Filling out paper forms or online forms has to be one of the worse things we have to do as a part of our existence. The same goes for password fields. Thank goodness for autofill technology, because now filling out forms (at least online) and typing in passwords is easy as typing a single key. Like magic, all of those forms and password fields you have to fill out online automatically put all of your information in the respected fields in seconds. Unfortunately, criminals are always looking at ways. to get access to your data which means autofill could lead to crooks getting access to the data stored in those fields ... even credit card information. Want to keep safe? Here are some quick and easy-to-use tips to help you keep your autofill information safe.
Before you decide to wipe out all of your information from the Autofill feature on your favorite browser, understand that just the act of enabling this technology is safe. What you have to watch out for is if you navigate to a malicious site, autofill has no way of knowing and it could fill out all of your personal information on a bogus site that is designed to collect your precious data. Sometimes these crooks will create hidden form boxes on these sites that will prompt your browser to fill in those fields because that's what autofill is supposed to do, correct? You might not be worried about criminals getting access to your mailing information, but wouldn't you be worried if autofill was also inputting your credit card data and your passwords? The obvious choice is to make sure you only visit legitimate websites to make sure autofill doesn't give you away. I know autofill is a popular tool used by many of you to keep track of password information as well as using this tool to automatically enter your credit card information online. I'll leave it up to you if you want to keep this data stored in your browser or if you want to clear it out. If you want to clear it out, here are some steps to clear out your browser for each of the popular browsers on the market. These steps work on desktops, smartphones, and tablets.
1. Microsoft Edge. Open Edge and then left-click on the three horizontal dots in the top right-hand side of your screen. Next, on the left-hand side of the page, make sure that you are on the tab labeled Profiles. Left-click on the option Payment Info, then make sure that the Save and fill payment info button is toggled to the Off position. Go through each of the other options to make sure that all the settings are according to your preferences.
2. Apple Safari. Open Safari and then left-click on the menu bar at the top of the screen. Next, left-click on Safari Menu and then left-click on the Preferences tab. Left-click on the Auto-Fill tab. This will give you a few options with checkboxes next to them. You can uncheck all of the boxes so that none of your personal information will be entered into any form in the future.
3. Google Chrome. Open up Chrome and then left-click on the three little vertical dots in the top right-hand corner of your screen. A drop-down menu will open up, left-click on the Settings tab. Left-click Autofill and then you will see that you have three options. Passwords, Payment Methods and Addresses, and More. Left-click on each and make sure that the Autofill options are toggled to the Off position.
4. Mozilla Firefox. Open Firefox and then in the top right-hand corner left-click on the three horizontal stripes. Left-click on Options and then again on the option marked Privacy and Security on the left-hand side of the screen. On the screen that opens up, scroll down to the section marked History and then select Never Remember History from the drop-down menu.
5. Opera. Open Opera and then left-click on the Opera icon on the top left-hand side of your screen. Left-click on Settings and then left-click on the button labeled Advanced. After this, left-click on Privacy and Security and then scroll down to the autofill section of the page. You will have a few options which you need to check out which are Passwords, Payment Methods and then Addresses, and more. Next to the Payment Methods option, make sure that the Save and fill payment methods switch is toggled to the Off position.
Under the Addresses and more options, next to the heading Save addresses and more, make sure the switch is toggled to the Off position.
Whatever you decide to do about your autofill option for your browser, remember that it is best to use all websites with caution and don't enter your personal details on sites that are suspicious. Make sure that the site you are visiting is safe to use and above all don’t enter any of your information if you encounter even the smallest of red flags.
Always trust your gut feeling because it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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