COVER YOUR INTERNET TRACKS FROM SOMEONE
By this we mean your partner could well be checking what you have been doing and where you have been visiting on the internet when you are not around.
If you want to keep your internet usage a secret then there are easy ways to delete your online tracks to prevent the above happening.
How do I work out which browser I am using
If you know what browser you are using, then skip to the relevant instructions below. If you do not know the type of browser you are using, click on Help on the toolbar at the top of the browser screen. A drop down menu will appear, the last entry will say About Internet Explorer, About Mozilla Firefox, or something similar.
Never give out your passwords to anyone! And never type passwords while others are around you.
Internet browsers and how to delete your tracks
Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options. In the General page under Browser History, select the delete button. Either select and Delete each section: Temporary internet files; Cookies, History; Forms data and Passwords; or select the Delete all button at the bottom to clear everything.
For more detailed information (including for older versions), click link below:
Click on Tools and then Options, then click on Privacy. Click “clear your recent history” ensure that all boxes have been selected and then click on Clear Now. You can also click in the same place “firefox will” and then adjust the browser to remember settings and history or not.
You can find more information here:
http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/clear-your-browsing-history-and-other-personal-dat
Go to the Safari menu at top left hand screen. Choose Reset Safari and click Reset. Resetting clears the history, empties the cache, clears the Downloads window and removes all cookies. It also removes any saved user names, password data and clears Google/Yahoo search entries.
You can read more information here (including clearing recent sites visited and phone app history):
Click the Chrome menu Chrome menu on the browser toolbar.(top right)
Select More tools. Select Clear browsing data.
In the dialogue that appears, select the tickboxes for the types of information that you want to remove.
Use the menu at the top to select the amount of data that you want to delete. Select beginning of time to delete everything. Click Clear browsing data.
Find more information here (including for mobile devices):
It’s important to state that there is a risk involved in removing data from your computer. For instance, if your partner uses online banking and has a saved password, then if you clear the cookies on your PC, your partner will realise you’ve done so, because their password will no longer be saved. Also, your partner may notice if the address history on the PC has been cleared, and this may raise suspicion. So try and be selective in what options you click to delete on your browser with this in mind.
About your e-mails
If an abuser sends you threatening or harassing e-mail messages, they may be printed and saved as evidence of this abuse.
Be aware of how records of your emails can be accessed:
- Any email you have previously sent will be stored in sent Items. Go to sent items and delete emails you don’t want a person to see
- If you started an email but didn’t finish it, it might be in your drafts folder. Go to the draft folder to delete it.
- If you reply to any email, the original message will probably be in the body of the message – delete the email if you do not want anyone to see your original message.
- When you delete an item in any email program (Outlook Express, Outlook, Thunderbird etc) it does not really delete the item – it moves the item to a folder called Deleted Items. You have to delete the items in Deleted Items to remove them completely.
- If there’s a risk that your abuser may know how to access your emails, it’s a good idea to set up a new email account.
Use a provider like Hotmail or Yahoo for an account you can access from anywhere, and use a name that is not recognisable as you, for example bakedbeans@hotmail.co.uk. Keep this email secret.
Always clear your internet traces just in case someone is spying on you. It does happen!
Top tips to remember
- If you do not use a password to log on to your computer, someone else will be able to access your email and track your internet usage.
- The safest way to find information on the internet would be at an internet cafe, a local library, a friend’s house, or at work.
- Always remember to clear after every visit your temporary internet files and internet history browser when using websites such as ours or those related to getting help with domestic abuse.
- You do not need to be a pc geek or an IT expert to follow our simple steps to hide your internet usage. Do not think you can not do this, you can! And it is important that you get into the habit to cover your internet tracks.
