Thanks to Bro-Prof Mik:
Re: not having someone else log into your account, after you have left the computer ...
To sum up, it's all in the cookies; this is one situation in which it is more than appropriate to toss them.
Here are some rules:
Shutting down the browser or even rebooting the computer is not going to make any difference.
The cache is not relevant here, it will reveal what you were looking at, but not what you entered. However, to protect your privacy, you can always delete the cache. On Firefox 11, under Advanced -> Network, you can see your cache usage, and you have the option to clear it. Also under Privacy you can clear your recent history. That just keeps track of the web pages you have visited but does not contain any content. In particular, password protected pages are not accessible just from the history.
It's all in the cookies. These are the things that identify the computer to the host web site. If you selected "keep me logged in" on Facebook (or any other similar portal), then it will obey your wishes, and the only way it knows who "me" is in the cookies. So if you have not deleted the cookies, then anyone else who accesses that computer looks like "you" to the website.
The other things is that web browsers also remember input, and most importantly, passwords, if you allow them to. So if you agreed that your web browser remembers your password, it will remember it for anyone else who uses that public computer, and will fill it in as necessary. Rebooting the computer is not going to change that.
So, if you are using a public computer:
1. Never allow the browser to remember your password. Just to make sure, you can check in the browser's preferences (how you access it depends on the platform and browser, but it's usually under the process name (Mac OS) or under "Edit" (Windows and Linux)), where you should be able to view the passwords. It's under "AutoFill" for Safari and "Security" for Firefox.
2. Do not tell Facebook to "keep me logged in". If you have, make sure you log out. Just to make sure, you can delete the cookies. On Firefox 11, under "Privacy" there is a link to all your (actually your computer's) cookies, whereupon you can inspect them and delete them. Similarly on Safari, look for the "Privacy" tab on your Preferences dialog box.
If you are careful with number 1 and 2, then there should be no problem, unless someone has installed malware on your computer that logs keystrokes. In that case, you are screwed, no matter what you do. Probably not catastrophic for Facebook, but I would be leery of doing banking on a strange computer.
Re: not having someone else log into your account, after you have left the computer ...
To sum up, it's all in the cookies; this is one situation in which it is more than appropriate to toss them.
Here are some rules:
Shutting down the browser or even rebooting the computer is not going to make any difference.
The cache is not relevant here, it will reveal what you were looking at, but not what you entered. However, to protect your privacy, you can always delete the cache. On Firefox 11, under Advanced -> Network, you can see your cache usage, and you have the option to clear it. Also under Privacy you can clear your recent history. That just keeps track of the web pages you have visited but does not contain any content. In particular, password protected pages are not accessible just from the history.
It's all in the cookies. These are the things that identify the computer to the host web site. If you selected "keep me logged in" on Facebook (or any other similar portal), then it will obey your wishes, and the only way it knows who "me" is in the cookies. So if you have not deleted the cookies, then anyone else who accesses that computer looks like "you" to the website.
The other things is that web browsers also remember input, and most importantly, passwords, if you allow them to. So if you agreed that your web browser remembers your password, it will remember it for anyone else who uses that public computer, and will fill it in as necessary. Rebooting the computer is not going to change that.
So, if you are using a public computer:
1. Never allow the browser to remember your password. Just to make sure, you can check in the browser's preferences (how you access it depends on the platform and browser, but it's usually under the process name (Mac OS) or under "Edit" (Windows and Linux)), where you should be able to view the passwords. It's under "AutoFill" for Safari and "Security" for Firefox.
2. Do not tell Facebook to "keep me logged in". If you have, make sure you log out. Just to make sure, you can delete the cookies. On Firefox 11, under "Privacy" there is a link to all your (actually your computer's) cookies, whereupon you can inspect them and delete them. Similarly on Safari, look for the "Privacy" tab on your Preferences dialog box.
If you are careful with number 1 and 2, then there should be no problem, unless someone has installed malware on your computer that logs keystrokes. In that case, you are screwed, no matter what you do. Probably not catastrophic for Facebook, but I would be leery of doing banking on a strange computer.
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