How to Change Your Privacy Options in Firefox

Privacy has become an important issue in the Web browser world. Few people want to worry about exposing their personal information to Internet bandits. The latest Firefox Web browser enables the user to change his or her privacy options at any time.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Internet access

Instructions

Change Privacy Options in Firefox

1. Access the privacy options. From the top menu bar, click Tools (Windows) or Firefox (Mac). From the drop-down menu, choose Options for Windows and Preferences for a Mac.

2. Click on the Privacy icon to display all of the available privacy options.

3. Look through the first box, entitled History, and decide if you want to change the number of days Firefox will remember the URLs of sites you've visited. Also, you can have Firefox remember what you've downloaded as well as information you enter in forms and the search bar.

4. Make any changes to the options present in the box labeled Cookies, which include how long you want to keep cookies and if there are any sites you wish to prevent from using cookies. Click on the 'Show Cookies' button to see all cookies currently stored on your computer. Here, you have the option to delete them as well.

5. Decide how you want to change the management of your private data. From the Private Data box, click 'Settings.' Check or uncheck the boxes to tell Firefox what it should erase when you clear your private data. Click 'OK.'

6. Save the privacy changes by clicking 'OK' for Windows users, or simply close the Preferences box if you're on a Mac.

Tips & Warnings

• Secure the most recent version of Firefox by visiting the download page on the Mozilla Web site (see Resources below).

• Make sure you've got the required minimum system requirements on your computer before downloading Firefox. Mac OS X 10.2 or higher, a 233 Mhz processor, 64 MB of RAM and 50 MB of free disk space are needed for all Mac users. Run Windows 98 or higher and see that you have 50 MB of free disk space, a 233 Mhz processor and 64 MB of RAM. For Linux users, you'll need the Linux kernel 2.2.14, a 233 Mhz processor, 64 MB of RAM and 50 MB of free disk space.

• - Gather all the necessary information for using Firefox by visiting the support page of the Mozilla Web site (see Resources below).

• - Engage the many different security option made readily available in the new Firefox browser. You'll find a pop up blocker and settings for the browser to detect forged Web sites.

• The following steps were written for Firefox version 2.0.0.2. If you're running a prior version, some or all of the steps might not apply.