Weird technical question probably firefox-specific

[Randomnity]

Ok so, I'm not all that technically-minded and I came across something today that puzzled me.

I found a "strange" link in my history (drop-down in address bar, not suggested searches but actually history) that I don't recognize, so I wanted to get more details like the date it was accessed (people share my computer on occasion).

But...I opened the history file for firefox (places.sqlite) and it had no record of this site at all. That's weird, right? Why would the history drop-down somehow save information that isn't in the actual history file?

*paranoid/curious*

 

[Such Irony]

You can delete individual items by clicking on the "History" drop down menu, then selecting "Show All History". Sites visited should be sorted by day visited. Select the appropriate day, then highlight the website you wish to delete. Right click on the mouse and select "Delete This Page"

Also if you are concerned about someone knowing that you visit a certain website that you prefer they wouldn't know about you can use Private Browsing. In Firefox, select the Tools menu, then choose the "Start Private Browsing" option. This will open up a Private Browsing window.

Here's what Firefox says about Private Browsing:

Firefox won't remember any history for this session.

In a Private Browsing session, Firefox won't keep any browser history, search history, download history, web form history, cookies, or temporary internet files. However, files you download and bookmarks you make will be kept.

To stop Private Browsing, select Tools > Stop Private Browsing, or close Firefox.

While this computer won't have a record of your browsing history, your internet service provider or employer can still track the pages you visit.

 

[Randomnity]

I don't think I explained myself well - I'm not trying to delete this from my history, but instead wondering why it isn't in the actual history file that firefox is (presumably) storing its history information in. It seems like the history drop-down would be a "child" of the main history file....shouldn't it be?

So it seemed odd to me that a site would appear in the dropdown that isn't in the history file.

 

[Jaguar]

Firefox user here, as well. My drop-down history in the address bar is not an exact mirror of my history panel. Not even close.

 

[entropie]

It can be that a page url does refer onto another url, which is opened after you entered the adress. The second adress then can be saved by the history. The same can basically happen with all navigation you do on webpages, this is technically the most probable explanation.

Another thing is that the history panels like Jaguar said do sort your last visited sites by some sort of preference. Like quantity of your visits or alphabetical and such and therefore they are no exact mirror of your latest visits.

Other than that, someone else could be using your PC of course. Maybe you can lay traps to find out. Could be a virus aswell, I'ld advise you to scan your computer for malware and trojans.

 

[thisGuy]

Someone must have typed that site in, utilized it. Then deleted it from the history before leaving your computer.

The address bar drop down 'history' and the actual history panel are two completely different thigns