Search:

Home | Computers | Security


Delete History Files

By: Mil Incorporated

What is history and why is it dangerous?

Your computer (well, actually the programs on your computer) track and save many of your actions. For example Windows remembers which programs you have started, Internet Explorer remembers which websites you have visited, Google Toolbar remembers the words that you have searched for, and so on. These traces of your computer activity are commonly known as history.

Contrary to the popular belief that this is done in order to harm you as part of some sort of worldwide conspiracy, history is actually used for the purpose of making your computer experience more convenient. However, as in many other cases, the good things can be used for bad purposes. In this case the information about your computer habits can be used from someone to gather very private information about yourself and to harm you, your work, your business, or your family. The privacy threats include many more things than history. Nevertheless, history is one of the most obvious traces and is very easy to abuse.

What kinds of history are there?

There are generally two types of history: the first one is created by Windows, Internet Explorer or other parts of the operating system; and the second one is created by other applications (such as Media Player, Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, etc.). The second type is covered in the next chapter of this article.

The most important type of history is the Internet history that is created by Internet Explorer (from now on we will call it IE), which records every page that you have visited on the Internet. In order to see this history start Internet Explorer and select View -> Explorer Bar -> History. This will open a narrow window in the left side of the main IE window, which shows the pages that you have opened in the past.

The second type of history is Windows search history. It can be seen if you open the Search results window. To do that you need to click Start menu -> Search.

The next types of history are the Start menu Run history and Start menu most frequently used programs.

There are other types of history but all of them are associated with specific applications.

Applications history:

The first type of application history is called Common file dialog history. Almost every application has some sort of open/save features and most of the applications use the Windows-provided dialogs for these operations. This ensures that open/save dialogs of most programs are very similar to each other. However here comes the bad news - Windows records the names of the files that you open or save. Even if these names do not show in the file open/save dialog of particular application, they are still recorded and can be viewed from someone who knows where to look for them.

Now, let's take a look at the Media Player history items. First, there is a list of most recently opened files in the File menu of Media Player. Second, each played file is remembered in the default playlist.

Google Toolbar, Google Deskbar, Yahoo toolbar and ICQ toobar all have a special type of search history that records the words that you have searched for.

How to delete history?

Deleting of all history traces is very hard task that can not be done manually because most of them are stored in system areas that are not directly accessible from the user. Also the history traces are so many and they are scattered at so many places that their manual deletion would be very long and tedious work with high probability of mistakes that could lead to privacy holes or even render your computer unusable.

Mil Shield is a powerful privacy protection program that was designed specifically to delete all types history that are described in this article; to clean and shred the index.dat files; and to clean all other privacy-related traces as cookies, Temporary Internet Files, AutoComplete forms and passwords, UserData records, and many others.

Article Source: http://www.contentspool.com

Company profile: Mil Incorporated provides software security and privacy solutions that incorporate state of the art technology, security expertise, and substantial resources.
Web address: www.milincorporated.com/
More information about the article: www.milincorporated.com/a-delete-history.html

