Erase URLs

When you go online, your PC saves a list of the URLs you visit in several locations. The most obvious location is in the address bar. All you need to do is begin typing in the URL of the website you’ve visited and the address bar will begin to show websites you’ve been to that begin with the same letter. You can even click the down arrow next to the address bar field and see an entire list of visited web addresses.

While this is convenient, you can let the address bar auto-complete your entry and not worry about miss-typing the address, it is also a liability. This is because anyone with access to your PC can easily see the list of URLs you’ve visited.

If you want to erase URLs from showing up in the address bar, you can easily do that. To clean URLs, open Internet Explorer then choose Tools, and then Internet Options. Go to the General tab (it will default to General). If you see a section labeled Temporary Internet Files, choose Delete Temporary Files. If you see a section labeled Browser History, choose Delete, and Delete History. You can also delete cookies, form data, temporary Internet files, and passwords from this screen.

When you delete URLs, they will no longer show up in the address bar. You will want to delete URLs periodically or whenever you visit a website you don’t necessarily want anyone else to see.

You can also clean URLs from other browsers such as Netscape Navigator. In Netscape, choose the Edit menu, pick Preferences, Navigator, and History. Choose the “Clear Location Bar” button.

Most browser offer similar functions. The problem with clearing URLs using these manual steps is that you must do them after each Internet session. Another problem is that for those with the know-how and the tools, these steps aren’t enough. That’s because a hidden system file, the index.dat file, also stores a list of every single URL you’ve ever visited. Simply clearing the address bar does not affect the index.dat files.

Anyone who wants to peek that has access to your PC can easily get free tools from the Internet for reading your index.dat file. Your entire web history will be on display with a full list of websites frequented. How embarrassing is that? It could also get you in trouble. For example, employers could use your index.dat file against you. Suspicious spouses might accuse you of inappropriate behavior, and law enforcement might find incriminating evidence in this one file alone. Best to clear it along with the URLs.

In order to clean URLs and hidden files storing URLs, you will need a tool designed to shred evidence. These tools come in many forms, web erasers, Internet erasers, privacy protectors, disk wipers and other descriptive names. You’ll want one that completely shreds your files so they can not be recovered using data recovery tools. You’ll also want one that has safeguards in place so you don’t accidentally delete the wrong file. Another great feature is ease of use. That’s why we prefer Privacy Controls from ParetoLogic Software. Try a free scan and see for yourself how this powerful tool can not only delete URLs but protect your privacy in many ways.