I am selling my computer and i have clicked on tools,Internet options, clear history,deleted the cookies and the files. Afterwards i went to start,settings,control pannel,clicked on internet options,then settings,clicked view files,then Clicked on edit then select all, then i hit delete,afterwards i hit clear history,click delete files and cookies. Is there anyway that people can view the web sites i have viewed with out having to buy any soft ware please give me quick answers because im selling tomorrow thanks.
2006-08-22 18:01:33 · 21 answers · asked by Jack O 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Internet
Yes, because for some reason certain bits of data are stored in MRU (most recently used) lists in the registry.
When I want to clear a system, I used Privacy Eraser.
http://www.privacyeraser.com/features.htm
Download and run it. It's a free trial. If you don't like that, you could also use the trial version of Window Washer. It does the same basic thing.
2006-08-22 18:03:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hello,
There are couple of things you MUST do.
I assume you have windows on the machine. Considering that:
1. Delete everything under /temp folder. Delete from both C:/temp
D:/Temp and also C:/windows/temp or c:/winnt/temp as the case is and delete everything from these folders.
Then on the IE browser, you will find an icon called History.
You also get this by clicking on Go on the Menu. last option there is History. Click on that will show a small box on the left of the browser. Delete everything from your history.
With all this You should be OK.
For further cleaning you can go to registry editor and clean up. But this is not advised unless you exactly know what you are doing. Otherwise you might mess up your system.
All the best. So you getting a new laptop then?
2006-08-22 18:17:48 · answer #2 · answered by Narend 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, someone with computer knowledge could absolutely still find the websites you have been to. Deleting the files doesn't really delete them, it just moves them to unused areas of your computer. If you have not promised any of the existing software on your computer to the person buying it, I would recommend running over it with a strong battery. It will corrupt the files, and no one will be able to see where you've been or any personal information you might have stored at some point or another.
The person buying it will need to download any software they are wanting to use, but they will in turn receive a clean computer.
Best Wishes!
2006-08-22 18:09:39 · answer #3 · answered by Mary D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most of these answers are wrong....I am a computer tech and I know with out a doubt that any good computer person can retrieve anything you delete unless you rewrite data to the exact same spot that you deleted those files( Which is almost impossible given your obvious computer experience). My suggestion to you is you can either remove the hard drive and replace it with a different one or reformat this drive and reinstall windows.....that's the sure fire way to get rid of it for good....Well maybe the FBI or the boys at NSA could retrieve it but your not selling it to them.
If you do format it...."Don't" choose the " Quick Format" method..It will not do as good as a job erasing.
2006-08-22 18:06:31 · answer #4 · answered by jayster32 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In reality, if someone REALLY wanted to find out what was on your hard drive, they could do it. The only way to truly destroy the information is to phyically destroy the hard drive itself. Even if you were to reformat the hard drive, there is still what is called a "ghost image" that is left on the hard drive that can still be recovered. It's kind of like writing something on a piece of paper and then erasing it, and then writing back over the same spot with something else. Even though it is visually erased, the impression of what you first wrote is still there, and under close analysis...could still easily be read. If you are really that worried, you should destroy the hard drive. Otherwise...it would still take a good program(s) in order to delete all the original information, but like I said, that "ghost image" will always be on the hard drive.
2006-08-22 18:57:23 · answer #5 · answered by dij333 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The short answer is yes. Is this a huge danger? Not really unless you are rich and powerful or suspected of terrorism or child porn.
If this worries you a lot, donate the computer. Dell will help you with this whether you buy a computer from them or not.
Call Dell and ask. Or go to Dell.com and ask, or look for a link to Recycle your Computer.
If you have nothing to hide, don't worry. If you do, don't sell it, yank the hd, yank the memory stick and scrap it.
2006-08-22 18:07:24 · answer #6 · answered by Norton N 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes even after you delete the files, file contents can be remained on the harddisks. there are some softwares can read this content. So you need to completely erase the content. Try this free tool.
http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/
2006-08-22 18:11:16 · answer #7 · answered by brsanthu 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if completely everything is cleared, then no there is no way.
however if any cookie or tracking device is left in your system they may be able to.
you may want to delete all history and files that are not essential to the computer for selling.
good luck.
2006-08-22 18:05:12 · answer #8 · answered by mslindseynicole 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I sold mine last year, All I did was reformat (Don't quick format,that will be like taking a pencil eraser and trying to erase ink, do a full format) the hard drive and reinstall the OS.
2006-08-26 17:24:14 · answer #9 · answered by Greg McC 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could always factory restore it... you should have a recovery cd that came with your computer.. it will restore your computer to a "fresh outta the box state" but anything you have saved on it or DIDNT come downloaded on the computer orignally will be wiped out
2006-08-22 18:05:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