My pc has to be repaired, but I do not want the repair store to have access to all my favorite pages that I saved in my account. How do I prevent that?
My pc has to be repaired, but I do not want the repair man to see (or delete/change) my favorite pages that I saved in my firefox browser. How do I prevent that?
All Replies (11)
Well established repair centers would not bother. But to be sure,
Copy all data you want to a thumb drive or exterior hard drive. Once the data has been verified, power delete the original files.
As someone who used to repair computers, if you are using a reputable computer repair company, the tech has zero interest in what is on your computer.
That being said, backing up your profile then deleting it is the best move. You should make a backup of your data before sending your computer to be repaired anyway just in case.
Hello richardvangelder,
In addition to the above, would you please take a look at these articles :
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/precautions-take-sending-pc-laptop-repair
And :
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/technology/personaltech/laptop-data-repairs.html
Thanks for your reaction, but how do I do that "backing up my
profile"?
Should not it be possible to log out of a Mozilla Firefox account (since I had to make one once)?
If I understand this correctly, you can easily log out of your Firefox account before you bring your computer in. On your toolbar, there should be an icon in the upper left labeled "account". You can log out from there, and that should prevent access into your history etc. Hope this helps.
No, I only see a setting to delete my account. Could you please make a screenshot of that particular buttion, that way I might be able to find it!?
Hi again,
Copy and paste
about:preferences?entrypoint=menupanel#sync
into your address bar. I also found this post that walks you through it if you need any additional help.
Forgot to mention to click on "Disconnect"!!!
richardvangelder said
No, I only see a setting to delete my account. Could you please make a screenshot of that particular buttion, that way I might be able to find it!?
Hello richardvangelder,
When you click on your username or avatar at the top of any Mozilla page, you'll get a dropdown - at the bottom you should see "Sign Out".
Those people in the repair shop will have only one thing on their mind : repairing your device, thus keeping you as a customer .....
But if you don't trust them : please, follow the advice you've been given.
richardvangelder said
Thanks for your reaction, but how do I do that "backing up my profile"?
Should not it be possible to log out of a Mozilla Firefox account (since I had to make one once)?
Firefox Accounts are a recent development in Firefox's history. The vast majority of your data, from bookmarks to history, and cookies to logins, are stored locally on disk. Some of this data can be shared with other installations of Firefox through Sync using your Firefox Account, but simply disconnecting from the account doesn't automatically purge local data. If you plan to purge local data, this article has the info on backing up your profile folder, which you would want to do first: Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.
If I were the one needing to hand over my computer for repair, I would want to back up the entire thing, just in case the techs feel the need to reset/reformat or simply make a mistake.
Just backing up your Firefox profile and then delete it, isn't going to cut it; you'll have to do more than that if you don't trust the people in the repair shop .....
See : https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028713/windows-10-turn-on-device-encryption
(also see my first post)