in the future. This is useful if you have multiple accounts at the site and might want to save login information for some of them, but not this particular one. This might also be the case if, for example, your family shares one computer, and some members prefer not to use the automatic login filling feature. Figure 8-4: Firefox asks whether to save a password when you log in to a Web site. If you choose to save the login information for a site, Firefox helps you fill it in quickly when you return. (This works in the same fashion as the automatic form filling feature, which I discuss at the beginning of this chapter.) As you begin typing a username into a login form field, Firefox makes suggestions based on the usernames you've used at the Web site in the past (see Figure 8-5). When you choose a username, Firefox automatically fills in the associated password. Figure 8-5: Multiple saved user-names at Mozilla Zine.org. For your convenience, the login filling feature goes one step further than general form filling. If Firefox only ever sees you use a single set of login information (username and password) at a particular site, it assumes that you want to use that information each time you visit, and automatically prefills the username and password fields for you, bypassing the suggestions list entirely. All you need to do is click the login button. As soon as you save another password on that site, Firefox stops this behavior and returns to offering a suggestions list rather than guessing which login you prefer to use. Using a Master Password If multiple people share your computer, you might find it disconcerting that Firefox automatically prefills your passwords for them. Furthermore, these people will be able to see your passwords directly by using the View Saved Passwords option I discuss in "Viewing and clearing saved login information with the Password Manager," later in this chapter. On the other hand, you might appreciate the convenience of the feature when you're at your computer. A Master Password provides a middle ground between security and convenience. Firefox asks you to enter the Master Password the first time you visit a login site for which Firefox has saved a password. If you enter the Master Password correctly, Firefox silently and automatically prefills all subsequent passwords until you shut down Firefox; the next time you launch Firefox, you will need to enter the Master Password again before Firefox starts regurgitating your saved passwords. Thus, with the minor inconvenience of entering the Master Password just once per browsing session, you can prevent other people with access to your computer from accessing your saved passwords. Warning Remember to shut down Firefox when you walk away from the monitor! If you leave Firefox open after entering the Master Password, the next person to use Firefox will have access to your saved passwords. Bypassing Web site registration altogether Nothing is more frustrating than a Web site that requires you to register just to see a particular article. By the time you finish registering and logging in, you probably could have read the article, transcribed it into beautiful calligraphy, and sent it to all your friends. Luckily, an enterprising group of people who were fed up with temporary registrations have set up a free service called BugMeNot.com to help you bypass them. The site is brilliant in its simplicity: Enter the address of the site offering the content you want to read, and BugMeNot spits out an anonymous login name and password you can use. The site even offers a Firefox extension you can use to log in to the sites automatically without having to sidetrack to BugMeNot. (See Chapter 20 for information about installing and using extensions.) Although some people might question the ethics of this service, you can't question its convenience. For more information, go to http://bugmenot.com.