How do I clear any signs of searches on my computer?

[PaperDoll]

Let's just say I was looking at porn. How do I hide the evidence? Tell me everything I must delete form my computer.

[Mangetout]

You can do it manually, but [url="http://www.ccleaner.com/"] is easier and more thorough.

[Mangetout]

CCleaner

[PaperDoll]

Originally Posted by Mangetout

CCleaner

How would I manually clean my computer because your link is a tour and I can't find the place to click to clean my computer?

[astro]

Originally Posted by PaperDoll

How would I manually clean my computer because your link is a tour and I can't find the place to click to clean my computer?

click on "download" at the top of the page

[Valgard]

If you install the Opera browser (free, www.opera.com) there is a "Delete Private Data" button that wipes your browser history, cookies, etc.

TweakUI from Microsoft (little control panel applet) has "IE" and "Paranoia" settings that will let you automatically wipe this sort of stuff (including your recently opened documents lists) at logon.

And there are doubtless tons of third-party apps that will do similar things.

Please note that this won't help with, for the sake of argument, the current DOJ "request" to Google for a heap of search results to see who's looking at porn. Those records are kept by Google and they've basically got "IP address & search results".

[Patty O'Furniture]

Boy, somebody's in a bit of a panic, aren't they.

If I had to do it manually, I'd delete my temporary internet files and history. You might also need to delete the search fields if you used a search engine (and if your browser has "auto complete" turned on) to find the offending sites.

[Goblin Shark Proboscis]

Originally Posted by PaperDoll

Let's just say I was looking at porn. How do I hide the evidence? Tell me everything I must delete form my computer.

Hiding the evidence from a casual browser is easy - do as the above dictate.

Hiding evidence from law-enforcement officials who know how to break out 'deleted' data from discs is so impossible, the only sure way is to reformat your entire hard drive numerous times (to make sure the overwrite hits every spot).

Sorry, but thems the breaks. Nothing is ever immediately 'deleted' from your machine, even when you empty the recycle bin. It stays on your computer until it is physically written over with data, and even then can sometimes be recreated.

IANA data hacker - but I know enough.

[Mangetout]

If you were that worried, dismantling the hard drive and destroying the platters in a fire would probably be more rapidly secure than multiple overwrites.

In any case though, as Valgard says; that only destroys local data; logs of what IP address was assigned to you at what time are kept by your ISP and logs of what content was served up to what IP are kept all over the place. The only truly secure way to cover your tracks is to irretrievably destroy the entire internet.

[Whack-a-Mole]

Originally Posted by Goblin Shark Proboscis

Hiding evidence from law-enforcement officials who know how to break out 'deleted' data from discs is so impossible, the only sure way is to reformat your entire hard drive numerous times (to make sure the overwrite hits every spot).

Not true.

It is true that a "deleted" file is not truly deleted from your computer. The space the file was in is merely made available for other data to be written to it. Untill something overwrites it the data is still there. What's more, if some really slick operator like the CIA wants to read something that was there they have techniques to rebuild data even if it has been overwritten (I was told they can look at tracks next to the track where the data was and from some resdiual effect can rebuild data in the track between those two...unverified though so take that with a block of salt).

That said there are utilities that really erase data from your harddrive. There is such a thing a a government grade deletion. As I understand it the file is deleted then random crud is written into the deleted file's spot several times thus bolloxing any attempt to figure out what was once there (again I may have the "hows" of it wrong).

Nevertheless such things exist and exist for the public at large. Here is one such tool you can buy that will do it for you. Doubtless there are others and for all I know some may even be free.

http://www.anonymizer.com/consumer/p...C-AK0343033364

[Mangetout]

(I was told they can look at tracks next to the track where the data was and from some resdiual effect can rebuild data in the track between those two...unverified though so take that with a block of salt).

It works sort of like that, but also, magnetised domains may be thought of as similar to little dents in a flat sheet of tinfoil; the first time you poke it, you get a dent; when you poke it back again from the other side, the dent pops out the other way, but is surrounded by a slight dip - a residual part of the original dent; each successive reversal of the dent not only changes the dent itself, but also creates a sort of ring of ripples moving outward; this ring of ripples represents the history of what has been happening to that dent.

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

First, let me worry aloud and say I hope the material isn't illegal.

But if you're looking for the ultimate in *future* security, I wonder if the software or services such as those sold at www.anonymizer.com might be up your alley.

Can a person use an ISP go-between for more anonymous surfing, or is that too easily circumvented?

