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Each web browser leads to us, the users, with its own “dossier” - it stores information about all the pages visited. Some people are happy with this function, because it helps us find sites that we once looked at but did not save as bookmarks. But for some, this is the most disservice - for example, if mom and dad or boss (or wife) closely monitor what we do on the Internet, and we want to get away from control.

This article is devoted to spy mania, or more precisely, to how to hide traces of your activity on the Internet from prying eyes. By the way, some time ago, we looked at the topic using the example of Opera, Chrome, Firefox and IE.

How to clear your browsing history different browsers

How to clear history in Internet Explorer and Edge

These two Microsoft browsers handle browsing logs differently. I'll show you how to do this using IE 11 and Edge 25.10586.0.0 as an example.

Internet Explorer

  • To access the log of visited web resources, go to the browser properties: click on the gear-shaped icon in the upper corner of the window or expand the “Tools” menu. The “Properties” item is at the very bottom.

  • In the properties window, go to the “General” tab and in the “Browser History” section, click on the “Delete” button.

  • In the next window, check “Log” (a list of visited websites) and click “Delete” again.

Edge

  • By clicking on the “Ellipses” button in the top panel, we will open the main menu. Let's go down and click "Options."

  • Find the option to clear browser data in the list of parameters and click “Select what you want to clear.”

  • In the next menu, check “Browser history” and click the clear button.

How to clear history in Opera

Opera makes it possible to both clear the entire history and delete only selected pages from it. But first you need to enter the main menu (Opera button) and click on the “History” item. Or simply press Ctrl+H on your keyboard.

  • To delete all data for a selected period of time (from the very beginning of using the browser, for a week, for a day or for the last hour), click “Clear visits” in the upper right corner.

  • In the new window, mark the item of the same name and press the clear button.

  • To delete individual viewed pages, return to the log (Ctrl+H) and move the cursor over the desired line. Click on the cross that appears on its right side.

How to clear history in Google Chrome

IN different versions Google Chrome The cleanup options are in the same places, and as far as I remember, the order has never changed.

  • To delete information about all visited sites, click the button with three stripes in the top panel (main menu) and select “Additional tools” - “Delete data on pages viewed.” Alternatively, press Shift+Ctrl+Delete on your keyboard.

  • In the next window, mark the views, indicate the time period and click the clear button.

To delete individual entries:

  • open the “History” section (via the main menu or by pressing Ctrl+H);

  • Mark the unnecessary checkboxes and click “Delete selected objects”.

How to clear history in Yandex browser

Let's look at the example of Yandex browser version 15.12.1.6476.

Steps to clear viewed pages in Yandex Browser almost the same as in Opera and Google Chrome. And now you will see how slightly they differ.

  • We go to the “historical” section of the Yandex web browser by opening the main menu by clicking on the button with three stripes. Or by pressing Ctrl+H.

  • To erase an individual entry, click right click click on the triangle-shaped arrow that appears on the right when you hover the cursor over a line, and check “Delete from history.”
  • For complete removal log, click “Clear history”.

  • In the next window, mark the views, select the time range and click on the corresponding button to start cleaning.

How to clear history in Firefox

I use Mozilla version Firefox 43.0.4. If you have one of the earlier ones, these instructions will work for you too. So…

  • The main menu, from which we can access the section we need, is still hidden behind the icon with three horizontal stripes in the top panel. Let’s go into it and select “Journal” or press the combination Ctrl+H.

  • Our next choice is the “Delete history” item, which is also opened with the hot keys Ctrl+Shift+Delete.

  • In a new window, mark visits and downloads, indicate the time period and click OK.

To erase individual records of pages viewed, return to the previous menu and select “Show entire log.” The list, divided into periods, opens in the “Library” window. To remove an unnecessary entry, right-click on it and select “Delete this page.”

How to recover deleted information about visited sites

I hope everything is clear with the techniques for removing traces of web surfing. Now some information for those who act as controllers of careless Internet users. Know: information about which sites were viewed on your computer can be restored!

If you think about regular ones, then they are unlikely to help as much as a small spy utility that can extract all the “ins and outs” from most popular browsers.

