Windows 7 : Protecting Your Computer While Browsing (part 2) - Viewing and Managing Browsing History

2. Understanding Web Address and Domain Restrictions

In Internet Explorer, the component responsible for parsing web addresses and determining domain name and location components is the Universal Resource Locator (URL) handler. URLs are simply the formal names of web addresses and other types of addresses that you can use to universally locate resources on the Internet. While the URL handler is extracting the domain name and location components from a web address, it performs several checks to ensure the validity of the web address and prevent possible URL-parsing exploitations, such as URLs that attempt to run commands or URLs that perform suspect actions.

As part of its standard features, Internet Explorer 8 supports both standard English domain names and internationalized domain names. English domain names are domain names represented using the letters A–Z, the numerals 0–9, and the hyphen. Internationalized domain names, also referred to as IDNs, are domain names represented using native language characters.

Unfortunately, as sometimes happens when features are introduced, Internet Explorer’s support for internationalized domain names makes it possible to create lookalike domain names for popular and trusted sites. For example, someone might create a site at http://www.micrósoft.com, and if you didn’t look really closely at the domain name, you could be fooled into believing you were accessing http://www.microsoft.com.

To help ensure that international characters aren’t used to make a site seem like something it isn’t, Internet Explorer implements international domain name antispoofing. International domain name antispoofing is designed to warn you against sites that could otherwise appear as known, trusted sites. Thanks to this feature, you’d receive a warning notification about possible spoofing if you clicked on a lookalike link.

3. Viewing and Managing Browsing History

As you browse the Web, Internet Explorer stores information about the pages you visit, the content of those pages, the information that websites collect from you, and the information you provide while at websites. This information is collectively referred to as your browsing history. Your browsing history includes:

Temporary Internet files

Temporary Internet files are copies of web pages, images, and other related files.

Browser cookies

Browser cookies store information about you collected by the websites you visit.

History list

The history list stores a list of websites and pages you’ve visited according to the date accessed and the web address.

Form data

Form data consists of information you’ve typed into online forms.

Passwords

Passwords consist of passwords you’ve used when you signed into websites that use forms-based authentication.

Internet Explorer stores copies of this information to improve your browsing experience. If you visit the same site or page later, Internet Explorer can use the data it has stored in its browser cache on your computer rather than having to reload the page and its contents over the Web. This data can also be used to reauthenticate you on websites that require authentication and to provide information for automatically completing web forms.

3.1. Configuring temporary Internet file storage

With temporary Internet files, Internet Explorer can use copies of web pages, images, and other related files rather than having to download these files. This allows you to view pages faster on subsequent visits. You can control the way Internet Explorer stores copies of temporary Internet files by completing the following steps.

Figure 3. Configuring the way temporary Internet files are stored

1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools→Internet Options. This displays the Internet Options dialog box.

2. On the General tab, click Settings under Browsing History. This displays the Temporary Internet Files and History Settings dialog box, as shown in Figure 3.

3. Configure how Internet Explorer uses stored data using the following “Check for newer versions of stored pages” options:

   Every time I visit the webpage

   Select this option if you want Internet Explorer to check for a newer version every time you access a page. With this option selected, Internet Explorer will use a newer version when available and the cached version of the page otherwise.

   Every time I start Internet Explorer

   Select this option if you want Internet Explorer to check for a newer version the first time you access a page during a browser session. With this option selected, Internet Explorer will use a newer version when available and the cached version of the page otherwise.

   Automatically

   Select this option if you want Internet Explorer to check for a newer version the first time you access a page during a browser session, and to check for changes to images in a page according to the frequency with which they are changed. With this option selected, Internet Explorer will use a newer version when available and the cached version of the page otherwise. Internet Explorer will also check for newer images less frequently when images are changed infrequently.

   Never

   Select this option if you want Internet Explorer to always use a cached version of a page if available. With this option selected, Internet Explorer will download a page only the first time you access it and will use the cached version of the page otherwise.

