Browser and Desktop Indexing History
12/01/2008
When you use the Internet, bits and pieces of your Internet usage will leave trails on your computer that other people can occasionally find and use to either harass you with unwanted solicitations or to steal information from your computer. The best thing you can do is to make sure that information is cleared from your computer as often and thoroughly as possible.
The Address Box
The address bar in which you enter the URL for the websites you visit will often store the most recent addresses you have visited so you can quickly and easily return to any of these sites. However, it can be embarrassing or revealing if you are trying to keep your web browsing history a secret.
Browser History
In addition to the URLs, your web browser will track all of the web pages you visit, along with the date and time on which you visited them for as long as 2 weeks. If someone wants to know what you are doing on the Internet, this is often the first place to look, as they can type CTRL + H and see those sites in an instant.
Cookies and Saved Passwords
Many browsers will save additional information regarding your Internet use that can serve as a major security risk. Websites download information on to your computer that includes your login name, date of visits and the products you view on their sites. These cookies can be saved for as long as 30 days and for someone who knows what they are looking for, can store a trove of valuable information.
Desktop Management
There are still more programs that work as extensions of your web browser such as Google Desktop that will organize your files, emails, and recently visited news stories, websites, and password information. If you use a program like Google Desktop, make sure to use a software program that can clear out the cache from that manager and remove traces of notes and personal information you may have left on your desktop.
Clearing Your History
The easiest and most readily available way to clear out your browser and desktop history is to use the built-in cleanup tools that every browser has. For Internet Explorer, this tool can be found by entering the tools and options menu. For Firefox, you can actually go to the tool file menu and click the "Clear Private Data" button which will then ask you which data to remove, with options to remove temporary files, saved URLs, history, saved passwords, and cookies. A good idea is to use this option every time you log off from the Internet.
For those that have a hard time remembering to clear their history or who feel they need an extra bit of help clearing out potentially dangerous files, there are many privacy enhancing tools that will regularly delete and clear out personal files from your cache and browser history. No matter which decision you make, making sure your computer is free of revealing personal information is a vital task for every PC owner.
Download Privacy Controls now and protect your PC from snoops!