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Course: Internet safety > Unit 1
Lesson 4: Ask Google: How can I be sure I’m surfing the web safely?What’s private or incognito mode?
What does it mean to browse in private or incognito mode, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a private or incognito browser?
To learn more about how you can keep yourself safe while on the Internet, visit: internet-safety.khanacademy.org. Created by Sal Khan.
Want to join the conversation?
What are cookies that appear in websites?(8 votes)
Cookies are certain data strains that websites use. You can view the cookies that any website is using by clicking on the little lock on your search bar and clicking the cookie symbol. If you are a geek, you can block certain cookies that seem dangerous, but be careful not to block cookies that are crucial to the operation of the website.(6 votes)
How do you get to incognito mode?(4 votes)- Unfortunately, if you are using a school-managed or business-owned computer, Incognito may not be available, and in most cases, you will not be able to clear search history. This is for your own safety, and typically (especially schools) the management may have software [such as Go Guardian] installed on your computer to sense and block unsafe sites, pop-ups, location services and such. However, no software is perfect and you should be careful about what sites you visit, because many are deceitful.(10 votes)
- how do i know if a cookie from a site is indeed dangerous?(1 vote)
- Not all cookies are dangerous. However, to know whether a cookie is dangerous you have to put on your big brain and look under the cookie section where the little lock symbol is on your browser. If a cookie seems suspicious, block it and reload the site. However, there are certain cookies that run in order to allow the website to work smoothly. So, don't block all of them!(3 votes)
so are cookies usually good?(1 vote)
Cookies can be helpful for remembering preferences and personalizing your online experience. They make browsing easier and enable features like staying logged in on websites. However, some people worry about privacy because cookies can track your online activities for advertising purposes.
Just be mindful of where and when you allow cookies to be used.(3 votes)
- how do I know what cookies are for? (i dont want spend my time on reading terms and conditions) isnt there any other way?(1 vote)
reading EULAs (terms+conditions) can be very important for things like art software as they could restrict your income or copyright on the work made with it. things like the terms for a live service game may be less important and just to avoid legal isuses or make sure you don't cheat/swear(1 vote)
Can I download a software to NOT keep my records in private mode?(1 vote)- Why do you want to go incognito mode?(1 vote)
- should i always be in icolgitol mode(1 vote)
- It depends. If you are doing something that requires intense security/confidentiality (such as filling out a medical form or making a large payment), you should use Incognito mode to prevent your information from being stolen. However, if you are doing something and do not care if your info is leaked, you need not worry about incognito mode.(1 vote)
how do I get incognito mode?(0 votes)
if you are on a Google browser like mxlacholyy said click the 3 dots then it should give you an option to make a window or push Ctrl shift and "N" at the same time(1 vote)
Video transcript
- So Kelly, one thing that
I see on a lot of browsers, they might have like a private
mode, or an incognito mode. What do those things generally do, and how private, or incognito are they, and what should we still think about, even if we are using those modes? - So, generally, a private
mode, or incognito mode means that what is happening
in that browsing session on your computer stays there. So, sometimes when you browse the web, you get things like cookies
that remember who you are, remember different things
that have happened, so for instance, a site that
you've visited it before, maybe that you've logged in before. So what those windows do is they say that once you close that window, everything is forgotten on your computer. But what they don't mean, is that no one can know what happened, because they don't protect against other software running on your computer. If you're at work, your work administrator might still have access to
what's happening on your computer or even the Wi-fi network
might have some sort of record of what traffic's going through it. - So to clean out a lot of the things that might be saved on your computer, when you're normally browsing. And what are the disadvantages
of using that mode? - The disadvantages are, some of the things that cookies
do are conveniences for you. So for instance, if
you remember your login on a website, that makes it much easier for you to log in next time. Or maybe, you want to
have your video service, remember what videos you like, so that it can give you
better suggestions next time. So, the internet, there
are a lot of advantages to some of the things like cookies. It's just a question of,
in that particular moment, is that something that's useful to you? Or is that something that you wanna avoid, by using a private or incognito browsing? - Super useful. Thanks so much, Kelly.