4. Use the “Disk space to use” combo box to set the amount of disk space reserved for temporary Internet files. The recommended space to reserve is from 50 MB to 250 MB; the default value is based on the amount of free space available.

5. By default, your temporary Internet files are stored in your user profile. If you want to move the folder used for temporary Internet files to a different location, click “Move folder” and then use the Browse for Folder dialog box to select the new location. Generally speaking, you’ll want to move the temporary Internet files only if your primary disk is running low on space and you have another disk available.

6. Click OK to save your settings.

3.2. Configuring the history list

With the history list, Internet Explorer stores information about the date you accessed a site and the pages you visited while at the site. You can control the way Internet Explorer creates and uses the history list by completing the following steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools→Internet Options. This displays the Internet Options dialog box.

2. On the General tab, click Settings under Browsing History. This displays the Temporary Internet Files and History Settings dialog box shown in Figure 7-16.

3. By default, Internet Explorer saves 20 days’ worth of information regarding websites and web pages you’ve accessed. If you don’t want Internet Explorer to create a history list, you can set the “Days to keep pages in history” box to 0. Otherwise, set the “Days to keep pages in history” box to the desired number of days to retain the browser history.

4. Click OK to save your settings.

3.3. Configuring AutoComplete settings for forms and passwords

AutoComplete settings control whether and how Internet Explorer stores web addresses, form data, and passwords. As you type web addresses in the Address bar, these addresses are listed according to the text you enter, allowing you to select an address in the history list. With form data, Internet Explorer stores the text you entered into online forms. When you fill out similar form fields later, Internet Explorer displays the data you previously provided so that you can select it rather than having to retype it.

With passwords, Internet Explorer stores the passwords you used when you signed into websites that use forms-based authentication. When you visit a site again, Internet Explorer can use the password to reauthenticate you or provide the password for you after you enter your username.

You can control the way AutoComplete works by completing the following steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools→Internet Options. This displays the Internet Options dialog box.

2. On the Content tab, click Settings under AutoComplete. This displays the AutoComplete Settings dialog box shown in Figure 4.

3. Use the following options to configure how AutoComplete works, and then click OK to save your settings:

   Address bar

   Select this option to save AutoComplete data for web addresses.

   Browsing history

   Select this option to include web addresses from the browsing history.

   Favorites

   Select this option to include web addresses from your favorites lists.

   Feeds

   Select this option to include web addresses from your RSS feeds.

   Use Windows Search for better results

   Select this option to use Windows Search results to enhance AutoComplete’s results.

   Forms

   Select this option to save AutoComplete data for form fields.

   User names and passwords on forms

   Select this option to save AutoComplete data for usernames and passwords you enter.

   Ask me before saving passwords

   Select this option to prompt you before saving a password. If you don’t select this option, passwords are saved automatically.

Figure 4. Specifying the AutoComplete settings to use

3.4. Configuring the use of browser cookies

Internet Explorer stores in browser cookies the information about you that is collected by the websites you visit. Websites use cookies for a variety of reasons, such as tracking your preferences and storing information about items you’ve added to a shopping cart. When you access the same site later, the site can use the information stored in the cookie to enhance your browsing experience or obtain any necessary information about you.

Internet Explorer allows sites to store cookies on your computer based on where those sites are located. For sites on your local network and sites you’ve specifically designated as trusted, Internet Explorer accepts all cookies regardless of your privacy settings. For sites you’ve specifically designated as restricted, Internet Explorer blocks all cookies regardless of your privacy settings. When you are accessing sites on the public Internet that are configured as neither trusted sites nor restricted sites, you can manage the way cookies are used on the Privacy tab of the Internet Properties dialog box.

Internet Explorer relies on a website’s compact privacy policy to determine how the site uses cookies. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has defined an official recommendation regarding web privacy, called the Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P). P3P enables websites to report their privacy practices in policy statements. Internet Explorer relies on what the site reports and cannot determine whether cookies are used as reported.

