[tether]

if i wanted to make it so it wasn't possible for other users on a computer to see what sites i'd visited, how would i do it? clear the history? would that do it? - so, for example when you type in the address bar, you don't get urls of previous sites popping up. i'm not talking about people with specialist software to find stuff on the hd, but just so previously visited sites couldnt be found normally. or could i use a separate browser for those sites?
thanks.

[TETENAL]

Yes, the Clear History command clears the history. The "Reset Safari" command also clears cookies and Google searches which also might give a hint where you have been (as well as the cache).

You can avoid that all that stuff is remembered in the first place by turing on "Private Browsing" in the Safari menu beforehand.

[dandbj]

Originally Posted by tether

if i wanted to make it so it wasn't possible for other users on a computer to see what sites i'd visited, how would i do it? clear the history? would that do it? - so, for example when you type in the address bar, you don't get urls of previous sites popping up. i'm not talking about people with specialist software to find stuff on the hd, but just so previously visited sites couldnt be found normally. or could i use a separate browser for those sites?
thanks.

Ah.. the things we must do to hide our porn addictions. Which is it for you, wife or mother?

[DigitalEl]

<nevermind>


Frakking database.

[tether]

thanks. my porn addiction looks like its safe.
i use safari, but i also use Internet Explorer - in preferences on IE, i found 'clear history, 'empty cache' and 'delete cookies'- are there other things i should do? can i get rid of google searches?

[Big Mac]

Google keeps a record of everyone's searches, and if you're logged into a google account (like Gmail) while searching, the search history is tied to your account. You can supposedly clear that - there's an option to clear history in your Google account preferences - but you cannot clear it out of google's regular aggregate caching scheme.

[tether]

since its not illegal, only private, i'm not too worried if its simply someone at google who might know what pages i've visited - only my contacts or people using my computer - would searched for items pop up when youre using the google search field? i've noticed that sometimes things seem to pop up, but usually not.

[tether]

or anything else i should look out for?

[Sourbook]

Cache Out X is a handy tool that deep cleans your computer's system, getting to, and deleting the multitude of cache files generated by OS X and web browsers.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14850

[tether]

cheers

[tether]

i reset safari, and emptied the cache, from the 'safari menu', and i cleared history from the 'history' menu, and restarted, but when i type in ' www. ', a list of options pop up, and some of those options are ones i've surfed to before
..?

[JKT]

It'll find sites that are in your bookmarks list. Is that a possibility?

[tether]

there are some that are in my bookmarks, some others that look like ones that might be put in by Apple maybe - such as amazon.com, but there are others that are in neither of those categories..

[tether]

no more ideas?

[Sourbook]

Originally Posted by tether

no more ideas?

Did you not try Cache Out X as I suggested above? It will clear all of your browser cache files with one click.

[tether]

yeah, i downloaded it, but, and this is really pathetic i know, but i can't seem
to find it now - i often can't find downloaded files - and they don't seem to appear when i do a File>Find from the Finder. where do they go? there's a file called cacheoutx461.sit on my desktop but if i double click on that, it just gives me the message 'there is no default application specified to open the document cacheoutx461.sit.'
i know this is really basic, but i have no clue with computers. would appreciate help. cheers.

[tether]

i've just realised, some of those sites are in bookmark folders and i didnt spot them - i havent checked them all yet, but its looking like thats it. thanks for your helps.
though id still like to know where my downloads are going to..

[JKT]

.sit is a Stuffit compressed archive of the application. You need to download Stuffit Expander (free) to open them.

All applications you download from the internet will be compressed in some way:

.zip files you possibly recognise if you have come from a Windows world.
.dmg (= disk image) are a Mac OS X standard.
.bin are a hangover from Mac OS 9 days and not used very often anymore.
.gz = gzipped
.tar = tarred both of which are *nix compression types.

Some files may be compressed using multiples of the above (e.g. .dmg.gz is sometimes observed). The only type that OS X can't open by default is .sit and .sitx as these are proprietary compression formats for which Stuffit Expander is required.

All files are likely to be downloaded to the Desktop by default. Personally, I would create a dedicated downloads folder and use that as your default (create the folder then, in Safari Preferences>General select it as the "Save downloaded files to:" folder) so that you know where they all are.

Edit: The reason why you may not be finding the downloads through a search is because the developers often use a shorthand name for the compressed archive (e.g. the initials of the app with version number appended or something like that) so it won't be found if you run a search using the full name of the app.

[tether]

JKT, thanks very much; that's a lot of help, nicely aimed explanation to my (lack of) knowledge level. cheers muchos.
one other thing - what are wmv files - i cant seem to open them - are they just for windows?

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by tether

one other thing - what are wmv files - i cant seem to open them - are they just for windows?

You need to install Flip4Mac.

http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm