safe Browsing works in Firefox.
To verify that attack-site blocking is enabled in Firefox, click Tools > Options > Security and make sure "Block reported attack sites" is checked.
Firefox will prevent known-bad sites from opening when "Block reported attack sites" is checked.
(Credit: Mozilla Foundation)The same feature is built into Google's own Chrome browser. You can ensure that malware-site filtering is on in Chrome by clicking the wrench icon in the top-right corner, choosing Options, and selecting Under the Hood. "Enable phishing and malware filtering" should be checked. The Google Chrome Help site describes the feature. (Hint: This page looks very similar to the description on the Google Code site.)
Google's Chrome browser blocks known-bad sites when "Enable phishing and malware protection" is checked.
(Credit: Google)The SmartScreen technology in version 8 of Internet Explorer blocks known-malicious downloads as well as bad URLs. Other new security features in IE 8 include automatic blocking of click-jacking and cross-site scripting attacks, automatic crash recovery, and highlighting of the actual domain name in the address bar. The Microsoft Security site describes the SmartScreen Filter and includes links to a SmartScreen FAQ and information for site managers.
Apple's Safari browser added phishing and malware blocking in version 3.2, which was released in late 2008; read about this and other security features in Safari 4 on the Apple Safari site. Likewise, Opera's Fraud Protection predates the phishing and malware filters in IE and Firefox and is enhanced in the latest version 10. But attack-site blocking is only one of Opera's many security features, which you can read about on the Opera site.
Browsing in private
To activate private browsing in Firefox 3, click Tools > Start Private Browsing, or simply press Ctrl-Shift-P. You can set Firefox to start in private-browsing mode by clicking Tools > Options > Privacy and check "Automatically start Firefox in a private browsing session." The Mozilla support site provides more information about this feature. Likewise, put IE 8 in private-browsing mode by clicking Safety > InPrivate Browsing, or by pressing Ctrl-Shift-P. You can also open a new tab and click either Browse with InPrivate or Open an InPrivate Window.
IE 8 also lets you control the information about your browsing habits that's shared with Web tracking services. To activate this feature, click Tools > InPrivate Filtering Settings and choose "Let me choose which providers receive my information." This opens the InPrivate Filtering settings dialog, where you can turn filtering off, choose which services to block from tracking you, or automatically block all trackers.
Internet Explorer 8's InPrivate Filtering lets you block some or all Web tracking services.
(Credit: Microsoft)You can open an incognito window in Google Chrome by clicking the wrench icon in the top-right corner and choosing "New incognito window," or simply press Ctrl-Shift-N. The incognito icon (a shadow figure in a fedora and glasses) appears in the top-left corner of the browser window. The Chrome support site offers a more detailed description of this feature.
Opera lacks an equivalent private-browsing capability but does offer private searching and other identity-blocking features, as described on the Opera site. To activate private browsing in Safari, simply click Safari Settings Menu > Private Browsing.
Automatic and not-so-automatic browser updates
Patching is a way of life with nearly all software, but especially with browsers and the media players associated with them: Adobe Reader, the Flash Player, Apple's QuickTime, and Sun's Java, among others. All of a browser's security features can be rendered useless by a piece of malware that takes advantage of an unpatched hole in the program.
Firefox 3 alerts users to the presence of an update and now also notifies you when your Flash Player is out-of-date. Internet Explorer 8 updates via the Windows Update/Microsoft Update services. Google Chrome made a splash by being the first browser to update itself in the background without requiring any prompting from users. Safari updates automatically via Apple's update service, which also serves up patches automatically for QuickTime, iTunes, and other Apple software. Opera also notifies you automatically when a new version is available.
But updating is too important to leave to others. Back in April, I described Secunia's Online Software Inspector and downloadable Personal Software Inspector, which identify out-of-date programs on your PC. The programs mentioned in that post have all been updated since, but Secunia's services should point you to the most recent versions.
(Note that Secunia sometimes reports a program as being out-of-date when in fact you have the latest version. On my PC, it continually reports my up-to-date Flash Player as being in need of an update, for example. But the free service Secunia provides is worth putting up with this and similar minor annoyances.)
The first thing I saw when I booted my PC yesterday evening was a notice that Google had prevented my default search setting from being changed. I certainly didn't want to switch from searching via Google by default. I hadn't even been considering a search change, regardless of Bing's pretty wallpaper.
