For whatever reason, you may want to hide the details of your Gmail use. Many people are concerned about hiding their past browsing details, whether it is for privacy or security reasons. Fortunately, hiding the last accessed details in Gmail is a far easier task than you might think.
Gmail and Online Security
There are a number of simple steps that you can take to increase the security of your Gmail account in particular and your online experience in general.
Secure Browsing
Secure browsing is a must for anyone concerned with security, especially when it comes to concealing your actions on Gmail. Using secure browsing is very easy. All you need to is add an "s" at the end of "http" when you enter the URL. This will garble the data that you enter, allowing Gmail to decrypt it. If anyone is snooping on your Internet connection or your activity at a public connection you won't have any trouble keeping your browsing secret with secure browsing.
Gmail allows you to set an option so that you will always be logged in securely.
- Log in to Gmail.
- Click the link for "Settings." You will find this on the top right of the page.
- Scroll to the "Browser Connection" category.
- Click the box next to "Always use https."
You will now always login to Gmail securely.
Logging Out
It is important to log out of Gmail when you are done using it. Often times people like to click the box that allows them to stay logged in long after they have ceased using Gmail. Do not click this box unless you are in a place where you know someone else will not have access to your computer, such as at home. If you live with other people, clicking that box will allow them to look through your email when you are not around.
Clearing History
Clearing your history every time that you are done using the Internet will increase your security. When you do not do this, anyone can go on your computer and look at your browser history to see what you have done. Especially if you are not in the habit of logging out of Gmail. You can set your browser to erase its own history every time that you close the program. While specific instructions vary from one browser to another, you generally will find this under the menu called "Preferences" and its sub-menu "History." Here you can make sure that your browser's history is erased every time you close the window -- or that the browser doesn't keep any history at all.
Mail Clients
Many people don't even log in to Gmail to check their email. Rather, they use a mail client such as Mozilla Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail or Apple Mail. Whatever program you use, you can set your preferences so that you are prompted for a password every time that you attempt to access new mail. While this won't prevent someone from digging through already-received emails, it will prevent them from downloading new mail. Those who are very concerned about privacy might want to consider putting a password on their computer login so that no one can use it without permission.
Protect Your Privacy
You are right to be concerned about the security of your communication, though there is no need for paranoia. With a few simple steps you can ensure that no one is reading your emails without your permission. This will allow you to be as frank as you like in your personal communications without fear that information is being leaked.
