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Clearing Your Computer

There may be times when you will want to keep the list of sites you visit confidential. Perhaps you share your computer with an abusive spouse or boyfriend, and you do not want them to know that you went to the pages within this site that allow you to download Personal Protection Orders. Or maybe you are on a company computer, and you do not want your boss to ask questions about whether you have been victimized. Or maybe you just value your privacy too much to want others to know what sites you visit.

No matter the reason, you need to determine how much effort and money you can and should invest in erasing records of the sites you visit online. One option is to use a service such as The Anonymizer, which can mask your Internet surfing.

There are also ways for a somewhat computer savvy person to clear most of these records from their computer. But there is no one single list of instructions, because operating systems (Windows, Macintosh, DOS, etc.) and browsers (Netscape, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, etc.) vary. And ensuring that you have removed ALL records that could be uncovered by an expert is more challenging, particularly if you have Windows 95. (Windows 95 registry files keep a list of the last 10 sites you visited -- you can either remove them, which can be tricky, or you could visit 10 different benign sites, such as HBO and Disney, and replace your real record with this phony one.)

WARNING: If you believe that someone with access to the computer that you are using might harm you if they knew where you had visited online, then find a computer to which that person does not have access! Go to a public library and log on there. Use a friend's computer, if you are sure they will keep your secret. Ask a company to let you use their system.

And remember -- even if the person you fear knows little about computers, he might have a friend who has those skills. Better to err on the side of caution.

For everyone else, the issue becomes how far you are willing to go to clear your computer's records. The two main variables that make a difference are:

1. what browser you are using (the most common ones are Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer); and
   
2. your operating system (usually the choice between Windows or Macintosh).

BOOKMARKS

Basics for Netscape Basics for Microsoft Internet Explorer

Of course, you should never bookmark a site that you want to keep confidential. If you have already bookmarked this site, don't forget to go in and remove it.

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