How to clear your browser and surf securely

Whenever you complete a banking, e-commerce or some other financial transaction involving personal data online, you really should clear your Internet browser's history, cache, and (in some cases) cookie files.

Internet browsers are notorious for keeping detailed records of where you surf. Browsers also cache pages you visit, even those where you input data, so that the next time you request the page, the browser can display the page immediately, instead of having to wait for a Web server to send it to your browser. This makes your browser faster but also opens up your surfing history to criminal hackers. Don't take chances. Clear your browser securely after each session. Here's how:

Required attention span: 5 minutes

Before you start, you'll need to gather these elements:

• PC running Windows XP

In Microsoft Internet Explorer 7
From Tools, click Delete Browsing History.

In Internet Explorer, you'll need to click separate buttons to remove any traces of your Internet surfing. Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History, Form Data and Passwords are independently controlled. Remove one or all of these temporary files by clicking its button. IE7 makes these controls much faster and easier to access than the previous version of the browser.

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In Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3
Unlike Internet Explorer, Firefox provides one-click personal data protection. From Tools, click Clear Private Data. Check all boxes that apply and click OK, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Del.

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In Opera 9.2
Like Firefox 2.0.0.3, Opera also provides one-click personal data protection. From Tools, click Delete Private Data. Opera also allows for more granularity. By clicking Details, you can specify what to delete.

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