How to use HstEx:

  1. Install and run HstEx with administrator rights.
  2. In chapter Input/Output Settings specify three parameters:
  • Data Source– the volume or disk image where the search should be performed.
  • Export Folder– folder to save the recovered file.
  • Data type– the browser whose data will be read.
  1. Click “Start” and wait until the recovery is complete.
  2. Enjoy compromising information on the user's ward.

Walking through the open spaces global network, remember that many data that you think is deleted can be successfully recovered. To avoid being “excruciatingly painful” one day, visit compromising sites in incognito mode and only from your personal computer or smartphone.

In the Windows OS line, all major events that occur in the system are recorded and then recorded in the log. Errors, warnings and just various notifications are recorded. Based on these records, an experienced user can correct the operation of the system and eliminate errors. Let's learn how to open the event log in Windows 7.

The event log is stored in system tool, which has the name "Event Viewer". Let's see how using in various ways you can go to it.

Method 1: "Control Panel"

One of the most common ways to launch the tool described in this article, although far from the easiest and most convenient, is done using "Control Panels".


Method 2: Run Tool

It is much easier to initiate activation of the described tool using the tool "Run".


The basic disadvantage of this fast and convenient method is the need to remember the command to call the window in your mind.

Method 3: Start Menu Search Box

A very similar method of calling the tool we are studying is carried out using the search field of the menu "Start".


Method 4: "Command Line"

Calling a tool via "Command line" quite inconvenient, but such a method exists, and therefore it is also worth special mention. First we need to call the window "Command line".


Method 5: Directly start the eventvwr.exe file

You can use such an “exotic” option for solving the problem as directly starting a file from "Conductor". However, and this method may be useful in practice, for example, if the failures have reached such a scale that other options for running the tool are simply not available. This happens extremely rarely, but it is quite possible.

First of all, you need to go to the location of the eventvwr.exe file. It is located in the system directory at this path:

C:\Windows\System32


Method 6: Entering the file path in the address bar

With help "Conductor" we can launch the window we are interested in faster. In this case, you don’t even have to look for eventvwr.exe in the directory "System32". To do this, in the address field "Conductor" you just need to specify the path to this file.


Method 7: Create a shortcut

If you don't want to remember different commands or section jumps "Control Panels" If you consider it too inconvenient, but at the same time you often use the magazine, then in this case you can create an icon on "Desktop" or in another place convenient for you. After this, launch the tool "Event Viewer" will be carried out as simply as possible and without the need to remember anything.


Problems opening the magazine

There are cases when problems arise with opening a journal using the methods described above. Most often this happens because the service responsible for the operation of this tool is deactivated. When trying to run the tool "Event Viewer" A message appears indicating that the Event Log service is unavailable. Then you need to activate it.

  1. First of all, you need to go to "Service Manager". This can be done from the section "Control Panels" which is called "Administration". How to get into it was described in detail when considering Method 1. Once in this section, look for the item "Services". Click on it.

    IN "Service Manager" you can go using the tool "Run". Call him by typing Win+R. Enter in the input area:

    Click "OK".

  2. Regardless of whether you made the transition through "Control Panel" or used the command input in the tool field "Run", starts "Service Manager". Look for an element in the list "Magazine Windows events» . To make your search easier, you can arrange all the objects in the list in alphabetical order by clicking on the field name "Name". Once the desired row is found, look at the corresponding value in the column "State". If the service is enabled, then there should be an inscription "Works". If it is empty, this means that the service is deactivated. Also look at the value in the column "Startup type". In normal condition there should be an inscription there "Automatically". If there is a value there "Disabled", this means that the service is not activated when the system starts.

  3. To fix this, go to the service properties by double-clicking on the name LMB.

  4. A window opens. Click on the area "Startup type".

  5. Select from the drop-down list "Automatically".

  6. Click on the inscriptions "Apply" And "OK".

  7. Returning to "Service Manager", mark "Windows Event Log". In the left area of ​​the shell, click on the inscription "Run".

  8. The service has started. Now in the corresponding column field "State" value will be displayed "Works", and in the column field "Startup type" the inscription will appear "Automatically". Now the magazine can be opened in any of the ways that we described above.

There are quite a few options to activate the event log in Windows 7. Of course, the most convenient and popular methods are to go through "Toolbar", activation using the tool "Run" or menu search fields "Start". For easy access to the described function, you can create an icon on "Desktop". Sometimes there are problems starting the window "Event Viewer". Then you need to check whether the corresponding service is activated.

