Whenever you’re logging in to a website, your browser might sometimes ask if you want to save your password. If you choose yes, the next time you visit the log in page, your information will already by filled in, and you can just hit “submit” and be on your way. This is a great for convenience, but for safety’s sake, I’m not so sure. These saved passwords persist until you clear out all your history with the “saved passwords” box clicked. Anyone with access to your browsers will have access to otherwise private accounts.
Your level of safety is a matter of personal preference. Having a saved password poses no more threat than leaving your accounts logged on when you walk away from your computer, but the real difference is that if you don’t have your password saved and someone logs out of your account, there’s no way for them to log back in again. Likewise, if you have your passwords saved, you’re likely to have settings in which your browsing history isn’t cleared when you close the browser. If this is the case, the person accessing your computer can find out exactly where you’ve been online by browsing through your history. Even if you cleared your history, if the cookies persist and the autofill option is enabled, they can simply each letter of the alphabet into the URL bar and get a list of all the sites you’ve visited in alphabetical order.
Privacy and safety are very important issues, and the only person who can make sure the proper settings are in place is you. It doesn’t take that much time to set up your browsers and how they handle your information; putting yourself at risk for the sake of convenience or procrastination is absolutely the worst type of behavior in ensuring your online safety and privacy. If you don’t know how to protect yourself, take a few minutes to learn. I guarantee it will save you a lot of grief in the future!
