Bek-The-Tech: Going Incognito.. a Good thing or Bad thing?

So many people don't have a clue about all the wonderful and yes, Odd, things your computer programs, especially your browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc) can offer you.

What is Incognito/Private Mode?
Usually called "Porn Mode" for those who like to surf porn (and don't think it's all guys, about half of the viewers are now women, yes, that will surprise a lot of you!)

Incognito mode can help keep your browsing private.. like why would you need to do that? Let me count some ways ~ the shame free options:
1. Buying gifts you'd not like your mate to see for their surprise birthday party
2. Checking your medical history, searching for delicate research searches, like for HIV, etc.
3.Not showing your log in page with the password already saved
4. Logging into your banking or paying your bills, especially in public wifi facilities.

Public libraries often are not well-maintained so even you can check the history of where previous users went. Seriously dangerous TO THEM if you find their log ins and saved passwords. There are So many who have NO clue as to how to work a computer, but use them all over the place.

To make sure no one stumbles onto your internet travels, click first into your incognito mode. Here is how with chrome:
You can open an incognito window on your computer and mobile devices to prevent Chrome from saving your browsing history. You can switch between an incognito window and any regular windows you have open. You'll only be in incognito mode when you're using the incognito window.

Open a Chrome window
In the top-right corner of the browser window, click the Chrome menu .
Select New Incognito Window.
A new window will open with a gray figure in the top-right corner
To close incognito mode, go to the corner of each of your incognito windows and click the X.

Incognito mode isn't available if the account is a part of Windows 10's "Family Mode."

Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut and press Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS) and ⌘ + Shift + N (Mac) to open an incognito window.

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95464?hl=en

Firefox:

As you browse the web, Firefox remembers lots of information for you - like the sites you've visited. There may be times, however, when you don't want people with access to your computer to see this information, such as when shopping for a present. Private Browsing allows you to browse the Internet without saving any information about which sites and pages you’ve visited.

Open a new, blank Private Window

Click the menu button and then click New Private Window.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/private-browsing-use-firefox-without-history?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=private-browsing-browse-web-without-saving-info#w_how-do-i-open-a-new-private-window

Interenet Explorer 9:

InPrivate Browsing

Keep your information to yourself with InPrivate Browsing

Sometimes you don’t want to leave a trace of your web browsing activity on your computer. Whether it’s shopping for a gift on a shared PC or checking an account at an Internet café, you don’t want to leave any evidence of your browsing or search history for others to see.

InPrivate Browsing helps prevent your browsing history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and user names and passwords from being retained by the browser. You can start InPrivate Browsing from the Safety menu, by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P, or from the New Tab page. Internet Explorer will launch a new browser session that won’t keep any information about webpages you visit or searches you perform. Closing the browser window will end your InPrivate Browsing session.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/products/ie-9/features/in-private

So, there are many reasons to use Incognito and Private Browsing and not just for porn and questionable viewing.

Another thing to know, once you shut down your browser and want to bring it back up and get back to where you were, it will be gone.

Only know that it can't keep your browsing activities private from your ISP or online snoops, or even keyloggers if you've annoyed anyone who doesn't trust you.