General security – be aware
This guide provides technical advice about what is possible to protect your devices (including your children’s devices, if you have children), but different parts of this may need to happen at different times. This will depend on your individual circumstances. For example, if you change your password, someone may realise this has happened when they attempt to log in and this could lead to them escalating their behaviours. Your safety is the most important thing and some of this might be for you to consider at a later stage, for instance, when no longer in immediate danger or you have left the situation. It is completely normal to want to get rid of a device or remove their access, but before you do this, you can be strategic about how to plan for your safety. If it would be helpful to talk this through with someone, please use a safe device to contact us.
If you do not use a password to log on to your computer, someone else may be able to access your email (if your email password is saved on the device or you don’t log out after checking your email) and track your internet usage. Make sure to fully log out or sign out after checking your email rather than pressing the X to close the email window.
The following information may not completely hide your tracks. Many browser types have features that display recently visited sites. There is also spyware that can be used more secretly to track your activity. The safest way to find information on the internet, would be at a local library, a friend’s house, or at work.
If you are worried about someone knowing you have visited this website please read the following safety information to help you take steps to increase your safety when online.
Click away ‘Exit Site’ button
On the left hand side of every page on our website, there is a click away button. If you need to move away from this site quickly, click this button and it will take you to the BBC News home page.
The Exit Site button on the right of the NSDAS website will quickly hide the page but you will still need to delete your history.
How can an abuser discover what you have been browsing online?
Please take a few minutes to read the information below and to take steps to increase your safety when visiting this website.
As a rule, internet browsers will save certain information as you surf the internet. This includes images from websites visited, information entered into search engines and a trail or history that reveals the sites you have visited. Please follow the instructions below to minimise the chances of someone finding out that you have visited this website.
If you know what browser you are using, then skip to the relevant instructions below. If you do not know the type of browser you are using, click on Help on the toolbar at the top of the browser screen. A drop down menu will appear, the last entry will say About Internet Explorer or About Google Chrome or something similar. The entry refers to which browser type you are using – you should then refer to the relevant instructions below. Alternatively, go to “What’s My Browser”, a website that will let you know which browser type you are using.
Delete your browsing history
Internet browsers keep a record of all the web pages you visit. This is known as a ‘history’. To delete the full history, follow the instructions from your browser:
Clear browsing data from Google Chrome
Clear website data in Safari on Mac
Delete browser history in Microsoft Edge
Clear site data in Firefox
Private browsing
All leading web browsers have a “private browsing” mode that, once enabled, stores nothing about your activity on your computer in that browsing window. This won’t stop online services being able to see what you have searched for, but it won’t leave any traces of your activity on your computer (no history, web cache or anything else) and so it’s always a useful first step to take.
Be mindful that if someone is tracking your history and they know you were online at a certain time, it is worth leaving a public browser history of non-sensitive content available to them.
Internet Explorer: Go to Tools (the gear icon at the top right) – Safety – “InPrivate Browsing” or click Ctrl + Shift + P.
If you’re using Internet Explorer, we strongly recommend using an alternative browser if possible, as this is now legacy software.
Firefox: Click the Menu button with three horizontal lines – “New Private Window” or click Ctrl + Shift + P.
Chrome: Click the Menu button with three dots in a vertical line and select “New Incognito Window”.
Microsoft Edge: Click the Menu button with three dots in a row and select “New InPrivate Window” or Ctrl + Shift + N.
Safari (Apple devices): Click the icon with one square behind another at the bottom right hand corner of your screen, this will take you to your tabs. Then click the number of tabs you have open with a + next to them which will take you to tab groups. Here you can select “Private” so nothing will be stored but you’ll need to remember to exit the tabs individually or they will stay open in your private tab group. Once you’ve finished browsing privately, you can go back to standard searching by clicking where it says “Private” at the bottom and going back to your usual number of tabs.
Similar options can be found in Opera and Firefox.
It is also best to double check that nothing has been stored by following the steps below.
Deleting your browsing history
Internet browsers keep a record of all the web pages you visit. This is known as a ‘history’. To delete the full history, follow the instructions from your browser:
Clear browsing data from Google Chrome.
Clear website data in Safari on Mac.
Delete browser history in Microsoft Edge.
Clear site data in Firefox.
To delete history for Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox you can hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard, then press the H key (Ctrl, Alt and H for Opera). Find any entries you prefer to hide such as www.nsdas.org.uk right click and choose Delete.
If there are other searches or sites you would be concerned about someone else seeing, you can delete these individually as well or use the following steps to delete your history for a particular period or for all time.
Toolbars
Toolbars such as Google and Yahoo keep a record of the search words you have typed into the toolbar search box. In order to erase all the search words you have typed in, you will need to check the individual instructions for each type of toolbar. For example, for the Google toolbar all you need to do is click on the Google icon, and choose “Clear Search History”.
Admin accounts
If your abuser has an administration account on the home computer, they have more control over the device and can monitor what is happening. This is the user with the highest level of account permissions. If someone else purchases, sets up or maintains the device, they could potentially have an admin account. If you’re concerned about someone else having an admin account, it’s important that you don’t do safety planning or use accounts you do not want them to have access to on this computer.
If you want to check this on Windows, go to Settings > Accounts and on the Your Info tab, check if it says “Administrator” under your account name. If not, then there is another account on the system that is the admin account.
If you want to check this on a Mac, go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Users & Groups and on the left side of the window, locate your account name on the list. If the word Admin is not directly below your account name, then there is another account on the system that is the admin account.
For further information on keeping safe with online accounts, email, social media and online banking please visit this useful Womens Aid guide or contact us.