How to Delete & Erase Browsing History

Deleting browsing history enables optimal computer performance.

Most operating systems and Internet browsers automatically default to save information from previously visited webpages, known as browsing history, on the hard drive of your computer. While perusing the Internet, these saved data files quickly accumulate and take up large amounts of space on your computer. Browsing history can be easily deleted for optimal Internet performance or to protect privacy. Saved files consist of the cache, cookies, history and form data. These files can be deleted completely or individually. Users may wish to utilize browser settings that allow files to be automatically deleted upon exit or not saved at all.

Instructions

1. Close out any open websites or pages that you wish to remove from history. A website open during the process of clearing history may still be available to view in Temporary Internet Files.

2. Open a new window in the Internet browser that contains history to be erased.

3. For Internet Explorer and AOL users, open "Control Panel" from the "Start" menu. Select "Network and Internet" and "Internet Options." Click "Delete Browsing History and Cookies." A pop-up box appears and offers a selection of certain aspects of browsing history to be deleted. Click "Delete" or "Delete All" to completely erase history.

4. For Mozilla Firefox, click on the "Tools" menu and select "Clear Recent History". A drop-down box allows you to specify the time frame of history to delete. Click "Details" to view the aspects of browsing history to delete. Check all boxes to delete all. Click "Clear Now" to proceed.

Tips & Warnings

• Commands and options may vary for Mozilla Firefox versions older than Firefox 5.0.

• Netscape users simply click on the "Tools" menu and select "Clear Private Data." Check the boxes according to the type of history to be deleted and click "Clear Private Data Now."

• Windows operating systems save all data in the form of index.dat files that cannot be erased manually and may still be recovered using specialized software. To prevent future viewing of index.dat files, a special program must be used to permanently bleach the files.

References

• Hot Comm: Delete Temporary Internet Files (clear cache)