is it possible to completly erase any trace of web sites i've visited
off my harddrive?  so that, for instance, if someone from work were to
take my computer, they wouldn't have any indicators of web sites i've
visited?  if it's possible, how do i do it?  thanks!

Hi wardog!!

Assuming that you are using IE, the best way to do that is by using an
specific tool (application). There are many in the market that can be
used for free (freewares) and there are also paid solutions. You can
also do it by yourself by deleting the Internet Temp files, the cache,
the Historial, etc. but by doing that in this way is slow and risky;
what will happen if you must leave your computer due a job emergency
for a while, you will not have enough time to erase all the traces;
the applications way often involves only one button click.

So there are the sugested solutions (freewares):
IEpal 1.0:
"One click secure wiping (optional settings) of sensible data files
containing info about pictures you've viewed, web sites you've visited
and other online hidden traces that put your privacy at risk, such
cookies, history, etc. You can prevent others not only from seeing
your Internet activities but also from recovering the erased data. In
fact IEpal?s Clean up tool destroys the hidden data overwriting with
random data before of permanently erasing, making trace recovery
impossible."
NOTE: IEpal works only with Internet Explorer open and showing a web page.
http://www.iepal.com/how_does_it_work.htm
http://www.newplanetit.191.it/iepal/IEpal_Setup.exe


AbsoluteShield Internet Eraser Lite: (there is also a more featured Pro version)
This product supports Internet Explorer only, MSN,
Netscape/Mozilla/FireFox, AOL and Opera are supported by the Pro
version.
http://www.internet-track-eraser.com/compare.php
http://www.internet-track-eraser.com/download/eraser_lite.exe


Other tools are:
Free Internet Eraser:
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/free-internet-eraser.htm

Ki-Washer:
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/ki-washer.htm


I hope that this helps you. Feel free to request for a clarification
if you need it.

Regards.
livioflores-ga

Your PC also stores a file known as index.dat which collects details
of sites you have visited.  It cannot be opened, edited or deleted
while Windows is running.  Check that the cleaning software you use
also wipes this file.

I have used a freeware tool named SPIDER 1.16 on Win98SE and even XP
(although it is not designed for XP)  It works all the same.  Make
sure you run it across ALL your drives and not just the System drive
or default locations.

Get it here: http://www.fsm.nl/ward/

Quote from the site:

Introduction
I discovered a privacy 'bug/feature' in Internet Explorer3/4/5 (for
important information about IE6, see history): IE stores the visited
URLs in some hidden files and when you clean your cache and history,
this information is not deleted! I wrote a software program to scan
these hidden files for URLs and to put those URLs in a file. So the
user's privacy is at stake because anyone with this program, can go to
the PC ofsomebody else and see the URLs he has visited!