The Google Toolbar prevented Windows Search from changing my default search setting without my permission.
(Credit: Google)To find out what program was trying to change my search default, I opened Vista's Event Viewer by pressing the Windows key, typing event viewer, and pressing Enter. I clicked Application in the left pane and scrolled to the approximate time the warning popped up. It took all of about two seconds to realize that Windows Search Service attempted to change my search default.
Vista's Event Viewer identified the Windows Search Service as the likely source of the attempt to change my search default.
(Credit: Microsoft)Well, I can't prove it based solely on the Event Viewer logs, but it's safe to say the search service is the prime suspect. I was relieved that Google prevented the change, but I couldn't recall asking the company to do so. I found the alert setting in the options of the Google Toolbar in Internet Explorer.
The Search tab in the Google Toolbar options lets you generate an alert whenever a program attempts to change your default search setting.
(Credit: Google)Ironically, I couldn't find a comparable setting in the latest version (5.0.20090324) of the Google Toolbar for Firefox, which is my default browser.
The Google Toolbar for Firefox lacks a setting that generates an alert and prevents programs when they attempt to change your default search setting.
(Credit: Google)Should you find your search default has been changed unexpectedly, resetting it is a breeze. In Firefox, type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Browse to and double-click browser.search.defaultenginename. Type the name of any search service listed on the search drop-down menu and press OK.
To add a search engine to the list, click Manage Search Engines and then Get more search engines. Download your engine of choice and restart Firefox to see it among the search options on the menu.
To make the same change in Internet Explorer 8, click the down arrow to the right of the search box and choose Manage Search Providers. Make your selection and choose Set as default. Or choose Find More Providers, pick a search service, and click Add to Internet Explorer to broaden your IE search options.
To change your search default in Google's Chrome browser, click the wrench icon in the top-right corner, choose Options, and make your selection in the "Default search" drop-down menu near the bottom of the Basics tab. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to add search providers to Chrome's list, though you may see more options by clicking Manage, choosing one of the services listed, and clicking Add.
Microsoft has made great strides in educating Windows users about the need to keep their systems secure by downloading and installing the most recent updates. (I still recommend that you set Windows' Automatic Updates to download but don't install, as I described in a blog post from last July.)
The irony of the heightened awareness of Windows updates is that malware is less likely to target vulnerabilities in Windows--or other PC operating systems, for that matter. These days, most viruses and Trojans use holes in your browsers, media players, or Web applications to breach your system's security. That's why it's imperative to keep these programs up-to-date, which is a subject I covered in a post from last April.
Google pushes updates to its Chrome browser automatically--without bothering to let you know about it (the current version is 2.0.172.30). You may think I'm a hypocrite for preventing Microsoft from loading its updates automatically and applauding Google for doing the same thing with its browser. Here's the difference: if a Chrome update causes the program to malfunction, I can simply use another browser, but if a Windows update screws up, my entire system's hosed until I fix it.
If you want to use Chrome to browse without leaving any tracks on your system, press Ctrl-Shift-N to open a new browser window in Chrome's incognito mode. The sites you visit subsequently will not appear in your browser history nor will terms you search for stay in your search history. You won't pick up any new cookies, either.
You'll find plenty of add-ons in the Privacy & Security section of the Firefox Add-ons page that give Firefox a similar stealth mode. You can also choose Tools > Clear Private Data to wipe your tracks in Firefox, but this setting erases all your history in the various categories. Chrome's incognito mode lets you retain the history you want and delete the history you don't want.
Google's Chrome browser lets you surf without leaving tracks on your system via its incognito mode.
(Credit: Google)I've been spending a lot more time browsing with Chrome lately, and not just because of its incognito mode. Chrome seems faster to me than Firefox or Internet Explorer, and I'm getting used to Chrome's streamlined interface. Firefox remains my default browser, however. The one Firefox security add-on I won't browse without is InformAction's NoScript (donationware), which lets you block JavaScript, Flash, and other scripts on a site-by-site and source-by-source basis.
The best way to enhance your privacy while using Firefox is to set the browser to delete cookies each time you close the program. To do so, click Tools > Options > Privacy, select "Always clear my private data when I close Firefox," and click OK.
Check "Always clear my private data when I close Firefox" in the browser's Privacy settings to maintain your Web privacy.
