Your PC is ready and willing to reveal what you've been up to. Give
nosy types a few hours to dig around, and they can unearth plenty: incoming and
outgoing mail you've deleted, Internet sites you've visited, search criteria
and data you've entered on Web forms, even phrases you've included in a
document--then thought better of and deleted. Fortunately, you can protect
yourself if you know these insider tricks. Here's how to keep your personal PC
information hidden.
take out
your recycling
Get rid of files you think
you've already nixed from your system. We're talking about all the trash you
banish to your Recycle Bin. Sure, you can empty it out whenever you remember
(double-click on its icon, then choose "File, Empty Recycle Bin"), but a better
way is to turn off the Recycle Bin. To truly delete your files the first time
around, right-click on the Recycle Bin and choose "Properties," then "Global."
Check the box called "Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files
immediately on delete."
clean
up and lock down
Even if snoops can't view
your documents directly, they can get an idea of what you've been doing by
scanning your list of recently used files in Microsoft Word or Excel's File
menu. This temporary menu lists even files you've recently deleted, so it's
best to turn off the option. In Word or Excel, select "Tools, Options," then
"General." Uncheck the box labeled "Recently Used File List."
Next cover the tracks of your current documents.
Pop up the Start menu and select "Documents." It shows a list of the last 15 or
so files you had open--making it too easy for someone to browse through your
work or personal files without even searching your hard drive. To hide your
work, clear the menu by clicking on the Start menu's "Settings" folder, then
selecting Taskbar. Choose the "Start Menu Programs" tab, then click on the
"Clear" button at the bottom of the tab.
Clean
out your temp files. Microsoft Word and other apps usually save temporary
copies of your work in progress to guard against system crashes. Many apps also
save text you've deleted, moved, or copied--even if you haven't saved the file
you're working on. Get rid of those snippets by routinely deleting the
temporary files that each app saves in the WINDOWSTEMP folder. Also make sure
to delete all the files within its subdirectories, such as those labeled FAX
and WORDXX. Many of the files have extensions such as TMP, but they are
actually complete versions of DOC, HTML, or even image files.
Lock important files by using a password-protect for critical
files. It's easy in Word and Excel. Choose "File, Save As," then select
"Options." In the password box, type in a password; the best passwords aren't
real words or dates. Use a combination of letters, numbers, and punctuation for
a password that's hard to guess. You'll have to type in your password each time
you open and save the document.
caught in your own web
Enter
websites without being followed. Navigator and Internet Explorer keep a record
of every Web address you type into your browser. Take a look: Enter a URL in
the location window below the toolbar; the browsers record the URL in their
drop-down menus until other entries replace it. Here's a way to visit a site
undetected: In either browser, press Ctrl-O to bring up a dialog box, then type
the URL into it.
Your browser is the next area to
safeguard. Both Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator keep lists of all the
places you've been, including the specific pages you've visited, searches
you've done, and data you've entered. To view your Web history in Navigator,
press Ctrl-H; in Explorer, choose "View, Explorer Bar, History." To delete
Navigator's history items, highlight the desired items and press the "Del" key,
or delete them all at once by choosing "Select All" on the Edit menu, then
press the "Del" key. Internet Explorer stores your Web history in weekly
folders or by website. You can delete individual URLs, but the quickest way is
to delete entire folders. To clear out your whole history, select "Internet
Options" from the Edit menu, choose the "General" tab, and click on the "Clear
History" button.
Clean out your cache. Both Explorer and
Navigator keep caches of recently visited Web pages on your hard drive. This
speeds up Web access when you revisit the pages, but it also leaves you open to
snoops. To clear your cache in Navigator, choose "Preferences" from the Edit
menu, click on the + sign next to the Advanced selection, then click on
"Cache." Now click on the button labeled "Clear Disk Cache." In Explorer,
select "Internet Options" from the View menu and click on the "General" tab.
Click on the button labeled "Delete Files." You can also set your browser so it
doesn't use a cache at all--yes, this slows surfing. In Navigator, select
"Edit, Preferences, Advanced." Click on "Cache" and set the Disk Cache box to
0. In Internet Explorer, select "View, General, and Settings." Then move the
slider all the way to the left.
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Article By Hewlett Packard
