Windows 10: InPrivate & Anonymous Browsing

Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge

InPrivate Browsing

As we have seen on page 99 (Windows 10 Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts in easy steps), it is possible to delete your browsing history after each session. However, there are two problems with this approach:

• You may forget to do it
• You have to delete the entire history when maybe all you want to do is to delete a small part of it – it’s an all-or-nothing action

The solution is a feature in Microsoft Edge called InPrivate Browsing. When used, InPrivate temporarily suspends the browser’s automatic caching functions and, at the same time, keeps your previous browsing history intact. A typical example of when you might want to do this is buying a gift online for a loved one – once done, you can revert to browsing as normal. Your browsing history up to the point of opening the InPrivate session is kept but the InPrivate session itself is not.

To begin an InPrivate Browsing session:

Step 1
In Microsoft Edge click the (…) More options button on the menu bar

Step 2
Select the New InPrivate window option

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While InPrivate Browsing keeps other people who use your computer from seeing what sites you’ve visited, it does not prevent someone on your network, such as a network administrator.

 

 

Anonymous Browsing

Personal privacy on the internet, as any computer-savvy user knows, is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. In many cases, the content you view actually comes from third-party sites. While most of these sites are quite legitimate, there are some who conceal scripts in their content that track your actions as you browse the internet. To help protect users against this, Internet Explorer supports a feature known as Tracking Protection. This enables you to prevent specific third-party sites from tracking your online movements.

The system works by loading a Tracking Protection List (TPL) of known offenders into Internet Explorer. As you subsequently browse the internet, Internet Explorer will prevent your data from being accessed by any of the sites specified in the TPL:

 

Step 1
You can see the Tracking Protection List by clicking the Tools icon at the top far-right of Internet Explorer. Then click Manage Add-ons > Tracking Protection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2
To add a Tracking Protection List, navigate Internet Explorer to iegallery.com/en-us/trackingprotectionlists then choose a list and click its Add button

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a Get a Tracking Protection List online link in the Manage Add-ons dialog but this will not work successfully if Microsoft Edge is set as the default web browser. You should manually enter the URL into Internet Explorer instead, as described here.

 

Step 3
The Tracking Protection List will now be added to Internet Explorer. Open Manage Add-ons again to see the Tracking Protection List you have installed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can also create a personal Tracking Protection List to be added to Internet Explorer:

Step 4
In the Manage add-ons dialog, select the Your Personalized List item then click the Enable button

Step 5
Click Settings to see your empty list

Step 6
Browse for a day or two, then return to Settings. You will now see list items and can select Choose content to block or allow

 

Internet Explorer automatically generates a Tracking Protection List based on the sites the user visits. This is called “Your Personalized List”, and is in addition to any Tracking Protection List added by the user.

 

 

 

Want to know more?

For the complete guide to Windows 10, all in the trusted In Easy Steps style, click here. Whether you’re upgrading to Windows 10 from a previous version or using it for the very first time, Windows 10 Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts in easy steps will guide you through the key features so you’ll be a pro in no time at all!