(Credit: Mozilla Foundation)So what about Internet Explorer? IE 8 is said to be more secure than IE 7, which in turn was said to be more secure than IE 6. Two facts remain: Internet Explorer uses ActiveX, which in my opinion is inherently insecure; and IE 8's security options are way too complicated. What do those slider controls mean, really? (Press Alt, click Tools > Internet Options, and choose either the Security or Privacy tab to see what I mean.)
Bonus tip: Encrypt Gmail
I've been using Gmail as my primary e-mail service for several years, but it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I started encrypting my Gmail correspondences. (In fact, encryption wasn't available in Gmail until a couple of months ago.) To use encryption in Gmail, click Settings in the top-right corner of the main window, scroll to the bottom of the General tab, select "Always use https," and click Save Changes. Note that this setting prevents the iGoogle Gmail widget from working, but that's a small price to pay for the added security.
Web privacy resources
For more information on the privacy options in Google services, visit the Google Privacy Center. Along with an FAQ and overview, you'll find privacy videos and specific privacy options for YouTube, Orkut, Blogger, Docs, and other Google services.
The SANS Institute's Internet Storm Center offers a daily Internet threat level (green, the last time I checked) as well as information on the sources of recent Internet-based attacks and extensive links to other Internet security sources.
For a soup-to-nuts look at browser security, read the United States Computer Emergency Response Team's article Securing Your Web Browser. The information was last updated more than a year ago but remains relevant. Some of US-CERT's browser-setting recommendations are overkill for regular, everyday browsing, so take the advice with the proverbial grain of salt.
The second of my three-part update of the 10-Step Security story I wrote three years ago shows that some tech advice stands the test of time. (A post earlier this week freshened up tips one, two, and three from that story, which focus on Windows updates and security features.)
Step 4: Ensure that you can see file extensions and all Windows system files in Windows Explorer and folder windows.
These days, you're less likely to encounter a dangerous executable file masquerading as a harmless type of file, but viewing file extensions and hidden files remains a good idea. The steps in the original article for making this change in XP are the same in Vista's version of Windows Explorer, though you may have to press the Alt key to show the Tools menu.
Step 5: Set the security level of Internet Explorer's Internet zone to High.
There's nothing stale about this advice. Of course, you should now be using IE 7 rather than IE 6, which is much less secure than its successor. The steps to reset your Internet zone security level are a bit different in IE 7: click Tools > Internet Options > Security, choose Internet in the box of zones at the top of the dialog box, move the security-level slider to High, and click Apply or OK.
Set Internet Explorer 7's Internet zone security level to High.
(Credit: Microsoft)As the original article stated, this security level will generate pop-ups whenever you try to open a site that's not on your approved list. To add sites to this list in IE 7, choose the "Trusted sites" icon in the zone box at the top of the Security dialog box, click the Sites button, type the site URLs in the top box one at a time, and click Add. Keep the option on the bottom to require server verification unchecked.
Add the sites you trust to Internet Explorer 7's whitelist.
(Credit: Microsoft)Step 6: Use the NoScript add-on to block scripts in Firefox on a page-by-page and element-by-element basis.
Of course, the simplest way to improve your chances of staying safe on the Web is to use a browser other than IE. I'm not saying Firefox, Opera, and other browsers don't have flaws of their own. It's just that those programs aren't targeted by the bad guys as often as IE is.
Giorgio Maone's NoScript add-on for Firefox lets you decide which scripts are allowed to run before the page loads. NoScript was relatively new back in 2005 when that article was written, but the program has stood the test of time. Note that the program's author accepts donations to offset the cost of maintaining and updating the application.
Another option for blocking Flash content in Firefox is by using Nicolas Martin's Flash Killer add-on. Apart from ensuring that no malware finds its way onto your PC via a Flash file embedded on a Web page, the program speeds up your browsing by blocking Flash ads from loading along with the regular content of the page.
In my next post, I'll revisit the last four tips in 10-Step Security, which deal with e-mail safety.
I have banished the Yahoo Toolbar from my PCs. It's not that I have anything against Yahoo. I use many of the company's services.
It's just that for me, the shortcuts on the Yahoo Toolbar don't justify the lost screen space, especially on my 13.3-inch laptop display.
So imagine my surprise when I happened to find the Yahoo Toolbar listed among Firefox's add-ons. (It snuck in when another user of the machine downloaded the Yahoo IM client.)
You might be surprised by the add-ons and extensions that have wormed their way into your copy of Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 3.
