System Recovery

• According to Microsoft's Tech Support website, once you clear the cookies and history on Internet Explorer, you can't retrieve them. Even so, Tech Support says you may be able to recover the data using the System Recovery program. Microsoft System Recovery automatically records your Windows system files and settings every week (it doesn't save personal data). When it's activated, this utility restores your computer to the most recently recorded settings. Although it doesn't usually work for recovering your Internet history, Microsoft says it can sometimes succeed.
  
  

Firefox Profile

• If you delete your history in Firefox, you can't reverse the decision. Firefox does, however, maintain a user profile that stores information on your browser history, site passwords and cookies. When you back up your Firefox profile, it retains all the information stored in your history up to that point. If you delete your history afterward, you can use your backup profile to restore it. If you want to recover a Web session created since your last backup, however, you're out of luck. Mozilla provides instructions on creating a Firefox backup profile at support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Backing%20up%20your%20information.
  
  

Privacy

• If you're concerned about someone else looking at your history, you can take steps in advance to keep your Internet activity confidential. If you use Firefox's private browsing setting, for example, the browser does not add any websites you visit to the current history, nor does it record any passwords, cookies or set up auto-complete for online forms. You can also set Firefox or other Web browsers to not retain history or to clear it as soon as the browser closes. Remember, however, that if Firefox isn't recording your history, none of this information will show up in your Firefox profile or backup.
  
  

Considerations

• Even if you erase your history from the computer you're using, that doesn't mean it's completely gone, nor does a private-browsing setting make your activity 100 percent confidential. Your Internet provider can still track the sites you visit. If you're using a company computer, the information technology staff may be able to identify and retrieve your activities, regardless of your precautions. If someone has installed spyware or a keystroke tracker on your computer, erasing your Internet history won't stop such software from tracking your browser activity.