[Patty O'Furniture]

Maybe we should be asking who the OP needs to hide from. Nosey mother-in-law or the feds?

[PaperDoll]

I'm hiding from my husbands family who uses this computer. I was looking at guy porn and I feel a little ashamed of what I did. Nothing illegal here. No kiddie porn.

[DrDeth]

Then, just delete the temporary internet files and history. That's fine for the causual user. Oh, and delete the bad cookies. Not all of them for Gods sakes!

I have heard that doing a Disk Defrag help hide deleted files. Not a bad idea, anyway.

[Walloon]

PaperDoll, what type of operating system are you using? Windows? Mac? And what type of web browser are you using? Internet Explorer? Safari? Other?

[Princhester]

Of course, all this deleting is going to make anyone with a suspicious mind wonder what you've been looking at that you didn't want anyone to know about.

[Whack-a-Mole]

Originally Posted by Princhester

Of course, all this deleting is going to make anyone with a suspicious mind wonder what you've been looking at that you didn't want anyone to know about.

A blank internet history and no cookies always peaks my interest.

[Walloon]

piques

[Whack-a-Mole]

Originally Posted by Walloon

piques

That too

[Valgard]

Originally Posted by Walloon

piques

No peeking :-)

PaperDoll, if it's your computer (or your husband's), create a seperate user account for yourself with a password, and then have an unlocked "guest" account for everybody else to use. Unless your relatives are digging around actively LOOKING for something it's unlikely that they will accidentally stumble across anything that way. Just make sure to log off when you are done looking at Rude Nude Dudes or whatever it is.

[wolf_meister]

The rare times that I have actually disposed of a computer, I have always removed the hard drive, opened it, and shredded the disk with tin snips. I remember seeing a "60 Minutes" segment a few years ago in which some people legally obtained used and outdated computers that were formerly used by the US Military. Even though the disks were supposedly erased, these folks were able to recover some data.

It's not that I have illegal content on the drive but when you think about it, imagine what could still be on a hard drive after several years of use. Passwords? Bank account numbers? Credit card numbers?

After I saw that "60 Minutes" segment, I've made damned sure the disk is completely destroyed in any computer that is going to be thrown away. As is widely known, people search through garbage cans on trash nights to find this information. Imagine if they came across a computer with the hard drive still intact?

[Valgard]

Originally Posted by wolf_meister

The rare times that I have actually disposed of a computer, I have always removed the hard drive, opened it, and shredded the disk with tin snips. I remember seeing a "60 Minutes" segment a few years ago in which some people legally obtained used and outdated computers that were formerly used by the US Military. Even though the disks were supposedly erased, these folks were able to recover some data.

It's not that I have illegal content on the drive but when you think about it, imagine what could still be on a hard drive after several years of use. Passwords? Bank account numbers? Credit card numbers?

After I saw that "60 Minutes" segment, I've made damned sure the disk is completely destroyed in any computer that is going to be thrown away. As is widely known, people search through garbage cans on trash nights to find this information. Imagine if they came across a computer with the hard drive still intact?

Honestly I think that's a bit extreme - there are any number of free utilities that do a triple overwrite of the entire disk which is good against most attempts at data recovery unless you're talking about major industrial espionage, the NSA, CIA, etc. At that point, sure - crack the drive open, remove the platters, grind to powder, burn the powder, bake into bread, serve to 7 different individuals and have them each poop on a different continent.

All the cases I've heard of (sensitive data pulled off an old computer) have involved machines that were either not wiped at all (that is, the PC was turned off and then sold as is) or only the most rudimentary steps were taken (delete the private data, or FDISK the drive) - that's the sort of stuff that can be easily recovered with that copy of Norton Disk Doctor you get down at the office supply store.

I work in an industry that deals with extremely valuable and sensitive information and I know how our equipment is wiped before it's disposed of - it's not necessary to do something that drastic.

Something interesting that I did discover is that heavy-duty magnetic wiping of a hard drive doesn't destroy any data. I ran a laptop drive over our demagnetizer, it's so powerful you could actually hear the driver platters smacking around, then put the drive back into the laptop and booted right back up, zero problems.

[chappachula]

Originally Posted by DrDeth

Then, just delete the temporary internet files and history. Oh, and delete the bad cookies. Not all of them for Gods sakes!

How can you know which cookies are good and which are bad? Is there any way to delete your browsing activities of, say, the past half hour only?

