How do I delete browser history after completing a task?

Why Delete Browser Histories?

There are a number of reasons why someone would want to clear the browser history file ranging from not wanting others to see what was recently searched for as well as keeping the computer free of clutter. For example, if you share a computer with a roommate, you might not want your roommate to see that you’ve been visiting websites that discuss “roommates from Hell” or how to evict a roommate.

In addition, as your Web surfing adventures continue, you may find that your computer’s hard drive is loaded with temporary files and performance is suffering. In either case, deleting your browser history files can help you save face and keep your computer from being overloaded with junk.

Deleting Web History

Most Web browsers have a mechanism in place for deleting the browser’s history, temporary Internet files, and cookies. In Internet Explorer 8.0, this option is found in Tools > Internet Options (the steps are similar for earlier versions of Internet Explorer). On the General tab of Internet Options, find the Browsing History section and click Delete. Choose the items that you want to delete (temporary Internet files, cookies, history, form data, passwords, and InPrivate filtering data) and then click the Delete button.

Depending on your Web surfing habits and preferences, you can opt to have Internet Explorer automatically delete your history each time you exit the browser. Simply place a checkmark in the box that says, “Delete browsing history on exit” which is found on the General tab just under the Browsing History section.

Internet Explorer 8.0’s InPrivate Browsing

Internet Explorer 8.0 introduced a new feature called InPrivate Browsing. You can use this feature by going to Tools > InPrivate Browsing. This opens a new Internet Explorer window that you can use to surf the Internet without worrying about cookies, history files, and temporary files being stored on your computer. When using this feature, you won’t have access to your toolbars or extensions.

Other Concerns

Deleting Web history is fairly easy and it’s a good maintenance step that will keep your temporary files from becoming too large. However, your computer still keeps track of your deleted histories in hidden system files. For most users, this isn’t a big deal, but for users with sensitive, confidential concerns, stronger solutions exist. If you need a stronger solution, consider Privacy Controls software which is designed to give you better control over how your computer stores data that you want to keep to yourself.

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.

What are Web tracks and should I be concerned about them?

Whenever I use the Internet, my usage leaves traces of my visits on my hard drive even after I exit the browser. My computer automatically records and stores this data. Web tracks include all of the following: browser cache, browser history, cookies, address bar history, and autocomplete history.

Although this might seem innocents at first, and I might think that I don’t need to worry about it, I should be concerned. After all, anyone who gains access to my computer can look up all of the web pages that I have visited. They can easily discover every image or video that I have viewed using my computer along with all of the Web pages that I have ever visited.

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Just thinking about all of the important data that I have ever used when visiting specific websites is upsetting. Imagine all of the different usernames and passwords that someone else might be able to access from these web tracks. Examples if some of the data that is stored include the URLs that I have typed into my browser bars, the specific identifiers from every individual web page that I have visited, a record of the keywords that I have typed into search bars in my browsers and on web pages, and the information derived from the individual web pages. All of this data is stored on the computer.

Plus, do you know what is stored in the autocomplete history file? Personal information such as email addresses, account numbers, passwords, street addresses, phone numbers, and more are kept in this file. Coworkers, friends, and family members who borrow my computer for just a few minutes to check their email account or browse some website can easily retrieve this information. Plus, if they can do it, so can any spyware application that invades my computer. How much do I really want people to know about me?

At first I wondered why computers would be set up to retain all of this data. While some of this information might not include sensitive data, quite a bit of it does do so. However, the primary reason behind Web tracks is to enable quicker loading of Web pages whenever someone is surfing the Net.

In this rat race world where we have so little time to accomplish all of our goals and dreams, time is an important commodity. Of course, people are inclined to cut corners and save time where they can. But is it worth the risk of exposing some of all of our most sensitive personal data? Of course not! That’s why I whole heartedly recommend that computer users purchase a web track cleaning tool such as Paretologic’s Privacy Controls.

Paretologic’s Privacy Control doesn’t just delete all evidence of your web tracks, it shreds them so no one can ever find them. This application can permanently erase data from the following programs: Outlook, Kazaa, MSN Messenger, Microsoft Office, and Internet Explorer as well as many more.