While it’s a good idea to remove your Web history from time to time, doing so may also remove other features that you may or may not want removed. For example, if you use AutoComplete to store your user names and passwords for various websites, removing the entire history will also remove your stored information. This can cause problems, especially if you have relied on this stored data and have since forgotten your log on credentials.

I use Internet Explorer 7 which allows you to individually delete related Web browsing histories such as temporary Internet files, cookies, history, form data, and stored passwords. Each option has its purpose.

Temporary Internet Files - When you browse the Internet, your computer stores copies of Web pages and images locally on your computer. The purpose of doing so is to speed up your browsing experience. Each time you re-visit a website, the computer already has the required images on the hard drive and doesn’t have to re-download them.

The problem with temporary Internet files is that they take up a great deal of space on your computer and can cause performance problems when too many files are clogging your hard disk. Another problem is that these files serve as Internet tracks, detailing the types of websites you’ve been visiting and the photos you’ve been looking at.

Cookies - Cookies are small files stored on your computer that allow websites to customize your visiting experience. For example, by entering your zip code, you can get custom information about your community such as local headlines or weather reports. However, not all cookies are harmless. Many cookies keep track of your Web browsing activities and then serve up advertisements based on this information. In addition, by looking at your cookies folders, others can see the types of websites you’ve been visiting.

History - The history contains URLs of the websites you’ve visited. While this can be useful to you, it can also be detrimental, especially if you don’t want others to see which websites you’ve been visiting. Deleting the history will also delete the automatic URL entry feature of the address bar.

Form Data - When deleting history items, form data is often deleted at the same time. If you have AutoComplete enabled to automatically save form data such as user names and your address, deleting form data will delete the information you currently have stored.

Passwords - Similar to form data, you can set up AutoComplete to store your passwords so that you don’t have to manually enter them each time you visit a website.

Fortunately, when deleting history items in Internet Explorer 7, you can delete these items individually, picking and choosing which items to keep. You can also delete them all at once if so desired. How often you delete your information is up to you. Doing so isn’t difficult but your privacy is only as good as your last clean up. A better way is to invest in privacy protection software and automate these tasks.

Your computer offers “saved form data” and “saved passwords” in order to make your Web browsing more convenient. I have to admit, it’s nice to be able to go to a website and have my user name and password pre-filled out. But, it’s not always the most secure thing to do. If someone were to steal my laptop, they’d be able to log into websites as if they were me.

Saved form data is also convenient - imagine never having to type in your address or credit card number again. Instead, you can have the computer automatically fill in this data on web forms for you. Convenient? Yes. Secure? No.

AutoComplete stores entries that you’ve made on visits to websites and then offers suggestions for using them again on similar forms. AutoComplete stores the following information:

• Web addresses
• Forms
• User names and passwords on forms

Fortunately, these options are easy to change. These instructions are for Internet Explorer 7. Other versions of Internet Explorer have similar steps. First, go into Internet Explorer and click the Tools menu. Click on Internet options. Now, click the Content tab. Find the AutoComplete section and click on Settings. Here you’ll find checkboxes for each of the AutoComplete setting options. If you do not want AutoComplete to fill in any information for you, remove all checkmarks from the check boxes.

You can also set up AutoComplete to prompt you when saving user names and passwords. This gives you greater control over which passwords you save. Use this option if you want to be able to make your own decisions.

Once you have removed these options, it’s time to delete previously saved form data. This too is simple. Go back into Internet Options. This time, select the General tab and find the browsing history area. Click the Delete button. Next, you’ll see a screen listing the following five options for deletion:

• Temporary Internet Files
• Cookies
• History
• Form Data
• Passwords

In this case, we’re interested in deleting Form Data and Passwords but it doesn’t hurt to delete all of these items. You can either delete each item individually or you can delete them all at once by hitting the Delete All button.

What are cookies? And what’s their function?

If you ask the Cookie Monster, you’ll get an answer such as “Me love cookies.” But if you ask me, computer cookies are a mixed bag of tricks. Cookies are small text files that are saved on your computer after visiting websites. Their purpose is to enhance your experience. That is, they save information about your preferences so that the next time you visit the website, your browsing experience is customized.

For example, if you go to Amazon.com and order a book about breeding golden retrievers, the next time you visit, you might be taken to a page showing you books about dog obedience training or hunting with bird dogs.

Another good use for cookies is for customizing certain pages. For example, you can set up many web pages to display content specifically to meet your needs such as by entering your birth date in order to get a daily horoscope and your zip code to get the local weather report.

So, if cookies are so useful, what’s the problem? Just as with any technology, a good thing in the wrong hands isn’t so good after all. Data mining cookies can track your Web surfing habits and “customize” and experience you don’t want at all. For example, say you’re searching the Internet for information about golden retrievers. Next thing you know, you’re getting pop-up advertisements and e-mail messages hawking everything from dog bones to arthritis medicine for your aging golden retriever’s aching hips.

