Note: There is no genealogy-related information in this article.
I admit to being a bit of a privacy nut. I have a bit of paranoia about sharing my personal information with others and with leaving personal information in places where others can discover it.
My computers are all heavily password protected. However, I also travel frequently and occasionally use the computers of friends, business acquaintances and Internet cafes. I use other computers to check my (password protected) e-mail, my (password protected) online checking account, my (password protected) stock brokerage account, my (password protected) web site and more. I think you see the pattern here: the key phrase is "password protected."
I am very aware that use of a web browser on a computer can leave information behind when I am finished. Use of a web browser can leave cookies behind as well as temporary files, sometimes referred to as "cache," in the computer I am using. A technically savvy user can walk in after I leave, sit down at the same computer and theoretically can discover some information that I left behind unwittingly.
Oh, I admit the odds are low that someone can do that. I also know that I can delete the cookies and the cache before I leave, assuming I have time to do so. However, even that does not totally delete all the tracks I left behind. In times past, I have occasionally been reluctant to use a "foreign" computer out of concerns for my own privacy. Now a new "portable" web browser for Windows solves all that.
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