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Firefox passwords on multiple computers

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  • Last reply by tasmith

tasmith
tasmith
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I am shipping a broken computer back to the manufacturer. I had installed Firefox on it using my Firefox account. Since I have used the Firefox password feature to store all my passwords, I'm concerned that someone at the manufacturer could access my passwords. (The computer refused to boot, so I was not able to scrub it prior to sending it back.) My question is this: if I change the Firefox password on my home desktop, will my passwords on the returned computer be protected?

Thanks for any help!

Tom Smith Ph. [phone# removed from public]

I am shipping a broken computer back to the manufacturer. I had installed Firefox on it using my Firefox account. Since I have used the Firefox password feature to store all my passwords, I'm concerned that someone at the manufacturer could access my passwords. (The computer refused to boot, so I was not able to scrub it prior to sending it back.) My question is this: if I change the Firefox password on my home desktop, will my passwords on the returned computer be protected? Thanks for any help! Tom Smith Ph. [phone# removed from public]

Modified by James

Chosen solution

Hi Tom, it's a good idea to change your Firefox Account password so that if they are able to boot up the computer and run Firefox, they cannot connect to your account.

But unfortunately, even if they can't run Firefox, your passwords are stored locally on disk in your Firefox data folders. If the disk is readable, then in theory, someone who is so inclined could pull that file off the disk. The only exception is if you set a "Primary Password" -- a local password for securing logins -- because then they would need to know your Primary Password to decrypt the passwords (Use a Primary Password to protect stored logins and passwords). If you didn't set a Primary Password, it's probably a good idea to change the most critical logins you saved in Firefox. In my opinion, that includes the email accounts anyone would use to reset your saved logins.

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

Hi Tom, it's a good idea to change your Firefox Account password so that if they are able to boot up the computer and run Firefox, they cannot connect to your account.

But unfortunately, even if they can't run Firefox, your passwords are stored locally on disk in your Firefox data folders. If the disk is readable, then in theory, someone who is so inclined could pull that file off the disk. The only exception is if you set a "Primary Password" -- a local password for securing logins -- because then they would need to know your Primary Password to decrypt the passwords (Use a Primary Password to protect stored logins and passwords). If you didn't set a Primary Password, it's probably a good idea to change the most critical logins you saved in Firefox. In my opinion, that includes the email accounts anyone would use to reset your saved logins.

tasmith
tasmith Question owner
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Thank you for the help! It's much appreciated.

Tom