How to Check Deleted History

Where are your kids surfing when you aren't home?

Your web browser keeps track of every web page you visit so that you can easily find websites at a later time without having to search for it again. If you've accidentally deleted your Internet history or think someone on your computer deleted the history files to hide inappropriate content, it is possible to retrieve the information. Depending on how thoroughly the history was cleaned out, there are several different options for recovering deleted Internet history information.

Things You'll Need

• File recovery software

Instructions

1. Click the "Tools" button at the top of your web browser. Select "Options." Navigate to the tab labeled "Privacy."

2. Click the "Show Cookies" button underneath the "Cookies" heading. Scroll down through the list of cookies to find recently visited websites; the previous user may not have manually deleted all of the cookies when they deleted the Internet history.

3. Close the cookies window, and open the "Start" menu. Click "Programs" and choose "Accessories." Click "System Tools."

4. Scroll down and click "System Restore." Click the "Choose a restore point" radio button and click "Next."

5. Choose a date from the list of restore points that occurred before the Internet history was deleted. Click "Next" to restore your computer back to the settings it had on that date. Open the web browser and click "History" to view the history files from that date.

6. Follow the Resources link to the "Recover My Files" website, or navigate to a similar website that offers a file recovery program. Download and install the program.

7. Open the file recovery software. Choose "Complete File Search" and click "Next." Select the folder on your hard drive where your web browser is installed and click "Next."

8. Choose the option to search for all file types and click "Start." Check through the list of recovered files to find any deleted cookies or HTML files that will show what websites have been visited recently.

Tips & Warnings

• You may need to choose slightly different options to locate your saved cookies if you are using a web browser other than Mozilla Firefox. Depending on the specific operating system your computer uses, you may need to access a different menu option to reach the system restore window.

• Restoring your operating system to a previous restore point will delete any files you've created since that point. Before loading the restore point, you may want to back up any newly created files to an external source, such as a USB flash memory drive.

References

• Recovering Deleted Internet History

Resources

• Download the Recovery My Files Utility