Understanding Privacy Issues

Privacy issues take many forms depending on whether you are the only user of your computer or you use a public computer, among other factors. The following information is not meant to be a complete discussion of all computer privacy issues. We hope that it will acquaint you with some of the privacy issues that Window Washer can address for you.

As you work on your computer and browse the Internet, you leave behind traces of what you have done. These traces may be in the form of temporary files on your hard drive, lists of recently used files in programs, lists of recently visited Web sites, or cookies that Web sites place on your hard drive.

Anyone who has access to your computer, whether a hacker or someone who sits down at your desk, can view these traces and know where you have been and what you have done on your computer. Removing these traces may be particularly important if you share a computer with others or are working on a public computer.

In addition, some Web sites place small files, called cookies, on your computer. Cookies store information about your interaction with a Web site. That information may just track which ads the site displayed while you were there to make sure the site does not display the same ads. Other cookies may store preferences that you set, passwords you create for the site, information about the pages you visited, and more. For more information about cookies, see Customizing Cookie Washing.

Even if you use encryption on your files to protect them, temporary files that are frequently stored on your computer do not contain any encryption. Temporary files often result from a program closing because of a problem. Someone accessing your computer can open those temporary files and see the data in them.

You can set up Window Washer to wash away (delete) any or all of these traces of your activity. At home, you may want to be sure that Internet companies cannot track your Web browsing patterns based on the cookies they place on your computer. At work, you may want to keep information private for a number of reasons, including protecting your methods (sources you use and Web sites you visit). They may be part of your intellectual property that you want to protect.