Safe use of the Website

How can I more safely access this website

Please take a few minutes to read the information below so that you can take steps to increase your safety when using the internet and this website. It might be important for you to ensure that your abuser does not know what sites you are accessing on the internet and what emails you are sending.

History:
If an abuser knows how to read your computer's history they may be able to see information you have viewed recently on the internet. You can clear your history in your browser's settings.

Internet Explorer:
Click on the Tools menu, select Internet Options. On General page, under Temporary Internet Files , click on "Delete Files". Under History click on "Clear History."

Whilst doing this it is also important to clear information about any searches that you have done on the computer. For example, if you have searched for 'domestic violence' on a search engine (eg google) this entry is remembered by the browser. So the next time somebody searches for a word beginning with the letter 'd' in that same search engine the word 'domestic violence' will pop up as a suggested entry. You can clear this again by clicking on Tools and selecting Internet Options, click on Content,select Auto Complete and then select Clear forms.

Put more ways here of clearing history with other browsers here eg netscape, aol

E-mail:
If an abuser has access to your email account, they may be able to read your incoming and outgoing mail. You can make your account more secure by choosing a password that the abuser will not be able to guess. But you must not save this password onto the comuter otherwise he will be able to gain access. Make sure you choose a password that the abuser will not be able to guess.

If an abuser sends you threatening or harassing e-mail messages, you can print them and save them as evidence of this abuse, which you might want to use in the future.

This information may not completely hide what you have been doing on the internet but it will help. However the safest way to find information on the internet is to use a computer at your local library, at a friend's house or even at work (as long as you won't get into trouble!) Many browser types have features that display recently visited sites.