How to Get Rid of Everything on an Address Bar

If you share your computer with someone else, there are probably web sites you do not want other people to know you have visited. These kinds of sites may be personal, such as financial or health-related sites. Regardless of what they are, you should clear your Internet history and get rid of everything on the address bar. This will ensure that no one will be able to track the sites you have been visiting.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer

1. For Internet Explorer users: Click the drop-down arrow that can be found on the address bar. This will show any addresses that have been typed into the actual address bar. Take note of the addresses there in case you want to re-enter them later.
   
   For Firefox users: Open a Firefox browser.

2. For Internet Explorer Users: Click Start > Control Panel at the bottom left of your screen. Once you have opened this up, double click on the icon named "Internet Properties." This opens up a pop-up window for you to choose from.
   
   For Firefox users: Click on the area at the top labeled "Tools." This opens a drop-down menu. When the menu opens, click "Options" at the bottom.

3. For Internet Explorer Users: Select the tab labeled "General" and find the section that says "Browsing History." In this section, click the button that says "Delete." This will then pull up another pop-up menu. The title of the menu reads "Delete Browsing History." Click the button toward the bottom of the menu that says "Delete All." A confirmation pop up will appear, asking you once again if you want to delete the browsing history. When it does, click "Yes."
   
   For Firefox users: Click the icon at the top labeled "Privacy."

4. For Internet Explorer Users: Double click on the "Internet Options" icon again and click the tab that says "Content." Click the "Settings" button next to the section that says "Auto Complete." Click "OK" to delete the Auto Complete history. This is important because any web site addresses visited will automatically pop up when someone starts typing into the address bar, due to the Auto Complete feature. For example, if you visited a website named "XYZdating.com" that you found through a search engine, the address would not show up in the address bar, but if someone starts to type the letter "X" in the address bar, then the Auto Complete function will pull up the address "XYZdating.com" and offer to complete the entry. If you do not want someone to see this, then you will need to delete this section as well.
   
   For Firefox users: Look toward the bottom of the pop-up menu labeled "Private Data." Click the "Settings" button in that section. Another pop-up window will open named "Clear Private Data."

5. For Internet Explorer Users: Return to the "Internet Options" section again. Select the "General" tab. Click the "Settings" button on the Browsing History section. When the "Temporary Internet Files" menu pops up, click the button labeled "View Objects." This should be cleared.
   
   For Firefox users: Place a check mark next to all the items that are on this menu and click "OK." In the same Private Data section, click the button that says "Clear Now." This should clear all the information out.

6. Close all Internet browsing windows and open new ones. Check the address bar to make sure the addresses have been cleared. If not, try re-starting your computer and repeating this procedure.

Tips & Warnings

• While this will clear the address bar, it may not clear out any searches you have done on an add-on tool bars, such as the Google tool bar. In this case, you will need to go to the Options menu in the tool bar and delete there as well.

References

• Clearing the History in Firefox