You can work your way through the list of add-ons in your favorite browser, disabling and uninstalling those you don't need. Or you can save time by opening IE 7 and Firefox 3 with all add-ons and extensions disabled.
To open Internet Explorer with no add-ons or ActiveX controls working, click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Internet Explorer (No-Add-ons). (In Vista, a faster way to open IE with no add-ons is by pressing the Windows key, typing Internet Explorer, and choosing Internet Explorer (No Add-ons) in the resulting list of shortcuts.)
To disable all of Firefox's add-ons, you have to open the browser in its Safe Mode (no relation to Windows' own Safe Mode) by clicking Start > All Programs > Mozilla Firefox > Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode). A quicker way is to press the Windows key (in XP, follow this by pressing R), type Firefox -safe-mode, and press Enter.
Disable all add-ons in Firefox by starting the browser in Safe Mode and selecting the "Disable" option.
(Credit: Mozilla)In the Firefox Safe Mode dialog box that appears before Firefox opens, click "Disable all add-ons" and choose the Make Changes and Restart button to run the browser with no add-ons or extensions enabled.
I can't tell you for sure that every feature of every Web site you visit will work as designed, nor can I say unequivocally that you'll be browsing faster with no add-ons enabled. But I made the rounds of my favorite sites in each browser's no-add-ons mode and didn't feel like I was missing anything. In fact, the only way I knew my add-ons were disabled in IE was seeing the Manage Add-ons option grayed out on the Tools menu.
The "Manage Add-ons" option on IE's Tools menu is grayed out when you open the browser with all add-ons disabled.
(Credit: Microsoft)Disabling add-ons and extensions one at a time is a snap in both Firefox and IE. In the former, click Tools > Add-ons, select an entry under the Extensions tab, and click Disable. To toss an extension, click Uninstall. You can disable (but not uninstall) Firefox's plug-ins by clicking the Plug-ins tab, selecting an entry, and clicking Disable.
In IE, you can turn off add-ons one by one by clicking Tools > Manage Add-ons > Enable or Disable Add-ons. You have your choice of four views on the Show menu at the top of the Manage Add-ons dialog box (the default is "Add-ons currently loaded in Internet Explorer"). To disable an add-on, select it and choose Disable at the bottom of the dialog box.
You have a choice of four views when enabling or disabling add-ons in IE's Manage Add-ons dialog box.
(Credit: Microsoft)One reason you may need to disable your browser's add-ons is to troubleshoot poor performance. Microsoft provides a step-by-step guide for fixing problems with Internet Explorer, and one of the steps is disabling your add-ons and re-enabling them individually until the problem recurs, at which time you've found the troublemaker.
You'll find more information about Firefox add-ons at the Firefox Support Knowledge Base.
For most people, browsing is an either-or proposition: they use either Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Mozilla's Firefox. But I'm betting there's a bunch of people like me who find themselves spending time in both browsers, often simultaneously.
The problem is, my list of Firefox bookmarks bears no resemblance to my collection of IE favorites. It took all of about five minutes to solve this problem.
Move your IE favorites to Firefox
Open Firefox 3 and click File > Import to start the Import Wizard. Choose Microsoft Internet Explorer and click Next. Uncheck all the options except Favorites (or retain them if you want to add your IE cookies, history, and Internet options) and click Next and Finish.
Firefox 3 makes it easy to import your Internet Explorer favorites via the Import Wizard.
(Credit: Mozilla Foundation)You can also export your IE favorites manually. To do so, open IE and click File > Import and Export to open the wizard. Click Next, choose Export Favorites, and click Next again. To export all your favorites, click Next again, or drill down the folders listed under Favorites and choose only the shortcuts you want to export before you click Next. Choose a name and location for your favorites file, but be sure to retain the .htm (or .html) format. Click Next > Finish > OK to close the wizard.
Use this file as a favorites backup or to move your list to a copy of IE on another PC.
Add your Firefox bookmarks to IE
In Firefox 3, click Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks. At the top of the Library dialog box, click Import and Backup > Export HTML. Choose a name and location for the file (retain the .htm or .html extension) and click Save. Close the Library dialog.
Now open IE and click File > Import and Export > Next. Choose Import Favorites and click Next again. Click Browse, navigate to and select the bookmarks file you just exported from Firefox, and click Save. After you click Next again, select the folder you want to store the bookmarks in and click Next yet again. Finally, click Finish and OK.
