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Erase history in Firefox
Why you should erase Firefox history
As you surf the Internet, Firefox remembers information about the websites you have visited, information you have entered on websites, what you downloaded, etc, to speed up web surfing and making it more convenient. But these history tracks could compromise your privacy, as anyone who has access to your computer can see sensitive information you may want to keep private.
Erasing history is an important aspect of your computer privacy, especially if you share your computer with others.
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How to erase Firefox history
This article explains what history items are stored by Firefox and gives you step-by-step instructions on how to delete all or individual history tracks as well as to prevent Firefox from storing them.
What is Firefox history and why you should delete it?
As you surf the Internet, Firefox remembers information about the websites you have visited, information you have entered in webpages, files you have downloaded, etc. Usually, this information is helpful as it can improve your web browsing speed, helps to simplify filling web forms by automatically suggesting the information you have typed before, so you don't have to type it again, etc. However, if you share a computer or use a public computer, it can compromise your privacy, as other users will be able to see what websites you have visited, what information you typed into forms in web pages (it could be your name, e-mail address, recent searches, etc.).
Another reason to erase Firefox history is to improve your computer performance by deleting unused history files that could slow down you computer operating.
Firefox stores the following Internet history tracks:
Browsing history
Browsing history stores the list of websites you have visited
Download history
Download history contains the list of files you have downloaded.
Form history
Form history (form autocomplete) includes the items you have entered on websites
Search history
Search history includes the items you have searched using the Search bar.
Cookies
Cookies store information about websites you visit, your surfing preferences, choices you have made on the website, etc.
Cache
Cache stores the content of all the webpages you have visited to speed up the displaying of webpages you frequently visit
Site Preferences
Store the display settings for individual sites.
How to delete Firefox history
For Firefox 4.0/3.5
Open Firefox and click on the Tools menu at the top of the Firefox window
Open the History menu and select 'Clear Recent History'
Click the drop-down menu next to 'Time range to clear' to choose the necessary period.
Click the 'arrow' button next to 'Details' to select what history items will be deleted and click 'Clear Now'
For Firefox 3.0
Open Firefox and select the 'Tools' menu
Then select 'Options' and open the 'Privacy' tab.
Under the Private area click 'Clear Now'.
In the 'Clear Private Data' window select the necessary items and click 'Clear Private Data Now'.
How to make Firefox delete web history automatically
If you need to clear your web history every time you exit Firefox:
Open Firefox and click on the Tools menu at the top of the Firefox window
Open the Options menu and select Options
Click the drop-down menu next to 'Firefox will', choose 'Use custom settings for history' and check 'Clear history when Firefox closes'.
How do I control how Firefox handles history?
You can set Firefox to 'Never remember history' (Firefox will not remember any history as you surf the Internet), 'Remember history' (Firefox will remember browsing, download, form and search history, and cookies), or 'Use custom settings for history' (you can select what history tracks should be kept).
Related articles:
Erase history in Internet Explorer
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