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Microsoft Edge browser's InPrivate mode may not be as private as you thought

Microsoft’s Edge browser in Windows 10 was seen as a new beginning for the company who had long stuck with the aging Internet Explorer. Edge was built from the ground up to incorporate the latest in browsing technology, with performance matching that of Google Chrome. Some of the new features include Cortana Assist, web annotation and a reading mode.

But it seems like the browser’s InPrivate browsing feature may not be as ‘private’ as we’re led to believe. Researcher Ashish Singh discovered that users' full browsing history was being stored on their hard drives, noting that “even the private browsing isn’t as private as it seems” in his report, published on Forensic Focus. He added that "websites visited in private mode are also stored in the browser’s WebCache file.”

Essentially, this leaves your complete browsing history in Edge open to attackers, by allowing them to gain access by locating the 'Container_n' table within the browser’s history database. The folks over at The Verge were able to partially confirm this, although they were unable to retrieve a complete history from their private session. They noted, however, that a trained professional would likely have more success.

A Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge that it "recently became aware of a report that claims InPrivate tabs are not working as designed", but added that the company is “committed to resolving this as quickly as possible."

Source: Forensic Focus via The Verge

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