How to Check Computer History

If a computer is being used by multiple users, the administrator will want to keep a watch on the activities that are carried out from that machine. Monitoring keeps a check on whether a malicious or potentially dangerous or unwanted file has been downloaded from the Internet into the system. At the same time, it also helps parents to monitor children's computer activities. Let's find out how to check the Internet browsing history of your computer.

How to Check History on Internet Explorer

Checking browsing history is not a very lengthy process. Here is how to go about it in Windows Vista. In Internet Explorer, follow the simple steps given below.

• In Internet Explorer 7, click on the Tools tab.
• In the drop-down box that appears, you will come across Explorer Bar tab. Move your mouse pointer over the tab.
• Now you will see History tab there. Click on the History tab.
• A History sidebar will appear in which there will be browsing history according to the date.
• If you click on the particular date, you will be able to see the list of websites that were visited.
• Scroll down to see the URL or name of every website that was visited.

How to Check History on Mozilla Firefox

If the browser you use is Mozilla Firefox, see the steps mentioned below to check the history.
Method # 1

• Double click on Mozilla Firefox to launch the browser on your machine.
• Now click on 'History' tab on the text menu bar at the top of the browser.
• Scroll down to see the list of websites visited in the library box.

Method # 2

• There is also another method of checking Firefox browsing history. Click on View tab. You will see the 'Sidebar' tab.
• Click on the Sidebar tab, you will see the option for History. Click on History. You will be able to see the History sidebar. You can also make use of the shortcut 'Ctrl + H' to view the History sidebar.
• In the History sidebar, you can check the browsing history by date.

Internet History Tracking

You can keep a track of Internet history in a number of ways. In Internet Explorer, there are temporary Internet files which help in speeding up web browsing. These files can be used to track Internet history. If you have a trained eye, you will be able to understand the browsing habits very easily. Internet Explorer also has an auto-complete feature which can also be used to keep track of the history. If you are worried about your privacy, you may opt to clean up the temporary Internet files by going to the Tools menu and from there to Internet Options and clear the cache under the General and Content tabs.

If your child has cleared the browsing data, you will still be able to check the browsing history. Internet Explorer uses index.dat file. This file has both the Temporary Internet Files as well as the Browsing History. It does not get deleted when the history is cleared using other methods.

If after following the steps mentioned in how to check computer history, you notice that browsing history is consistently empty, there are two possibilities of what is exactly happening. One is that your child is deliberately deleting the history to prevent you from finding out where he wanders in cyber-land. The other possibility is that the settings are set to automatically delete the history every time you exit out of the Internet. If you have automatic settings, it is recommended you disable the auto-delete feature.