Ad Tools Using Autofill for Tracking

December 31, 2017 •

According to this article, there are tools being used to track you by triggering the autofill features of your browser. The ad brokers have built these systems to do this in the background where you don’t even know it is happening. According to the article, it is only attempting to trigger your username from the password manager built in to your browser, but there’s nothing stopping them from using the same technique to trigger your password, your address, or anything else that you have set up to autofill in forms.

Here’s how to turn off Autofill in all the major browsers:

Chrome

1. Click the Chrome menu icon — the three dots in the upper right of the window
2. Select the Settings menu
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Advanced”
4. Scroll to the “Passwords and forms” section
5. Click “Autofill settings”
6. Ensure the first item says “Off”

Chrome help page

Firefox

1. Click on the Firefox menu icon — the three lines in the top right of the window
2. Click on Options
3. Choose the Privacy icon
4. In the History section choose Firefox will: “Use custom settings for history”
5. Uncheck “Remember search and form history”
6. Click OK

Firefox help page

Internet Explorer

1. Click on the Tools menu icon
2. Click on Internet Options
3. Select the Content tab
4. In the AutoComplete section click on Settings
5. Uncheck Forms and User Names and Passwords on Forms
6. Click OK in the AutoComplete Settings Window
7. Click OK in the Internet Options Window

Internet Explorer help page

Safari

1. Click on “Safari” in the menu bar and select “Preferences”
2. Click on the “Autofill” tab in the Preferences window
3. Uncheck each of the boxes next to autofill options

Safari help page

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Be safe out there!