Hide your tracks

Browsing on the internet and using emails leave tracks on your computer. If an abuser has access to this computer, they can view what you have been up to on the internet. If you feel that it is important to cover your tracks, please read the following instructions.

Hiding your visit

At writing, there are six main ways that a person can track your internet activities, which includes:

• History
• Bookmarks/Favourites
• Cache
• Downloads
• Saved searches/search functions within a browser
• Cookies
• Back Button

We will tell you about why your computer saves these files and provide you with an easy solution to remove any crumbs. Finally, we will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to remove these crumbs on the most popular internet browsers.

History File

Internet browsers log which web sites you have visited. The browsers do this to increase ease of use for the user as they will highlight which sites have been viewed. These web sites are viewable in the history file. The easiest solution is to clear all of the history in your browser.

Bookmarks/Favourites

Internet browsers allow you to save web sites in either a “Favourite” or “Bookmark” file. An abuser can view which web sites you have saved for quick reference. The solution for hiding favourite/bookmark files is simply not to add them in the first place.

Cache File

Computers save information about web pages in order to speed up opening the page. In the Cache File, it is possible to view which web pages you have been on. To hide these you can choose to “empty the cache”.

Downloads

When any document is downloaded from a site most browsers keep a record of what has been downloaded, this allows the user to re-open it a document without re-downloading it. If you have downloaded any documents these could be saved within the download file on your computer.

Saved searches/search functions within a browser

Search Engines, e.g. Google and Yahoo!, remembers your previous searches. As you start typing in the field, a drop down box appears and predicts what you are typing, based on your previous attempts. The browser is also likely to have a search box, this stores what the user last searched for, so they can complete the same search quickly.

Cookies

Cookies are small files that web sites put onto your computer to make it interact better with your computer.

Back Button

On your browser, you have a back button, which allows you to go back to previously viewed web pages. To hide these crumbs, always close your browser or restart your computer.

The next time you search the internet, simply click on the [Private Browsing] and then, [OK] and the computer will not trace your activities. Be sure to turn off your computer when done.