Another issue is that because cookies are stored on your computer, they leave a track of many of the websites you’ve been visiting. Simply by looking in the cookies folder, anyone can see the evidence of recently visited websites.

Here’s another problem - junk mail and spam. Cookies can track more than just the orders you’ve placed or the zip code you’ve entered. They can record the pages you’ve visited, the ads that you’ve clicked on, your IP address, and much more about your Web surfing habits. When you place an order or register with the Website, your name and address become linked to this information which becomes a goldmine to marketers. Not only might this company start sending you unwanted junk mail and spam, they might take it a step further and sell your information to others. Suddenly, your mailbox is packed to the brim with offers related to your initial order.

A large network called DoubleClick serves up banner advertisements all over the Internet and collects information about visitor’s habits. As more information is collected, a huge profile about your surfing habits across the Internet (not just a particular Website) is created - another goldmine to marketers.

Cookies have their good points and their bad points. While I like having a custom experience, I don’t like giving marketers any more information than possible. Because of this I limit the type of cookies I’ll accept. Yes, you can do that. Go to Internet Options (found in the Tools menu of Internet Explorer) and click on the Privacy tab. Now, slide the settings bar up and down the scale and read the different options. Choose the option that works best for you. 

Many people don’t think they need to worry about computer privacy because they have nothing to hide. After all, they are only using their PCs to access their e-mails, share family photos with the relatives, or search the Internet for rather tame pursuits such as the latest knitting patterns or gardening advice. Who cares, right?

Wrong. Computer privacy is a huge issue. You don’t have to be a conspirator, criminal, or pedophile to be affected by computer privacy issues. The majority of computer users are just like you and me. We go online, check our e-mails, check out the latest stock reports, watch a silly YouTube video, download our bank statements, buy a few books, and go about our day-to-day business. Once again - who cares?

Law enforcement cares. Snoops in the office care. Your boss cares. Your spouse cares. Spyware developers care. People who get their hands on your hard drive once you recycle your computer care. Let’s just look at the financial aspect alone. Does your hard drive have all of your bank account numbers on it? Passwords? Social Security Number? Tax returns? What a goldmine for identity thieves!

So, what can you do to protect your privacy?

Awareness is the first step. Now that you are aware that privacy is a concern - even for you - you can start computing safer. First, regularly clear your computer’s Temporary Files, Browser History, Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, Saved Form Data, and Saved Passwords.

Next, search your computer (including system files and hidden files) for any files named index.dat and delete these files regularly. Index.dat files store Web sites and e-mails sent in hidden files. Even if you clear your history, the index.dat files remain.

Do not allow Windows to store your passwords. This is a pain, I know. But you’ll have to deal with it. Otherwise, anyone who has access to your computer can get in to your financial accounts.

Password-protect sensitive files on your computer and then permanently delete these files once you’re done with them. For example, if you’ve created a master document containing all of your assets and liabilities as part of an estate planning document, password-protect it. Once printed out and placed in a safe deposit box, permanently delete the file. This doesn’t mean to delete it and empty the Recycle Bin; it means use a software utility designed for shredding electronic documents. Why? Because data recovery software is readily available to anyone and anyone with this technology can recover erased data - including from formatted disks!

When throwing away CDs, DVDs, hard drives, and other media devices containing data or recycling your computer use this same shredding technology to completely erase the contents once and for all. You never know where your discarded storage devices will end up so make sure that the data once contained on these devices is gone for good.

Be stingy with your personal information. Phishing scams are more sophisticated than ever. Remember that the companies you do business with already have the information they need. They won’t require “confirmation” of your Social Security Number or threaten to shut down your account if you don’t divulge it.

Finally, secure your computer with a password and with security software including antivirus, antispyware, and privacy protection.

Does my Internet cache store private info like passwords and account numbers?

Managing user names, account numbers, and passwords is a royal pain, isn’t it? If you’re like me, you have ATM cards, home security systems, work security systems, voicemail access, computer accounts, Internet access, e-mail accounts, online banking, online insurance, online brokerage accounts, and dozens of Websites that you regularly access - all requiring unique user names and passwords. Internet Explorer and other Web browser attempt to help you manage your passwords by storing them in a cache. Simply allow the Web browser to “remember” the password and you can relax - or can you?

Because you computer can store this data, your system is automatically compromised. Imagine what would happen if your laptop were stolen. Could the thief simply start visiting financial Web pages until he finds your bank complete with your account number and password pre-filled in? Conceivably, yes. If you haven’t cleared your cache recently, all he would need to do is start entering each letter of the alphabet into the address bar.