Sync your Firefox bookmarks with Foxmarks
This import-export routine should suffice for people who use only one, two, or even three different PCs. However, if you would prefer to store all your bookmarks in one place or if you frequently browse on public PCs, an online bookmark service may be a better solution. The free Foxmarks add-on for Firefox lets you sync bookmarks on a number of systems and provides access to your shortcuts after you log in at the Foxmarks.com site.
And yes, the site works with both Firefox and IE.
To the short list of life's certainties--death and taxes--we can now add "Web threats."
Early indications are that there will be no quick fix for clickjacking, which enables a PC to be infected with malicious software simply by clicking a disguised link on a Web page. All browsers are equally vulnerable, and there appears to be no sure solution, at least in the short term. Even disabling JavaScript and other advanced Web features won't prevent an infection.
Does this mean you should cancel your broadband account and dig out the ham radio? I don't recommend it. In fact, reports such as these show the folly of believing that our Web browsing is ever completely safe. No hardware or software will ever be 100 percent secure.
Yes, keep your antivirus definitions up-to-date. Yes, use a firewall. Download and install Giorgio Maone's NoScript extension for Firefox (donation requested) to gain site-by-site control over the scripts that run in the browser.
But even these precautions are no substitute for common sense. Be careful about the sites you visit and the links you click. View your e-mail as plain text; Microsoft's support site provides instructions for doing so in Outlook 2003 and 2007. In Mozilla Thunderbird, simply click View, Message Body As, Plain Text.
Last, but definitely not least, every PC user must acknowledge that the day will dawn when their system crashes for good--whether due to a malware attack or (more likely) a hardware or software failure. Keep your data backed up. In addition to creating an image backup of your hard drive once or twice a year, using a program such as Acronis' $50 True Image Home (15-day free trial), use an online backup service to keep your important data files fresh.
Some people seem to think they have carte blanche to spell any which way they want to when they're on the Internet. But whether you're writing Web mail or IMs, filling out a Web form, or just entering a term in Google's search box, spelling matters.
And that's not just because an abundance of spelling errors can make people think you're an eighth grade dropout. (Nothing against eighth grade dropouts!) It's also because misspellings can prevent you from finding the information you're searching for and lead to e-mail miscommunication.
Firefox 2 and 3 have spell-checkers built in, though they're pretty basic. That's a tad better than Internet Explorer 7, which comes spell-checker-less. Free dictionary add-ons enhance Firefox's spelling abilities, and the free IE7Pro provides IE with a way to minimize Web misspellings.
If you're an iGoogler, there's a great new gadget called SpellBoy that puts a spell-checker on your home page.
Activate Firefox's spell-checker
To enable the spell-checker in Firefox, click Tools > Options > Advanced > General, make sure "Check my spelling as I type" is checked, and click OK. Now you'll see the familiar red dots under words the browser's dictionary lacks (including "Firefox," surprisingly).
If you don't see the red dots under misspelled words, right-click and choose Check Spelling. Now when you right-click a misspelling you'll see a handful of optional spellings at the top of the context menu.
I wasn't particularly impressed with the choices Firefox presented for misspellings, so I downloaded the U.S. English dictionary add-on. While I was at it, I also installed the French dictionary add-on, just in case I bump into Ludivine Sagnier in a chat room someday. Right.
Give IE 7 some spelling skills
One of the many reasons I recommend IE7Pro to Internet Explorer users is the great spell-checker in the add-on. To get it operating, choose Tools > IE7Pro Preferences, click Spellchecking in the Modules pane of the Settings window, and click OK.
I was more impressed by IE7Pro's spelling suggestions than with those offered by Firefox's dictionary. As with Firefox, you can add dictionaries for other languages. Plus, you get all the other great IE7Pro features, including a customizable ad blocker and shortcut-key manager.
Add spell-checking to Internet Explorer 7 via the free IE7Pro add-on.
(Credit: IE7Pro) Put a spell checker on your home page
You can check your spelling from any browser by adding Christopher Blum's SpellBoy gadget for iGoogle. Type or paste text into the large SpellBoy window and click Check spelling.
The SpellBoy gadget for iGoogle puts a spell-checker on your browser's home page.
(Credit: Christopher Blum)The gadget gives you a count of possible misspellings and shows each underlined in red. Click one of the entries to see five possible corrections, as well as an empty text box you can use to type your own alternative spelling. Corrected words are shown with a green underline.
