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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.

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.