When you are looking for information over the internet and browsing websites, information about your activity is also collected and stored.

For example, your computer automatically stores temporary internet files, also known as cache, of what you have done over the internet. Domestic violence abusers have tracked how their partners used the internet through checking the cache files. In this case, they are able to know if survivors of domestic violence have tried to search for information about support services and help.

1) How to Clean Your Cache
If you use Microsoft Explorer, they have written a comprehensive resource on how you can easily clean your cache.

If you use Mozilla Firefox, here is how you can remove tracks of your internet activity:

• To clear your browsing history:
  • Go to Tools >> Options
  • Select the "Privacy Tab"
  • Go to "History" Tab
  • Select "Clear Browsing History Now"
• To clear your cache:
  • Go to Tools > Options
  • Select the "Privacy Tab"
  • Go to "Cache" Tab
  • Select "Clear Cache Now"
• To clear your download history:
  • Go to Tools >> Options
  • Select the "Privacy Tab"
  • Go to "Download History" Tab
  • Select "Clear Download History Now"
• To configure Firefox to automatically clear cache and data every time you finish using Firefox:
  • Go to Tools >> Options
  • Select the "Privacy Tab"
  • Look for the text on the bottom of the box on "Clear Private Data".
  • Select "Settings"
  • Select which data you want Firefox to automatically clear everytime you close the programme.
  • Select "Clear Private Data when Closing Firefox"
• Use Stealther for private browsing. When Stealther is turned on, the following things are disabled:
  • Browsing History (also in Address bar)
  • Cookies
  • Downloaded Files History
  • Disk Cache
  • Saved Form Information
  • Sending of Referrer Header

2) "Phising" - Where Your Personal Account Details Get "Stolen"
Have you ever 'lost' your Yahoo! email account? Wondered how someone manages to get all your contact details which should have been password protected?

One of the methods used is known as 'phishing'. This is where a fraudulent email, instant message or recently, telephone call, that prompts you to reveal sensitive information such as passwords or other account details.

Sometimes the email can look very convincing with official logos and web addresses or URLs that appear genuine, but actually contains small differences leading you to a phishing website. For example, deliberate misspellings that can be overlooked, or placing text with the correct URL but the active link actually leads you to somewhere else etc.

When you are there, whatever details you log on is stored by the fraudster.

In the Yahoo! example, a legitimate friend of yours could have had their account phished, and then her identity is 'stolen' and used to contact other people in her list to perpetuate and widen the fraudulent acquiring of information.

Usually, concern of phishing is concentrated on financial risk and loss, where bank account details are unwittingly submitted to a fake site etc.

But through the violation of personal communications and right to privacy, phishing can also cause great damage to social relations from online, to offline, and result in emotional and psychological harm.

What Can You Do?

1. Use OpenDNS
2. Don't Get Lured by Phishing Scams. Techsoup has a good article on how to avoid being lured into a phishing scam, with a list of things to look out for. Although it looks at phishing from the common perspective of financial risk, you can apply this knowledge in your own context according to how this might affect you.

What is DNS
DNS (Domain Name Service) was invented to make it easier for people to remember website names. Think of DNS as a huge phone book, with a list of domain names and IP addresses. Example: www.google.com points to 72.14. 207.99.

How can OpenDNS Help?
OpenDNS is a free DNS service. OpenDNS is faster, safer, easy to use and free. OpenDNS does not require any installations on the client system.

OpenDNS mainly does two things:
1) It protects users from visiting a phishing website. For example, if you have OpenDNS turned on and click on a fraud website, OpenDNS will display an error message telling you about this and you will not be accessing it. They have set up a test phishing website to show you how this works.
2) OpenDNS also corrects common spelling mistakes such as http://www.yahoo.cmo on the fly, which will redirect you to http://www.yahoo.com. You don't have to deal with those annoying popups or spyware just because you hit a typo.

How to setup OpenDNS
If you know what you are doing, or know how to change your DNS entries you can just add the following to your list.
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

You can check their website For a more in depth installation procedures.It has information on how to setup single computers as well as networks to use OpenDNS.

Want to know more about DNS?
Here's some basic information about what it's all about:
DNS defined in wikipedia
DNS tutorial for Linux in HowToForge
OpenDNS