Firefox's master password does not protect my web accounts

I've set up a master password in Firefox 3.6 but it's not working as I expected. I always save my passwords within Firefox for frequently visited sites like Facebook, Yahoo! mail, Gmail, Twitter etc. and this way I don't have to type in my password every time I open that site. When I open Firefox, it asks for the master password but when I click Cancel, it opens normally, and lets me directly in my Facebook page, or Yahoo! Mail page. Why doesn't it protect my accounts? This way, anyone using my computer can see my accounts and it's totally pointless for me to use this master password. How can I protect my accounts with saved passwords in Firefox?

Mehper C. Palavuzlar

Posted 2010-03-13T12:45:02.950

Reputation: 51 093

Answers

From the mozilla firefox knowledgebase:

A master password will not prevent others from reading locally stored e-mails, reading your browsing history, or from accessing sites the browser is already logged in to.

You probably clicked "remember me" or some similar option on said websites. Cookies are not protected by the master password. That is why you are still logged in automatically on those websites. Firefox doesn't log you in, the website does.

How to fix this?

Log out on every website (always do this!), and never click "remember me" again. Just let firefox autocomplete the username/password field. You are now protected by the master password in Firefox.

S.Hoekstra

Posted 2010-03-13T12:45:02.950

Reputation: 2 231

Thank you for the info. I wonder if there's an addon to protect me even if I forget logging out... – Mehper C. Palavuzlar – 2010-03-13T13:01:51.147

1You don't need an addon - just use your private user account in Windows - create password and no one else will be able to use stored logins. – Tomasz Tybulewicz – 2010-03-13T13:16:00.480

6You could also set cookies to clear when you close Firefox in the privacy options. This seems like the option you want. – Jonno_FTW – 2010-03-13T14:07:57.897

@Jonno_FTW: That seems reasonable. Thanks, mate. – Mehper C. Palavuzlar – 2010-03-13T14:19:19.253

I'm using Rohos Mini Drive to password protect my Firefox profile. Once my Rohos disk is disconnected no one has access to my Firefox. (two thumbs up)

Soka

Posted 2010-03-13T12:45:02.950

Reputation: 31

For anyone reading who (like me) hadn't heard of Rohos before, it seems to be a program for encrypting and passwording USB drives http://www.rohos.com/products/rohos-mini-drive/

– GAThrawn – 2011-01-20T21:51:48.230