[Mangetout]

Originally Posted by Valgard

Honestly I think that's a bit extreme - there are any number of free utilities that do a triple overwrite of the entire disk which is good against most attempts at data recovery unless you're talking about major industrial espionage, the NSA, CIA, etc. At that point, sure - crack the drive open, remove the platters, grind to powder, burn the powder, bake into bread, serve to 7 different individuals and have them each poop on a different continent.

You might think that's secure, but I heard of this one case...

[hawthorne]

Originally Posted by chappachula

How can you know which cookies are good and which are bad? Is there any way to delete your browsing activities of, say, the past half hour only?

Sure. Open your cache, order the files by date and delete all those of the last half hour.

[orionzpear]

CCleaner works well for me. You could also check Privacy Mantra. It erases all of your cookies (even the non-porn) and other internet traces....

[JSexton]

There is evidence of recent searches in your registry as well. Granted, most casual snooopers won't look there, but it's something to be aware of.

[iamthewalrus(:3=]

[quote=MangetoutThe only truly secure way to cover your tracks is to irretrievably destroy the entire internet.[/QUOTE]Take off and nuke the site from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.

[Jayrot]

Originally Posted by Carnac the Magnificent!

First, let me worry aloud and say I hope the material isn't illegal.

But if you're looking for the ultimate in *future* security, I wonder if the software or services such as those sold at www.anonymizer.com might be up your alley.

Can a person use an ISP go-between for more anonymous surfing, or is that too easily circumvented?

It's pretty much bullet-proof.

Anonymizer will work as a proxy server, routing all of your traffic to websites you visit through their servers. Thus any website has no way to tell where the request originally came from, it only shows the Anonymizer IP address, which is used by hundreds/thousands of other users. Anonymizer claims that they don't keep any record or logs so that even if government orders to divulge info couldn't be done since none exists. On this point, I suppose you've got to trust them.

In order to secure the communication over your own IP address from your box to the Anonymizer servers, you can use an SSL connection which encrypts all the traffic on that leg of it's journey. Thus, even if someone "tapped" into the wire running from you house to the street, all they'd see is gibborish.

Not a bad deal for $30.00 a year, IMHO.

I know all the above sounds like a cyber-criminal's wet dream, but it's also good for regular Joes who just don't want to be snooped on or tracked by companies.


Of course spyware, viruses, rootkits, keyloggers or other local machine nasties invalidates the whole thing.

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by JSexton

There is evidence of recent searches in your registry as well. Granted, most casual snooopers won't look there, but it's something to be aware of.

Don't forget the tracks left all over the place by those pesky index.dat files, too.

[Crusoe]

Be careful with any proxies. Others have been caught out - such as Safeweb - and some claim limitations with anonymous services. Bear in mind also that using a proxy from a workplace is sometimes listed as a disciplinary offence (I've seen it included in well-written acceptable use policies).

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

Originally Posted by Crusoe

Be careful with any proxies. Others have been caught out - such as Safeweb - and some claim limitations with anonymous services. Bear in mind also that using a proxy from a workplace is sometimes listed as a disciplinary offence (I've seen it included in well-written acceptable use policies).

If someone is peeking at porn at work, God help them. Eventually he or she will be caught and there will be no second chances. We have caught several and terminated all. No warnings.

[Earthworm Jim]

Originally Posted by Whack-a-Mole

A blank internet history and no cookies always peaks my interest.

Y'know this is a good point. I mean, I habitually configure my browsers to wipe all cookies, histories, disk caches, etc at exit. But that just encourages people to look harder...I think what I need is a 'random SFW history & cookie generator'. Now that'd be sneaky.

[Feydeau]

Originally Posted by Valgard

Rude Nude Dudes

Band name!!

On topic:

You could also buy a thumb drive (or whatever they're called these days) and store your porn on that. Just a supplementary step in addition to the cover-your-tracks things posted above, in case (like me) you're a Rabid Porn Collector (tm). I just hate finding stuff and never seeing it again.

[PaperDoll]

Can someone tell me the steps to delete my temporary internet files and history? Sorry if I sound dumb, but I'm totally lost.

[PaperDoll]

I forgot to add that I'm using Internet Explorer and Windows XP, if that's any help.

[matt]

Tools menu, Internet Options, then Delete Files and Clear History. This is assuming you're using Internet Explorer and it hasn't changed that much since my antique version.

This won't make you immune if someone goes carefully digging, but it gets rid of the obvious traces.