Delete Searches

The good news is that it is relatively easy to delete the search history which is stored by your web browser on your computer. There are 2 types of information which need to be cleared to delete your searches:

1. Form History - the web browser recognizes the search box you type your search query into as a "form." Both Internet Explorer and FireFox store this information for a set number of days.

2. The search history in any web browser toolbar, like the Google toolbar, you use.

Here is how you delete your search history stored in "forms" in the most popular browsers.

Internet Explorer: Select Tools>Internet Options>Content>Click "AutoComplete">clear "Clear Forms"

Internet Explorer 7: Select Tools>Internet Options>General>in "Browsing History" click delete. Please note that this action also clears temporary internet files, URL history, cookies and passwords which is highly recommended.

Firefox: Select Tools>Options>Click on the "settings button" in Private Data>select "Saved Forms Information"

To delete searches in the Google toolbar you need to click on the Google Icon and select "clear search history." To delete search history in other toolbars please refer to the help menu.

Another important thing to consider doing (aside from Internet Explorer 7 which does this for you when you delete "Browsing History") is to clear the URLs you visit from the address bar on your browser. If you are really concerned about someone seeing which sites you visit then you should also take this clearing out one step further by deleting the cookies and temporary internet files or cache.

Given how much information you need to be careful of it is much easier and takes less time to use a good software product to clean out your sensitive web browsing data and delete searches. My recommendation is below. Try a free scan and see what potential privacy risks from your web browser, instant message chats and other files are lurking on your computer.