Try it and see. Enter “a” into your address bar. What shows up? A whole screen appears listing all of the websites that you’ve recently visited beginning with the letter “a.” Did “Allstate Insurance” just pop up? Is your account number and password pre-filled in? Now try “b.” Gosh, is that Bank of America?

The above example is an extremely low-tech way of discovering your Web accounts and stored passwords. It also illustrates how quickly anyone can access your financial information without having any technical abilities or know how. More sophisticated users can go in and get even more sensitive data.

Fortunately, you can do a few things to further protect your financial data. First, most financial institutions using online banking have implemented more secure log on practices. For example, Bank of America will remember your “Saved online ID” though it blanks out most of the numbers. Once you click “Sign in,” you’re taken to a screen where you must verify a pre-identified image called a “site key” before entering your passcode. ING Direct takes it a step further by implementing a similar setup but requiring you to enter your password using a numeric keypad to represent the letters of your password. Each time you log in, the keypad has a different set of corresponding letters to numbers.

A variety of systems on your computer attempt to help make browsing easier but they do raise security concerns including cookies (which can store your passwords and account numbers), temporary Internet files, and browser histories.

Internet Explorer provides a way for you to delete this information. Steps vary depending on which version you are using. In IE 7, go into Tools>Internet Options. The General tab has an area devoted to Browsing History. Click the Delete button and you will be able to delete:

• Temporary Internet Files
• Cookies
• History
• Form Data
• Passwords

Once you’ve cleared the sensitive information, you need to have a new resolve. Can you remember all of your passwords and account numbers without relying on these built-in tools? Start by refusing to allow Windows to save your form data and password information when prompted. Regularly clear your Browsing History items.

Consider offline methods for managing your passwords. For example, Bank of America offers a “SafePass” security option where you can get one-time passwords delivered to your cell phone. As soon as you use this one-time password, it expires. You get a new password the next time you need to log in.

Privacy Controls Deletes all references to Web Activity so that even sophisticated Forensic Recovery software cant unearth the truth!

Very Few Tools actually get rid of “ALL” the Evidence - Privacy Controls does.

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What would your Surfing History Reveal about you?

You may not have anything to hide but your Internet tracks will reveal what you’ve been doing online - do you really want others to see where you’ve been?

If you could see my Web browsing history, you’d jump to all sorts of conclusions about me. For example, among my recent searches are:

• Underground poker rooms
• Staph infections
• Adult dancing lessons

So, am I a tap-dancing, staph-infected, poker player looking for a high stakes game of cards?

Not at all but you might think by looking at my Web browsing history. Do you know what else you would find by looking at my history? You’d find my preferred financial institutions where I do my online banking. What would your PC reveal?

My Bank Account Numbers and My Bank Account Passwords

If I happen to have account information and passwords stored for convenience, you’d be able to go into my accounts!

How many people have casual access to your computer? Can you be absolutely sure that no one’s curious and snooping?

Automated Spyware tools collecting ALL your Private info

Not only can anyone who has access to your computer poke around into your Web history, you should also be concerned with spyware doing the same. Spyware can search your computer’s log files and send sensitive information to organized criminal rings.

Casual Browsing of Adult Content

Another reason to cover your Internet tracks involves sparing your loved ones from finding out that you’ve been looking at adult content. According to WordTracker’s long term report on Web searches, the number one search term is “sex.” For those who are looking, it’s probably not a bad idea to clear out the history, especially if children have access to the computer.

What if he knew, that you want out?

People in abusive relationships are also advised to cover up their Internet tracks. For example, if your partner regularly monitors your phone calls or computer usage, you can bet he’s looking at your Web history. Most domestic violence agencies recommend using a public computer such as one at the local library when conducting Internet searches that may upset or provoke the abuser if discovered. For example, what might an abusive spouse do upon discovering a search for “Escaping from bad marriage” or “How to file for divorce”?     

Clearing Web tracks involves clearing the Web history files and cookies. However, this isn’t always enough, especially if the other party is computer savvy. Tools such as keyloggers and computer monitoring systems are readily available to stealthily record all of your keystrokes or provide screenshots of your computer activity. In addition, hidden system files, known as index.dat files, contain a complete record of all websites visited - even after clearing the history.

ParetoLogic Privacy Controls is Thorough

Specially designed software programs are available for completely covering your Internet tracks. For example, ParetoLogic Privacy Controls is an easy to use tool that will automatically and “completely” clean your Internet tracks.

Use the Privacy Controls “Secure Shred” Feature before PC Disposal

One final note about computer privacy, and I can’t stress this enough, you can’t be sure who’s looking at your computer’s history. Even the most upstanding of citizens should be concerned about what their hard disk reveals. Did you know that re-formatting a hard disk doesn’t really erase data? How many computers have you “recycled” over the years? Where is that data now? Even if you don’t feel the need to cover your Web tracks now, it’s important to remember to completely shred your hard drive when the time comes to dispose of your PC.