How to Delete AutoComplete History

AutoComplete feature may be helpful for some things, it can also seriously compromise your security and privacy.

You may have noticed that when you type a search into a web site search box (such as Google or Yahoo!), a list of previously searched for terms are displayed. These previous searches are not saved by any web site, but are actually saved by your web browser through a feature called AutoComplete.

Internet Explorer and other browsers includes a feature called AutoComplete that keeps track of information that you’ve recently typed, such as Web site addresses, information in forms, and search queries. As you type new information, AutoComplete tries to anticipate what you are typing and offers possible matches.

While the AutoComplete feature may be helpful for some things, it can also seriously compromise your security and privacy, because anyone who has access to your computer can see what web sites you visited and what information you entered on web pages. Also various malicious software can use AutoComplete data to steal your personal information such as your name, e-mail address, credit card information and/or retrieve web sites passwords stored as autocomplete data.

How to delete Internet Explorer AutoComplete history?

To delete AutoComplete forms history in Internet Explorer:
• Select "Tools" then "Internet Options".
• Open the "Content" tab.
• Click the "AutoComplete" button.
• Click the "Clear forms" button to delete all AutoComplete form data and/or click the "Clear Passwords" to delete restored passwords.

If you don't want Internet Explorer to save this data in the future, you can disable IE AutoComplete. Just follow these steps:

• Select "Tools" -> "Internet Options".
• Open the "Content" tab.
• Click the "AutoComplete" button
• Check or uncheck the options you wish have or not.
• Click OK.

How to delete Firefox Autocomplete history?

Mozilla Firefox saves information entered in web page forms and the Search Bar to make filling out forms and surfing faster.
To delete AutoComplete history in Mozilla Firefox:
• Select "Tools"
• Select "Options".
• Open the "Privacy" tab.
• Click the "Clear" button in the "Saved Form Information" area.

To disable AutoComplete in Mozilla Firefox:

• Select "Tools" then "Internet Options".
• Select the "Privacy" tab.
• Open "Save form information" category.
• Remove the check mark from the "Save information I enter in web page forms and the Search Bar".
• Click OK.

To disable AutoComplete forms in Mozilla Firefox:

• Select "Edit" then "Preferences".
• Open "Privacy & Security" category.
• Select "Forms" sub-category
• Remove the check mark from the "Save form data from web pages when completing forms".

Note: It's NOT recommended that you turning off auto-completion, because it's too convenient overall. Fortunately, you don't have to: You can tell your browser to forget individual auto-complete entries.
In Internet Explorer and Firefox, start typing out the entry you want to be rid of, wait for the browser to suggest it in a drop-down listing below that form, then select it. In IE, press the Delete key; in Firefox, hit Shift and Delete.

In Firefox, this Shift-Delete trick will also scrub out auto-complete entries in the browser's address bar and Web-search bar.