Filed under: Internet, Security, Mozilla, Open Source, Beta, Browsers
Firefox's private browsing feature debuts in latest Minefield build
Back in September, the Mozilla wiki provided clues that private browsing was indeed back on the radar for version 3.1 of Firefox. With the release of beta 2 looming, anxious testers can preview the feature by downloading the latest nightly build.
To enable the feature, click the tools menu and then click private browsing to enable it. You'll be asked to confirm your selection and restart the browser. Eschewing any blatant notification that you've activated the feature, Minefield will simply add (Private Browsing) to the application 's title bar.
You'll also see a notice that private browsing is enabled and what exactly that means: browsing, search, form, and download history will not be saved, nor will cookies or temporary files. Any new downloaded files or bookmarks will be retained.
Eshan Akhgari has more information available about private browsing, and thankfully he's put forth a possible application that doesn't directly involve NSFW surfing: "an example scenario would be looking for a new employer while at work."
Interested in trying it out? Grab the latest release from Mozilla's ftp.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eric C Rusch Jr said 3:32PM on 11-04-2008
It can be a useful feature, even for non-nsfw scenarios like in development I've used it to temporarily disable caching so I always see the latest copy of a freshly published page. It's nice to see it built in, but users of the "Stealther" plug-in have had this feature for quite a while.
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Jash Sayani said 4:25PM on 11-04-2008
As Expected....
1. Safari
2. Chrome
3. IE 8 B2 (B1 did not have it)
4. Firefox's Turn.....
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Generic said 8:09AM on 11-05-2008
Not bad at all. Firefox is a really good browser and I like that Google only handed the open-source community some important features without pushing out other browsers from the internet. IMHO Google could have easily competed with the likes of Internet Explorer but chose not to.
As for Firefox, I am reading Download
Squad, right? Firefox is getting me to the internet and will remain to do so because I choose to (humbly).
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