Browser History

[jayson]

A friend of mine, her son went on the computer, and then deleted the history for that day...Is there a way to recover a temp file of that broswer history day?

 

(did that make sense?)

[TCH-Bruce]

If you are running Windows XP you may be able to use a retore point to recover it. Otherwise it's gone.

 

Personally, I don't keep history.

[TCH-Bruce]

You can take a look at this site to see other places browser history has been stored.

[TCH-JimE]

Hello,

 

I doubt there is a way, most people spend ages getting rid of it, let alone trying to get it back.

 

I suggest creating user accounts, although a minor inconvience, its a safer way of controlling what goes on on the computer

 

JimE

[chatbug]

I don't think there is any easy way of getting it back... what do you need the history for? If you need it for pages that you have visited, I would recommend bookmarking any pages you find interesting the moment you think you'll want to access it again. And there's always google to find what you were looking for...

[j2k4b]

In all the 15 years I have been online I have never heard someone wanting to recover their internet history. That is a new one on me.

 

System Restore Point... is all I can think of.

[TCH-Thomas]

Have you tried C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\History or what it may be called on a english system.

[jayson]

My friends son, is 14 and when she is either busy or sleeping, he likes to visit adult sites, he deleted the browser history just fotr one day, so she is a little concerned why just one day was deleted....

 

I did suggest that she password protect her account and do a system restore...Which she did.

[chatbug]

Well, there are ways of blocking access to adult sites at various levels... browser, add-on software, server (if you use one), and ISP (some provide such service, at a cost). Pretty much all of them can be circumvented one way or another though...

 

What is best, however, is to have a frank discussion with him about the subject. I know it is the age when boys start to get curious... so probably time for them to have "the talk", as much as they may dread doing it.

[wampthing]

Often times your router will provide a history of websites visited.

 

Another place to look is in the cache of temporary internet files.

 

Looking at what sites have left cookies could also give you a clue as to what sites have been visited.

[TCH-JimE]

Hello,

 

Having worked at a university where this happens alot, its easy to explain.

 

Most people try to delete a "single" website from the browser cache, not releasing that in IE there is a bug. Delete one website from the front end of IE history, and it will delete in the entire cache when you log off and log back in again

 

Most people don't realise that you can actually delete a "single" website by going into :\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\History and deleting it there IF IE is not running.

 

Firefox provides a handy setup where it won't remember history but it will still remember logins.

 

You can look for cache and MRU files

 

The "talk" is always good and although people find it embarrising, it should not be. Its best to be upfront, honest and direct now then in 3 years time when it all might have gone wrong after a night out.

 

Having your own account is the only real way to go. If friends come around, either have an account for them, or enable the guest account in XP.

 

JimE

[wampthing]

My father brought a whip in when he gave me "the talk"

 

...and I turned out fine.

[TCH-Tim]

"The talk" will be more effective than any technological measures. Software is not meant to be a babysitter.

[wampthing]

..and dont forget the whip.

 

 

<disclaimer>there was never any whip involved with my childhood. No rear ends were harmed during "the talk"</disclaimer>

[Deverill]

Considering it's 2006 and the kid is 14 it's probably too late for the talk you're talking about.

 

There are many many programs out there that will log everything done on a computer in the background and in secret. Mom should probably get one of those and check it from time to time to see what Junior's been doing.

 

Have her go to a search like this Google search for some options... there's everything from blockers to loggers out there.

[TCH-Tim]

If the kid can't be trusted then he shouldn't be allowed to use the computer unsupervised. A strong password/encryption policy will help enforce that. He'll just have to go to his friends' house to look at I AM A SPAMMER.

 

The "talk" I'm talking about is the "grow up already for crying out loud, because if you don't I can make your life miserable" talk. Dave's whip might help too.

[chatbug]

Well, whatever technology measures or threats are used against teenagers, more often than not it will fail. Humans are curious creatures, that's why we go to explore the space and the unknown, visit different countries, etc. as adults... and as teenagers, it is normal for them to be curious about sexuality. And just like adults who do everything they can to go to space or travel, teenagers will do whatever's necessary to satisfy their curiosity.

 

Maybe it's just my own beliefs... but I think promotion a healthy understanding of human sexuality is the way to go.

 

If I have kids, I'd rather my kids develop a healthy and positive view and feel comfortable talking with me about everything, rather than thinking that sex is something to be dirty and to be ashamed of... learning instead from pornography, which isn't exactly the best source of sex education someone can have. I think such views may result in them not learning the facts and potentially getting themselves into trouble, contracting STD/STIs or getting pregnant, when they could have known and done better.

 

Now back on the technology side of things, if you use Internet Explorer... cookies are stored in two places, and I think deleting one doesn't necessarily delete the other. Cookies will may give you an idea of what sites have been visited. But then again, finding out what site the boy visited does not solve the root of the problem...

[drive]:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Cookies

[drive]:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

[Deverill]

Tim - Oh, THAT talk.

 

My son doesn't live with me but if he did I think I'd rather know what he's doing so we could talk about it than to lock up the computer and have him go to his friend's house.

 

Besides, maybe he's not doing anything and a lock-down would only show I don't trust him and cause bigger problems... it could be the OP's cache was deleted by him seeing a popup and thinking "Oh gosh, Mom's gonna think I went to that site on purpose. *Panick*". Watching his habits will let one know if there's a problem to be dealt with.

 

Of course, either way the discussions of sexuality should be had. We don't assume, if we're smart, our kids don't smoke because we never find cigarettes so why should we assume they have their heads on straight about sex.

[stevevan]

Well, that's why I went to a Linux router/firewall/server network in my house. My son was on the computer looking at "those" sites a o-dark-thirty in the morning. Showing him the "files" that were left behind (all the ones mentioned in this thread that most people fail to realize are there) didn't help. He thought he was smarter than the old man. (Read "young punk tho't old geezer didn't know about electronics or computer networking" even though he knows I've been working in the stuff for over 20 years.) So I now have limits on Internet access from my home network...certain hours and certain sites.

 

He finally asked why he couldn't get to the internet and things evolved into "the talk".