Lists open files and connected via USB devices, browser history, DNS cache - all this helps to find out what the user was doing. We have compiled step by step instructions how to remove traces of your activities in different Windows versions, Office and popular browsers. At the end of the article you will find several scripts that will help you automatically keep your machine clean.

1. Clear lists of recent places and programs

Let's start cleaning with lists of recent places and programs. The list of recent (in Windows 10 - frequently used) programs is in the main menu, and the list of recent places is in Explorer.


How to turn off this disgrace? In Windows 7, right-click on the “Start” button, select “Properties” and in the window that appears, uncheck both boxes in the “Privacy” section.

To clear the list of recent places and documents, you need to delete the contents of the %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent directory. To do this, open command line and run two commands:

Cd %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent echo y | del *.*

It also wouldn't hurt to delete the contents of the %appdata%\microsoft\windows\recent\automaticdestinations\ directory. It stores the latest files that appear in the jump list:

Cd %appdata%\microsoft\windows\recent\automaticdestinations\ echo y | del *.*

To ensure that recent files are cleared automatically when you exit, you must enable the "Clear the history of recently opened documents on exit" policy, which is located in the "User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar" section.

Now let's move on to Windows 10. You can disable the list of recently added and frequently used applications through the Settings window. Open it and go to the “Personalization” section, “Start”. Turn off everything that is there.


It seems that the problem has been solved, but this, alas, is not entirely true. If you enable these parameters again, then all lists with the same composition will appear again. Therefore, you will have to disable this feature through Group Policy. Open gpedit.msc and go to User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar. Enable the following policies:

  • “Clearing the list of recently used programs for new users”;
  • “Clear history of recently opened documents on exit”;
  • “Clear notification log on tile when exiting”;
  • “Remove the list of programs pinned to the Start menu.”

Clearing recent places in Windows 10 is easier than in Windows 7. Open File Explorer, go to the View tab and click the Options button. In the window that appears, disable the “Show recently used files in the Quick Access Toolbar” and “Show frequently used folders in the Quick Access Toolbar” options. Don't forget to click the "Clear" button.

As you can see, such a simple task as clearing the last objects has quite a difficult decision. No editing group policies- nowhere.

2. Clear the list of USB drives

At some sensitive facilities, only flash drives registered in the log are allowed to be connected to the computer. Moreover, as usual, the magazine is the most ordinary one - paper. That is, the computer itself does not in any way restrict the connection of unregistered drives. It doesn’t limit, but it records! And if during the check it is discovered that the user connected unregistered drives, he will have problems.

We under no circumstances advise you to try to steal military secrets, but the ability to clear the list of recently connected drives can be useful in other life situations. To do this, look at the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\

Here they are - all the drives that you connected to your computer.


It would seem that you just need to take it and clean everything. But it was not there! Firstly, the permissions for these registry branches are set in such a way that you cannot delete anything even in “seven”, not to mention “ten”.


Secondly, assigning rights and permissions manually takes a long time, especially if there are many drives. Thirdly, administrator rights will not help. The screenshot above was created when I performed the delete operation with admin rights. Fourthly, in addition to these two sections, you need to clean a long list of sections. Moreover, they need not just to be deleted, but to be edited correctly.

If for some reason you need to do everything manually, then look for keywords MountPoints, MountedDevices DeviceClasses and RemovableMedia. But it’s much easier to use a ready-made program that will do everything for you. Some forums recommend USBDeview for this. However, I tested it and declare that it does not clear information from all the necessary sections. USBSTOR And USB continue to contain information about connected media.

I can recommend the program. Launch it, check the “Perform real cleaning” checkbox. You can turn on the “Save .reg cancel file” option or not, but if the goal is not to test the program, but to prepare for an upcoming computer inspection, then it’s better to turn it off.


The program not only cleans the registry, but also displays a detailed log of its actions (see below). When it finishes, there will be no mention of connecting drives to the computer.


3. Clear cache and browser history

The third point in our tutu is clearing the cache and browser history. There are no difficulties here - each browser allows you to reset the list of recently visited sites.

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