Internet Security ABC - The Hows and Whys of Disabling the Auto Complete Feature on your Web Browser

The Hows and Whys of Disabling the Auto Complete Feature on your Web Browser

Autocomplete can be very useful for many Internet users, and is a feature that almost every Internet Service Provider offers. The tool can be used to make Internet browsing much simpler, and many users find great use for it. However, the autocomplete feature can prove to be a security risk for many Web surfers. Some users find that disabling the autocomplete feature is best for preserving their privacy online. There are several ways to disable the feature, but the process usually depends on what Web browser the user has. Web browsers such as Internet Explorer 5 or higher, Netscape 6, 7, Mozilla firefox, and AOL all offer the autocomplete feature. For the Internet Explorer browser, users must begin by choosing the Tools option. Then, from the Tools menu users must select Internet Options. A multi-tabbed dialog

box should appear, and users must select the Content tab. The autocomplete button is contained under the Content tab, which users must click. Once the autocomplete button is clicked, users must uncheck everything. And click the Clear Forms button. To complete the process, users must also click the Clear Passwords button and press OK to close the dialog boxes.

Disabling the autocomplete feature in Netscape 6 Web browser is much different from that of Internet Explorer browser. For Netscape 6 users they must begin by selecting the Edit menu, then selecting Preferences from that menu. Next, select and expand the Privacy & Security category. Under the Privacy & Security category users will find the Web Passwords selection. Users must select Web Passwords, then remove the check that is beside the quote, Remember passwords for sites that require me to log in. The check beside the quote can be removed by simply clicking on the check box. Then users must select the View Stored Passwords button, and from that list of passwords they must select the Web site that is need. After the Web site is selected, users must select Remove and click OK.

The Netscape 7 Web browser is much like that of Netscape 6 autocomplete removal. In this browser users must also select the Edit menu, then select Preferences. Then users must select and expand the Privacy & Security category. Next, under the Privacy & Security category, select Passwords, then remove the check beside the quotation Remember Passwords. After that, users must select the Manage Stored Passwords button, and from the list of passwords select the Web site that is needed. Finally, users must select Remove and click OK, which will return them to the browser.

In Mozilla Firefox, users begin by selecting the Tools menu, then selecting Options. Users should then select the Privacy category, and expand the Saved Form Information section. A check should be removed from the Saved Form Information section by clicking the check box. Next, users should expand the Saved Passwords section, and remove the check box next to it. This Web browser can be customized to disallow storage of passwords for some of the Web pages users visit. Users can perform this task by pressing the View Saved Passwords button, then selecting Remove and clicking OK.

AOL users must begin by going to My AOL or Settings, depending on the version of AOL that is being used. Next, users must select Preferences, and click WWW to open the window that is similar to the one in Internet Explorer. Users should then go to the Content tab, and click on Clear Passwords to clean up preset passwords. Finally, users should press OK, which will return them to the browser. There are many reasons to disable the autocomplete feature. First, while the feature is helpful for many things, it may greatly compromise users security and privacy. Any person that has access to the computer with the feature activated, will be able to see what Web sites have been visited and what information was entered on the sites. Spy software will also be able to use autocomplete data to steal users personal information, such as names, email addresses, passwords, and credit card information.

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