Many people wrote off the incognito and private-browsing modes introduced recently in popular web browsers as for the paranoid and porn-obsessed only. It turns out they're also great for mooching computer time without disturbing the owner's logins and settings.


When you're borrowing time on a friend's computer, it hardly seems polite to log them out of their favorite services. This clever trick lets you access popular services without having to make your friend log out and back in just to share their browser with you. Reader Pedro Poblete highlights a practical use for incognito mode:

When using someone else's computer to check email/social networking, start private browsing (control+shift+p) in Firefox or incognito mode (control+shift+n) in Chrome, so you don't have to log them out from their Gmail or Facebook


It's an ideal fix for the problem. You get to log into all your accounts, you don't inconvenience the computer's owner by logging them out of any sites, and your own logins and browsing history aren't recorded. If you have a clever trick you want to share, sound off in the comments or share in #tips.