Site Safety

If you want to be completely sure of not being tracked online, the safest way would be to access the internet at a local library, a friend's house or at work.

If an abuser sends you threatening or harassing email messages, they may be printed and saved as evidence of this abuse.

• Any email you have previously sent will be stored in sent items - Go to sent items and delete emails you don't want a person to see
• If you started an email but didn't finish it, it might be in your drafts folder - Go to the draft folder to delete it
• If you reply to any email, the original message will probably be in the body of the message - Delete the email if you don't want anyone to see your original message.
• When you delete an item in any email program (Outlook Express, Outlook etc) it does not really delete the item - it moves the item to a folder called Deleted Items. You have to delete the items in Deleted Items to remove them completely
  
• If there's a risk that your abuser may know how to access your emails, it's a good idea to set up a new email account. Use a provider like Hotmail or Yahoo for an account you can access from anywhere, and use a name that is not recognisable as you, for example vegemite@hotmail.com. Keep this email secret.

Toolbars such as Google, AOL 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".

If you do not use a password to log on to your computer, someone else will be able to access your email and track your internet usage. The safest way to find information on the internet, would be at a local library, a friend's house, or at work.