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

        Add to Onlywire
Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Security Articles Via RSS!
  • Efficient anti spam software By: Mira Williams - Not having enough time is a general problem in today’s modern world. We have stressful, demanding jobs and often we rely on the Internet to simplify our workload. Nevertheless, we waste almost 5 seconds with each spam email we need to verify in your inbox. Is there a solution? You can purchase your very own anti spam software. A veritable spam blocker, it will offer you the protection needed against potential harmful viruses and malicious software often found in spam emails.
    Tags: computers, security, antispam, spamassassin, blcok spam, anti spam appliance, filter email
  • Benefits of the anti spam software By: Mira Williams - If you are interested in a program that acts as a spam blocker, then you should know that you have plenty of choices online. Several programs are available that will filter email but not all of them are suitable for your needs. Which spam block software should you choose? The ones that stops an increased percent of the spam emails you receive, acting at the same time as anti virus software. The system should be an intelligent spam filter, capable of adapting to new problems and recurring threats.
    Tags: computers, security, antispam, spamassassin, blcok spam, anti spam appliance, filter email
  • Say goodbye to spam emails By: Mira Williams - The spam blocker is one of the most advanced programs that will help you stop spam without putting too much effort into it. With features like email filtering and email protection against viruses, this product is a must. Plus, it offers continuous access to your email inbox, regardless of the state of the server. This is a particularly attractive advantage for businessmen, as they need to remain connected at all times. Once you give the spam email protection software a chance, you will definitely recognize it to be a pretty useful tool for your business.
    Tags: computers, security, antispam, spamassassin, blcok spam, anti spam appliance, filter email
  • Protecting Your Website By: XdaggerX - There are several ways that people use to protect their website, all of which dont work. In case you want to research into them, they are: - using javascript to prevent right-click - This method do not work because javascript CAN be turned off anytime. This method will inconvenience legitimate visitors more than protect your graphics. This is because right-click is used by many people for navigation, moving 'back' and 'forward' between pages. Disabling this functionality is likely to irritate your visitors.
    Tags: computers, security, website, protect, security, web protect
  • Online Backup Of Your Data By: Dan Miller - Anyone who has had the experience of losing data from their computer can testify to the significance of online backup. Sometimes, something completely out of your control such as a power outage or surge can cause you to lose significant amounts of data. Other times, you make a mistake and end up deleting something you thought was saved. The result of the loss can range from a minor annoyance to a loss of a full day's worth of work and therefore income.
    Tags: computers, security, online backup, remote backup, disaster recovery, remote, data
  • Online Backup: Keeping Your Data Safe By: Dan Miller - With the fast paced world of technology and information we have a great deal of information to process and sort through. Because of this a big challenge for both individuals and business is how to manage their data in computer systems. If the information that you are trying to preserve is of a sensitive nature then this problem only becomes more delicate. If you are an individual some of the sensitive data that you may have stored in your computer is the financial details and your bank account transaction history.
    Tags: computers, security, online backup, backup software, backup servicebusiness, computer, internet
  • Online Backup: Better Safe Than Sorry By: Dan Miller - Have you ever thought about what would happen if some disaster strikes your computer? In the flash of an eye, each and every one of your vital computerized files, pictures and customer data would be vanished. There is every possibility that it may happen. Lightning, robbery, submerging of documents due to flood, a possible hard drive malfunction, presence of computer viruses and many more things can cause the loss of information. Losing this information might mean that you'll never be able to get it back again.
    Tags: computers, security, online backup, backup software, remote backupcomputer, home business, internet
  • Online Backup Is Necessary Protection For Your Work By: Dan Miller - The process of backing up one's computer data is a process that, like other forms of insurance, may seem too mundane or unnecessary to bother with - until disaster strikes and it is too late. Years ago, computer data backup software and solutions consisted of some form of external physical media, such as a CD, zip drive, dvd, external hard drive, or tape drive, plus automating software running on the computer.
    Tags: computers, security, online backup, disaster recovery, backup softwarebusiness, technology
  • Spyware Doctor New Version By: Handsome - Editor's Choice Anti-Spyware Don't compromise your security with second best! Recommended by experts and editors around the world as the best Anti-Spyware. FREE customer support for all users. Frequent advanced updates ensure that you are always protected. Detects, removes and blocks all types of Spyware and Adware threats. Easiest to use with intelligent automatic protection. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Best Spyware Protection. Used by Millions World Wide. Spyware Doctor has been downloaded over 125 million times with millions more downloads every week.
    Tags: computers, security, pctools, spyware, spyware doctor, anti-spyware
  • Device Lock and Security By: Sushil Kumar - Integration allows instant search access to the DeviceLock database containing comprehensive logging and shadow data for verifying security standards compliance BETHESDA, Md. -- DeviceLock endpoint leakage prevention software enables security administrators to centrally control, log and audit end-user access to peripheral devices and local ports from enterprise systems. Native integration with Microsoft Active Directory[R] results in easy deployment and administration, while comprehensive event and shadow logging provide invaluable information for verifying security standards compliance.
    Tags: computers, security, programming, programming tricks, instant programmer, ebook, tips

Produced in Cooperation with Content Spooling Network.

© 2007 Expert Insiders, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ContentSpool.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Script from Article Dashboard