Note that this beta has no bells or whistles: You can't add languages or custom dictionaries. There were some comments from early users who claimed they were unable to delete the gadget, but I was able to remove it without any problems. Still, a beta is a beta, so use SpellBoy at your own risk.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer remains the most popular browser in the world. This despite report after report calling the program less secure than Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and other free competitors.
Yet IE remains the preferred browser of nearly four out of five people surfing the Web. If you're one of the Web majority, there's one thing you can do to enhance your online security: Update to the latest IE release.
According to Net Applications, IE 6 accounted for more than 26 percent of the browser market in June 2008, while IE 7 was used by over 46 percent of all people on the Web. If your PC runs Windows 2000 or an earlier version of the OS, you can't upgrade to version 7 of IE. Unless your boss insists that you use the older version of the browser on XP or Vista, you've got no excuse for not upgrading to the safer IE 7.
Unfortunately, Microsoft updates the browser only once a month, and even then not all known holes in the browser will be plugged, as Michael Horowitz pointed out in his Defensive Computing blog last week (scroll down to read the updates).
Even with Microsoft's spotty update record, it pays to upgrade to IE 7, and to download and install all available security patches for that version of the browser. If you set Windows to download updates automatically but prompt you to install them, or to alert you when updates are ready to download (as I described in a previous post), click the update-alert icon when it appears in your system tray to open the Windows Update Control Panel applet. In Vista, choose "View available updates" in the right pane under the Install Updates button.
Click "View available updates" under the Install Updates button in Vista's Windows Update applet.
(Credit: Microsoft)Check the updates you want to install. Look specifically for security patches for Internet Explorer. Once you've made your selections, click Install.
Check the Windows (and IE) updates you want to add and click the Install button.
(Credit: Microsoft)As with all Windows updates, you may want to wait a day or two after an IE patch is released before installing it. Then keep an eye on the tech-news sites for reports of update-related glitches. If all appears to be well with the update, add it to your system. Remember what they say about the pioneers being the ones with the arrows in their backs.
Someday, browsers will make it easy to retrace our Web steps by providing total recall of every page we've opened. Until then, we get the imperfect history features in Internet Explorer and Firefox.
They're imperfect because they seem to remember every page I've visited except the only one I actually need to return to. At least Firefox gives you a few more options for changing how it records your surfing history. With Internet Explorer, the only two options you get are to 1) change the number of days your history is stored and to 2) clear your history completely.
Tweaking Firefox's history settings
To adjust the history settings in Firefox, click Tools > Options > Privacy. Here, you can reset the number of days the browser remembers the sites you visit (the default is nine), or tell Firefox not to record the data you enter into forms and the search bar. You can also erase Firefox's memory of the files and programs you download. The default in both cases is to remember.
Reset the number of days Firefox remembers your browsing history via the Privacy Options dialog box.
(Credit: Mozilla Firefox)When you press Ctrl-Shift-Delete to clear Firefox's private data, you're shown seven options, five of which are selected. I usually just want to clear the cache--Gmail sometimes balks at downloading my in-box unless I clear out the browser's store of temporary files.
To change the defaults, reopen the Privacy Options, and click Settings in the Private Data section. Check the items you want to clear, uncheck those you don't, and click OK. The next time you open the Clear Private Data dialog box, your new defaults will be the only ones checked.
Customize the categories of private data that Firefox deletes by default when you click Clear Private Data.
(Credit: Mozilla Firefox)By default, Firefox shows up to 50 entries in each history folder. You can reduce Firefox's memory consumption (and possibly slow some page reloads) by reducing this entry via the browser's configuration options. Type about:config in the address bar, and press Enter. Scroll to and double-click browser.sessionhistory.max_entries, and enter the maximum number of pages you want Firefox to remember for each site you visit.
Internet Explorer's meager history options
When you click Tools > Delete Browsing History in Internet Explorer 7, you're given five options: Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History, Form data, and Passwords. Or click "Delete all" to clear all five.
Internet Explorer 7's Delete Browsing History dialog box gives you five options.
(Credit: Microsoft)To change the number of days IE stores your browsing history, click Tools > Internet Options, click Settings under "Browsing history" on the General tab, and click the up or down arrows in the History section at the bottom of the resulting dialog box.
Change the number of days Internet Explorer 7 retains a list of the sites you've visited via the Browsing History Settings dialog box.
(Credit: Microsoft)Tomorrow: a Firefox add-on that shows all the files downloaded by the current page.
