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Lee Koo
Community manager |
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Am I being stupid for saving my Web site log-in credentials in my browsers?
Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday! Let me ask you this, when you visit a Web site that
requires you to log in with your username or password to access
information on the site, do you manually input your log-in
credentials every time, or do you let your Web browser store the
log-in information for you, so the next time you visit the site it
can log you in automatically? Well, if you have a habit of letting
your browser store log-in credentials and passwords for the sake
of convenient access or simply because you have a hard time
remembering that information, you may just want read up on this
week's topic question from member Sarah, who asked if she's being
stupid by saving her Web site log-in credentials in Web browsers.
Sarah, I'm glad you asked this question, as I'm sure many people
do this all the time. You ask, is this a stupid thing to do? I
wouldn't call it stupid, but I would call it risky -- storing
personal information anywhere has its risks, especially when you
aren't in control of it. The fewer places you have log-in names
and passwords available for someone to steal, the less chance
there is of them being compromised.
I will admit that I personally sometimes do store log-in and
passwords for sites that I frequently visit; HOWEVER, it's never
for a site that is financial in nature, and never a site that can
be used to personally identify who I am, or cause any harm to
myself, to others, or to the site. If any would-be perpetrators
were to gain access to my log-in name and password from those
sites, they wouldn't be able to use those credentials on any of my
secure sites.
This week's advice from our members is invaluable and a good
wake-up call to all those who let their browser do the storing of
their log-in information, so read up and be informed of the risk
you are taking. Thank you to all those who have stepped up and
shared your knowledge on this important topic. Stay safe out
there, people, and have a great weekend!
Cheers!
-Lee
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Got suggestions? Send me an e-mail: messageboards@cnet.com |
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TOPIC OF THE WEEK |
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Q: Am I being stupid for saving my Web site log-in credentials in my browsers?
I've been wondering about this for a while but haven't asked before.
For some Web sites like banks, online e-mail, and shopping sites that
I use frequently, my log-in and passwords are saved in the browser. It
saves me time and frustration, but is it risky? I have log-in names
and passwords saved in Firefox and on Internet Explorer, but only on
my computer at home. Some of these sites have my home address and
credit card information on them. Am I being careless and stupid by
using this feature in browsers? Are there other things I should do to
stay safe if I use this feature? Is this sensitive information easy
for others to retrieve, maybe in my history or cookies? If it's
unsafe, why would these Web browsers prompt people to save these
credentials for you anyway? Thanks for sharing any insight you may
have to my questions.
-- Submitted by: Sarah C. of Atlanta, GA
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 A: Featured member solutions |
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If you have an answer to this question, click here and click the "reply" to submit your advice, suggestions, opinions, or tips.
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