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To save electricity, I like to shut down my computer every night. First, I quit my Web browser.

My Web browser is set up so that, when I quit, it automatically saves my session: a list of open tabs and more. It stores the session on my computer's hard drive. I find this very useful.

R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was strict about saving information to a computer's hard drive during Chol Hamoed. In "Chol Hamoed Observance in Modern Times", R' Howard Jachter explains:

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (cited in Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchata 66 note 209) [...] surprisingly forbids [...] storing information on a computer because it is a form of "building."

Let's say that my rabbi holds like R' Auerbach regarding saving on Chol Hamoed. If so, then during Chol Hamoed, may I quit my Web browser normally and let it save its session? Or must I take special steps so that it won't save its session?

CYLOR.

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unforgettableidSupportsMonica
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    If you don't want to store anything on your harddrive you will need to do a lot more than not close your browser. – Michoel Mar 29 '13 at 00:35
  • The browser doesn't save the session on shutdown - it saves it constantly. If you wanted to avoid the browser saving anything you'd need to use "Private browsing mode". But the computer does quite a bit more than just save a session. – Ariel Mar 29 '13 at 01:13
  • Note that he also forbids typing on the computer in the first place, so it seems to be a moot point. – Shimon bM Mar 20 '15 at 02:16

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I would think that R Shlomo Zalman would probably not allow one to use a modern-day computer on chol hamoed; a computer constantly saves and re-writes information. However, if this problem is avoided and you are solely concerned about saving browsing information, shut that mode off and use incognito browsing.

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