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If I went on my son’s PC, would he be able to see that I had been on there and what I was looking at when he next turns the pc on?

Computers leave clues; so yes, your son may stumble across your tracks (accidentally or otherwise). I will give you some facts about what happens when you browse through a computer.

What can be seen on a computer really depends what has been added to it. There are many third party software choices out there that will track movements on the computer both online and off. There are also ways to check recent activity on the computer that are built-in as defaults.

• Erase Internet History
• Delete searches, clear location bar, delete index.dat
• Completely wipe all traces of Online activity

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Recently Viewed Documents

There is a function of Windows XP called ‘recently viewed’ that will show all of the documents that have been opened recently. It is set as the default on the system, but there is a way to erase all of the recently viewed documents. Go to Start and right click on it. Choose Properties and the Start menu tab. Click on Customize. Click on Clear - this will empty the cache of recently viewed items. It will clear the items but not hide the functions. You can see recently viewed documents in the C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Recent folder.

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Even though you have erased the items from the recently viewed folder, most of these items are still kept in the computer’s registry. There is no easy way to erase them from the registry, so if your son is technologically savvy, he may still be able to see what has been viewed after it has been erased.

Internet History

It is easy to see the recently viewed websites on the Internet - for example in Internet Explorer, all you have to do is hold down the History button on the tool bar to see recently viewed websites. In addition, typing the first few letters of a URL in the address bar and pausing often reveals a list of websites that have been visited that start with those letters. You can clear this by going to Tools, then Internet Options. Choose Clear History and it will erase all recently viewed websites.

Tracking Software

If there has been tracking software installed on the machine, it will be extremely difficult to cover your tracks. This type of third-party software tracks everything that has been done on the machine both on the PC itself and on the Internet. It is often used by employers and parents to track where computer users have been. It is meant to be hidden and can’t be disabled except by the person who installed it.

In short, if you go on your son’s computer, you may be able to erase the evidence. Then again, depending on his tech savvy, you may not.

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.