How To Clear Search History
By Matt Mercer
You may be surprised to learn that even if you clear your internet search history, all sites you have visited, temporary files, internet cookies and other personal details are still saved on your computer! Anyone computer-savvy with access to your PC would be able to investigate your browsing habits. Don't fret though, read on and learn how you can take charge of your PC rather than it take charge of you.
What is Internet History? So what is the internet history and how can you clear it and ensure that it is gone forever? Well, in order to improve performance when you surf the internet, your browser keeps a log of all the websites you type into the address bar. You can see the history if you click the drop-down button at the right-hand side of it. What’s more, if you have 'Autocomplete' activated, your browser will try to be clever and pre-emptively display sites you have visited before as you type in a website address. It is just like predictive texting on your cell phone. So if you have previously visited 'DodgySites.com', you may find the next time you are surfing with friends or family that when you type in 'DodgemCarsAreFun', your browser is a bit too helpful and popsup with 'DodgySites.com' for everyone to see!
Such details can be removed manually, but any manual process is time consuming and more importantly prone to error. Excellent software solutions exist that will allow you to clear search history and all associated data like cookies and temporary internet files at the click of a button.
How Can I Deactivate AutoComplete? In 'Internet Explorer' simply go to:
Tools -> Internet Options -> Content -> AutoComplete and deactivate the checkboxes.
How Do I Clear Search History? OK great, you have disabled AutoComplete, but the internet search history is still there. So now we need to go to:
Tools -> Internet Options -> General -> Press the 'Clear History' button
Hey presto all those sites will vanish from the drop-down button in your browser's address bar. Did you know though that everything you see on the internet is actually downloaded to your computer? That's just the way the internet works. So you also need to delete 'Temporary Internet Files'. Go to:
Tools -> Internet Options -> General -> Press the 'Delete Cookies' and 'Delete Files' buttons.
Is It Really Deleted? Er...No. Would you believe it, but deleting data does not actually remove it from your PC! You see, when you 'delete' a file (including internet history), your computer simply makes the file available for storing new data. Until that happens, which by no means is a certainty, web sites, images, cookies and other internet details still exist on your computer. The only way to remove them completely is by file shredding software. Such software will not only simplify the process of cleaning up your internet tracks, but will also shred it beyond recovery. It is the only way you can be sure you have deleted that internet history. So now that you are in the know, take charge of your PC before it takes charge of you!
