Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

User Help for Mozilla Firefox
trenzterra
Posts: 73
Joined: December 2nd, 2002, 8:54 pm

Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by trenzterra »

I noticed that in the new default homepage, there is this Restore Previous Session button. However, this means that when anyone uses my computer they can see what I was using in my previous browsing session even after clearing my history.

Is there any way to disable this function?
RichardGv
Posts: 345
Joined: September 23rd, 2009, 3:47 am
Location: People's Republic of China

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by RichardGv »

I think using Private Browsing mode is a good idea when you browse webpages secretly, but anyway, here's the way to disable session restore completely:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Session_Resto ... sion_store
FFCanada
Guest

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by FFCanada »

I updated to FF and because of this feature I had to switch to chrome. This I don't think disabling this through about:config is difficult but its not user friendly or obvious. I had to search the web and forums to find a solution (haven't tried yet, rambling first). I think the restore previous session at home page screen is good as an option. The user should have easy way to turn that off. Without that I can't even clear history and pass my laptop to someone with the possibility of my previous session restored. I liked the previous version better where restore previous session came on after a crash and quit dialogue had a save and quit option (which i usually set to don't ask again). I wonder if I'm the only one having this issue. I'd like to come back to FF from Chrom since it has few of my fav addons.
KWierso
Posts: 8829
Joined: May 7th, 2006, 10:29 pm
Location: California

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by KWierso »

If it's put as an option, then the person you pass your laptop to could just switch the option back and then he has your session anyway.
FFCanada
Guest

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by FFCanada »

How does that make sense that if its an option the previous person can still restore my session? Obviously I'm saying that the option should be offered not to save previous session if I don't want it to be. Add it to clear history dialouge if you have to. Right now as it stands not even clearing history will get rid of the restore previous session mess. I can clear history and quit browser but on next start next person can restore my session. This makes no sense to me. How do I turn this off?
FFCanada
Guest

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by FFCanada »

So any updates on this? Does anyone have an elegant solution that won't permanently disable restore previous session but won't offer it everytime you start FF?
RichardGv
Posts: 345
Joined: September 23rd, 2009, 3:47 am
Location: People's Republic of China

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by RichardGv »

  • If you consider what you are browsing a secret, please use Private Browsing Mode. Or keep a separate profile or even separate Windows user account, and just offer others a guest Firefox profile or user account. This is the safest and permanent solution, and additional keeps your history data while preventing inexperienced users from looking at them. (A separate "guest" Windows user would not be able to access other users' Firefox profiles, I believe. A smart geek can discover what you have browsed even after you clear all history data by using a data recovery program on your hard drive, so disabling session restore itself does not effectively protect your privacy at all. If you are deeply paranoid you may perform a TrueCrypt encryption over your Firefox profile.)
  • Within my test I failed to turn session restore off somehow. I'm uncertain if it's a bug or if it's platform/build specific.
  • If you need to remove the session data Firefox has preserved, the easier way is to close your Firefox, reopen it but browse nothing, then close it again. Firefox preserves the status of only one session, I believe.
    The harder and more puzzling way is to remove "sessionstore.js" and "sessionstore.bak" in your Profile folder. It could be automated if you have a bit experience about shell scripts, though.
allizomeniz
Posts: 275
Joined: August 13th, 2009, 2:54 pm

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by allizomeniz »

I can confirm it doesn't work, even if you follow all the instructions in the MozillaZine article. I tried using the Tab Mix Plus session manager, but even if you opt to not save, Firefox still saves at least one session. I haven't tried the Session Manager add-on. You might be able to disable auto saving with it, I don't know. In my opinion there should at least be an option to turn auto save off or on. All I can say is thank goodness for add-ons. If not for that, FF would be completely unusable.
upsetbrain
Guest

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by upsetbrain »

This is a terrible feature.

"...keep a separate profile or even separate Windows user account..."

Assuming this would be the official statement of the firefox developers,

Firefox is *just* a web browser. Who they think they are to state something about the system environments of the users? This feature breaks up a very basic concept of security: privacy. Firefox is storing the user data without permission, without even letting the people knowing it.

I did considered to configure every firefox on my 700 lab computers, with some network scripts. But as i'm seeing, to guarantee to my users that each of them will be safe, i'll have a lot of work and a lot of responsability. So I'm removing firefox of all these machines.
dogbreath12
Posts: 1
Joined: April 22nd, 2011, 7:26 pm

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by dogbreath12 »

This is seriously messed up.

I want to login to email account every time. But I want PWs saved for gaming and other forum sites. But the next person that hits the "Restore Session" button is in to email. Hold a minute while I post my SSN DOD and Drivers License number.

What's the URL for Chrome.
EDIT:
The solution is to make sure your home page is NOT the Firefox home page
Guest
Guest

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by Guest »

"What's the URL for Chrome."

Just go with Comodo Dragon, it's based on Chrome. I'm finding it far better than Firefox now, but I'm still trying to hang on to Firefox. This automatic session restore thing is pretty much the last straw, though. This is ludicrous.

-John
User avatar
patrickjdempsey
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Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by patrickjdempsey »

So simply setup Firefox to erase your browsing history on exit. If you do that there will be no session to restore and no snooping to be done (although if you have passwords saved ANYONE using your machine can look at your list to see which sites you have passwords saved for and then visit them). Which is why basically you should never ever save passwords on a machine that other people may use.
Tip of the day: If it has "toolbar" in the name, it's crap.
What my avatar is about: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/seamonkey/addon/sea-fox/
underscoreTom
Posts: 317
Joined: January 20th, 2003, 6:13 am

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by underscoreTom »

patrickjdempsey wrote:So simply setup Firefox to erase your browsing history on exit. If you do that there will be no session to restore and no snooping to be done (although if you have passwords saved ANYONE using your machine can look at your list to see which sites you have passwords saved for and then visit them). Which is why basically you should never ever save passwords on a machine that other people may use.


Agreed...if one is that paranoid of someone else snooping on their browser history, simply set Firefox to delete all history on exit.
upsetbrain
Guest

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by upsetbrain »

Changing the home page is not solution, since there is another way to restore the previous session.

I'm sure that there are two or three different solutions. But the point is that we should not be forced to correct a problem on the default instalation of the software.

The feature is pretty good to a single user. That user should enable the feature if he wants to. But now think of a network administrator who have thousands of machines, and a policy agreement where security is guaranteed to his users. That guy will have to configure - and make sure that he done good - every firefox on every machine. That's a lot of work, and i'll not face it just because firefox developers wants me to.
vsub
Posts: 733
Joined: October 2nd, 2009, 2:20 pm

Re: Disable "Restore Previous Session" in Firefox 4?

Post by vsub »

Put this into userChrome.css/Stylish to disable(hide) the button and the menu in the History

Code: Select all

#restorePreviousSession, #historyRestoreLastSession {display: none !important;}
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