CYBERSPACE – When the makers of the Firefox internet browser asked users who refused to upgrade to version 3.0 why they were holding on to the older version of their software, the answer they got back was a bit surprising. More than 25% of the holdouts said they rejected Firefox 3 because it looked at the user’s bookmarks to offer suggestions while typing in URLs.What’s wrong with a helpful feature like that? Even though the bookmark information is not transmitted to Firefox makers or anyone else via the Internet, porn surfers sometimes hide any potentially embarrassing bookmarks by placing them deep in a series of folders. With Firefox 3.0, however, these bashful surfers run the risk of their bookmarks being exposed unintentionally if someone uses their computer and enters a URL that Firefox thinks might be a match.

“In some cases users had intentionally hidden these bookmarks in deep hierarchies of folders, somewhat similar to how one might hide a physical object,” explains Firefox designer Alex Faaborg. “Having something from your previous browsing displayed to someone else who is using your computer (or even worse) to a large audience of people as you are giving a presentation, is really one of the most embarrassing things that Firefox can do to you.”

For example, assume the user has a link to a site called “GoodPorn.com” buried somewhere in his or her bookmarks. Now assume a guest uses the computer and starts to type the address for Google. A few characters into that would cause FireFox 3 to display any potential matches from bookmarks, exposing the link to “GoodPorn.com” and potentially embarrassing the user.

The solution? Firefx 3.5 added a new privacy setting.

“With the release of Firefox 3.5, our favorite browser now has a Private Browsing mode,” explains a company website. “Usually your browser remembers the websites you have visited, your user names and passwords, your browsing history and more. However, with this newest addition to the Firefox 3.5 feature list, you can now go incognito on the Internet.”