When working with cookies, the two important terms to understand are explicit consent and implicit consent. Explicit consent means you have specifically opted to allow a site to collect personal information, such as when you accept a site’s rules during signup. Implicit consent means you haven’t opted out or told the site you don’t want personal information to be collected. On the Privacy tab, use the Settings slider to specify how cookies should be used. Privacy settings available include:

Block All Cookies

Blocks all new cookies and ensures that websites cannot read any existing cookies. Because Allow exceptions are ignored while this setting is selected, any sites you’ve configured as Allow exceptions are blocked as well.

High

Blocks all cookies from sites that do not have a declared privacy policy regarding consent. It also blocks all cookies with a declared privacy policy stating that cookies gather information that could be used to contact you without your explicit consent.

Medium High

Blocks cookies from sites other than the one you are viewing if they do not have a declared privacy policy statement regarding consent. It blocks cookies from other sites with a declared privacy policy stating that cookies gather information that could be used to contact you without your explicit consent. It also blocks cookies from the current site if there is a declared privacy policy statement specifying that cookies gather information that could be used to contact you without your implicit consent.

Medium

The default privacy setting. Blocks cookies from sites other than the one you are viewing that do not have a declared privacy policy regarding consent. It restricts cookies from the current site and blocks cookies from other sites that have a declared privacy policy stating that cookies gather information that could be used to contact you without your implicit consent.

Low

Blocks cookies from sites other than the one you are viewing that do not have a declared privacy policy regarding consent. It restricts cookies from other sites that have a declared privacy policy stating that cookies gather information that could be used to contact you without your implied consent.

Accept All Cookies

Accepts all new cookies and allows websites to read existing cookies. Because Block exceptions are ignored while this setting is selected, any sites you’ve configured as Block exceptions are allowed as well.

You can configure Internet Explorer’s cookie settings by completing the following steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools→Internet Options. This displays the Internet Options dialog box.

2. On the Privacy tab, shown in Figure 5, use the Settings slider to set the desired privacy level for cookies.

3. To make an exception for a site rather than raise or lower your privacy setting, click the Sites button. Type the address of the website in the field provided, and then click Allow or Block as appropriate. If you click Allow, cookies for the site will always be accepted. If you click Block, cookies for the site will always be blocked.

NOTE

You cannot make exceptions when you use the Block All Cookies or Allow All Cookies setting. With these settings, all cookies are always either blocked or allowed.

Figure 5. Configuring cookie settings for the Internet zone

3.5. Clearing your browsing history

Occasionally, you may want to clear your browsing history. You may want to do this to prevent malicious individuals from getting your information or to maintain your privacy regarding websites and pages you’ve visited. You may also want to do this if you are experiencing problems accessing a particular site or page, or to ensure that you are accessing the most recent version of a website or page.

Although Internet Explorer makes it appear you can clear out the browsing history while the application is running, you need to close all Internet Explorer windows to fully clear out the browsing history. You also can configure Internet Explorer to clear out the history when you exit the browser and close all open windows.

To automatically clear the history when you exit Internet Explorer, complete these steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools→Internet Options. This displays the Internet Options dialog box.

2. On the General tab, select the “Delete browsing history on exit” checkbox and then click OK.

To clear out your browsing history, complete these steps:

1. Close all Internet Explorer windows. Click Start→Control Panel→Network and Internet→Internet Options.

2. On the General tab, click Delete under Browsing History. This displays the Delete Browsing History dialog box shown in Figure 6. Note that the dialog box has two sections. The first checkbox is for preserving data; all the others are for removing data.

3. If you want to preserve cookies and other temporary files for websites listed in the Favorites Center, select the “Preserve Favorites website data” checkbox. Otherwise, to ensure all temporary data can be removed, clear this checkbox.

4. Specify the individual types of temporary Internet files to remove by selecting their checkboxes.

5. Click Delete to clear out the specified types of temporary Internet files.

Figure 6. Deleting your browsing history