Ask A Geek

Q: How do I recover deleted browser history?

A: The first thing you should try doing to restore your deleted history is to use the System Restore feature. Since your deleted history is stored in your restore points you can select the last restore point from before the history was deleted. Be careful here though since it is possible you will lose data you don’t want to lose so make sure to backup. Read the rest of this entry »

Q: How do I recover deleted browser history? Windows Vista, and the browser IE7. Is it possible to use the regedit command to view it?

Q: I had someone get on my laptop and deleted all my history. Is there a way to recover it and see where he went?

Q: I had a load of software install on my computer that I didn’t put there. I know what day it happened but I don’t know who did it. On my old computer I used to be able to view browsing history in chronological order down to the minute that a site was visited. But now with Vista, either the option isn’t there or I just can’t find it. Can you help me locate this option so I may see who it was?

Q: Can I delete all temporary Internet files in IE without causing any problems? If so how do I go about deleting them?

A: Yes it possible to remove Temporary Internet files in Internet Explorer without causing any issues. However, please do make sure that you bookmark any pages that you had recently visited and would like to visit again.

To delete the Internet files, please apply the step by step procedure described below:

1. To begin with close any Internet Explorer and Window explorer windows that are open
2. Now click on the Start button and then move up and click on to the Control Panel
3. Next you need to click twice on the Internet Options windows.
4. In the window that appears i.e. the General tab locate the Delete files option which is present below the Temporary Internet Files.
5. Next when the dialog screen appears please be sure to choose the Delete offline content option and then press OK.
6. Again click Ok to complete the procedure.

Please note that in newer versions of Internet Explorer after you complete Step 3 and reach the General Tab; you will notice a Browsing History option will have a button mentioning Delete. You need to press on this and you will move to a screen allows you to remove your temporary internet files along with many details of your browsing.

One thing that you should be aware of while deleting temporary internet files is that at times files downloaded from website are shown in the Temporary folders leading to a extra consumption of disk space which you may notice. In case you require assistance to remove such files it would be handy to visit Temporary Internet Files Use More Disk Space Than Specified for a detailed resolution of the issue.

Q: I entered some secret/personal information into a friend’s web browser and it saved the data in the form. How do I go about removing this information from the form before they find it?

A: The best way to get rid of any traces of this code (namely from web forms) would be to follow the instructions in our tutorial Delete browser history. If you follow the instructions you should be able to delete any traces of the code, which might be in the browser history, forms, and drop downs with saved information from web forms.

Q: In Internet Explorer how can I change or remove the way the web addresses show up in the drop-down list or the drop down list in google?

A: In Internet Explorer 7, the URLs you have typed into the address bar are automatically stored in the browser’s history. When you click on the drop-down arrow to the right of the address bar, you will see a list of the addresses you have typed manually into the address bar, and those you have pasted into the address bar and loaded for viewing. There is no way to control how they are displayed, because they are simply a history of pages you have loaded, however you can control how long Internet Explorer keeps a history of these addresses. Read the rest of this entry »