Clearing Browser History
"How do I clear the list of sites visited in my web browser? There are some nosy people in my office and I don't want them to be able to see what web sites I have visited."
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Cleanup in Aisle 451
Well, that depends on which list you mean. There are several crumb trails that can reveal your web whereabouts to others who might be snooping around your computer. Let's look at some ways to clear your digital tracks with the most popular browsers.
First, there's the address box (up near the top of the screen), where you type in web addresses (URLs) of sites that you want to visit. Those addresses accumulate in the dropdown box that you can access with the little down-arrow on the right of the address box, and some of them will display below the address bar as you enter URLs. This can be very handy or very embarrassing, depending on who's watching over your shoulder and where you've been.
And then there's the browser history, which logs the date, time and web address of every page you have visited. A lot of people are not aware that this history log even exists, so if it's YOU that's spying on your colleague, spouse or child, it's the first place to look. Just press Ctrl H and the History panel will appear on the left side of your browser screen.
Fortunately, it's very easy to clear out the address bar entries and the browser history. With Internet Explorer, click on Tools -> Internet Options and then whack the Clear History button. Firefox users, click on Tools -> Options, click on Privacy, then hit the Clear button next to History. That's it -- tabula rasa, squeaky clean.
Almost...
If you're surrounded by non-techies, that should take care of the snoopers. But you may also want to remove some traces that more determined folks (i.e. "geeks") might find laying around on your hard drive. Namely, there is the browser cache, cookies and saved form data.
Firefox has a handy Clear All button on that Privacy page which will clear everything that your browser may store while you're browsing. If you want to clear these items selectively, there are individual Clear buttons for each.
With Internet Explorer, it's slightly more complicated. Go back to Tools -> Internet Options, and then press the Delete Cookies and Delete Files buttons. Now click on the Content tab, and hit both the Clear Forms and Clear Passwords buttons.
NOTE: I generally do NOT recommend that people delete their cookies. They're useful when it comes to customizing your browsing experience at many sites, and can save you the trouble of re-entering information on web forms. Anti-spyware programs that identify cookies as "threats" are silly and should be avoided. For more info on this see my article Eat Your Cookies.
Feeling Fabulous?
For most users, that should erase all traces of where you've been hanging out in the digital domain. But there are a few more things to consider.
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Posted by Bob Rankin on October 6, 2005 06:07 PM
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Clearing Browser History (Posted: October 6, 2005 06:07 PM)
Printed from: http://askbobrankin.com/clearing_browser_history.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Clearing Browser History"
(See all 20 comments for this article.)Posted by:
Colin Edmonds
24 Oct 2005
Pretty much covers the issues.
However, I can't help but stress the point you mention in passing about computers at work. Actually, it is not just computers at work that keep "logs" of a person's trail. If you are accessing the net through someone's service (an ISP, for example), their servers also keep a log of all accesses (although no one has the time and energy to look through them all, the record is still on file and can certainly be called up if requested, for example by legal authorities). Most such service providers archive their files, and so the chances are that somewhere, there is a record of your browsing history.
This would mean that if you don't want anyone to know where you've been, your only protection is in not going there at all
Posted by:
GT68106
01 Mar 2006
How about CLEAN CASH V3.2 at [buttuglysoftware.com] It will also clean up [index.dat files] They are tracks hidden on the hard drive. Then there's [index.dat scanner] at [http://www.extramile.ro/index.html] to see if you got em all. Both are free.
Posted by:
B. Fofana
07 Feb 2007
Hello Bob, Is it possible to prove that a file presented as a download from a website is a forgery when it was not the source?
EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm not sure what you are asking. Give an example...?
Posted by:
B. Fofana
07 Feb 2007
>
Example : suppose someone claims that file F has been downloaded from www.somesite.com. Is it possible to prove or disprove that claim ?
EDITOR'S NOTE: If the file is on your computer, and someone is claiming that you got it from a certain website, then the only way to prove that would be to match up an entry in the website's server log with the records of your ISP. But chances are you can't get access to either without a court order.
Posted by:
KP
16 Feb 2007
Help, I am using Safari and want to clear the drop down window on Google. I'm using OS-X and nothing seems to work. Any ideas?
EDITOR'S NOTE: See http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_clear_recent_searches_from_safari_and_google.html
Posted by:
Candice
09 Oct 2007
This was some of the most helpful information I have ever found on the internet! It's easy, effective, and it's free! Everything else I found was some stupid software that took an hour to download, and when it's finished you can't use it utill you pay. Anyways, Thanks!
Posted by:
Jorge
07 Jan 2008
Two connections:
1)Main location, 2)satellite location (different building)a few miles away. Connected to main location through VPN.
Task bar has two little computers (connections). One is a local one (westell modem in satellite location). I click on the Main Location Connection icon and disconnect. I still have access to internet. Can they see where I've been? I delete all the browser leaves behind (cache, temp files, etc.) When I disconnect the Main Location connection I stop receiving emails (outlook) and don't have access to the Mail Location server files.
Anyone knows if they can still see where I've been online? And no...no that kind of sites ;)
Posted by:
null
20 Jun 2008
Does or can the ISP keep track of things you wrote on sites? I understand they track what sites you were on, but can they keep anything you wrote or what you viewed?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Everything you enter on a web form, or that appears on a web page as text, passes through your ISP servers. Generally when you fill out a web form, it uses a POST (which does not include the data in the URL) so I doubt if that would be stored by the ISP. Also, on secure (https) forms, the data will be encrypted before it leaves your computer, so that's not a concern.
Posted by:
islander
12 Jul 2008
I've tried the usual method of 'control panel', 'internet options' and clicking on 'clear history' to get the question: "are you sure you want to clear history of visited websites?" When I click 'yes', my history is not cleared. All of the sites are still on the drop-down from the address bar. Any other suggestions? Thank you.
Posted by:
Jackson
01 Jun 2009
Hey, Is it possible for me to contact my ISP and have them tell me the browsing habits of someone who's on my network? Someone's using the Internet at the office and actually downloaded a porn file... someone's going to have to get fired regardless, and I want to make sure it was the right person. Don't want the innocent guy to take the fall.
Can I have my ISP tell me the time/sites that were being used? Thanks!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Maybe, it depends on their policy. They might ask for a court order -- if they even have the data.