Knowledge Base: Library Help

Saving Information to Your Browser

It is certainly highly useful and convenient to save passwords, payment info, location data, and more within your web browser as it makes everyday tasks much quicker to get through. Though, with many things, the easier way is not always the safest way. Saving important information to your browser absolutely carries a risk of said information being compromised, so it is equally important to ensure that your device is secure.

Now, here are some pros and cons to saving information in your browsers:

Pros:

• It's quick and easy. Not having to enter passwords or payment info for sites that are used often can save quite some time in the long run.
• Randomized passwords. Most browsers offer the ability to generate random passwords for your accounts, which can provide an increase in web security.
• Potential protection against certain nefarious programs such as keyloggers. Keyloggers are a type of software that monitor your keyboard inputs and are generally used by hackers to acquire your data. By saving your information to a browser, and thus not inputting it every time it's needed, you can partially circumvent this type of program.

Cons:

• Passwords can be forgotten. If you forget your passwords and need to access your accounts from another browser/device, you will need to go through the steps of password recovery.
• Deletion/reinstall of a browser. If a browser needs to be reinstalled, is deleted, or you acquire a new device, any information saved on the original browser will not be moved over by default. This can result in saved information being lost.
• Multiple users. It is inadvisable to save any personal and private information to a browser that multiple people may have access to, as it may fall into the wrong hands.

As I mentioned above, it is inadvisable to save things such as passwords payment information to a browser that other people may have access to, such as on a public computer. If saved on a device that has one user (you), the potential for ease of use of many different sites is great. It is important to remember though, that even if you are the only user of a device, it does not mean that your information cannot be compromised. Making sure that both your antivirus software and Windows Updates are up to date is key to providing a safe and secure environment for your data.