Illegal Operation! Fatal Exception!
Error, Error Will Robinson!
Accent on Computers to the rescue! 203-625-7575.
June 2, 2006
What You Leave Behind
Dear Larry,
I was traveling over a weekend and wanted to use the Internet
computer in my hotel lobby. My husband said I shouldn’t as it wasn’t safe. Is
that true?
S. P.
Dear S. P.,
The lobby computer (or, for that matter, a computer you may
use in a library or an Internet café) isn’t any less safe than the hotel
swimming pool or the fitness room; it’s just a function of how safely you use
it. As long as you follow a few simple precautions, you should have no problem.
First of all, remember that you’re not sitting at your home
computer so don’t save anything in the form of documents, Internet favorites,
e-mail addresses, and the like. If you forget and do happen to save a document
by accident, delete it and empty the recycle bin on the computer. Similarly,
don’t save favorites if you’re accessing the Internet.
If you’re logging into a web site via Internet Explorer
(perhaps to a banking web site or a remote e-mail site), try to log in securely
if the option to do so is presented to you. Many web sites provide two links to
log in, one more secure—and somewhat slower—than the other. Banking web sites
generally log in securely whether you want to or not!
When you’re finished using Internet Explorer, it’s a good idea
to clean up before you depart. First, click Tools, Internet Options. In the
History section near the bottom of the Options window, click Clear History.
Next, in the Temporary Internet Files section just above this, click Delete
Cookies. Finally, click the Delete Files button just to the right of the Delete
Cookies button and, in the subsequent window, check the Delete All Offline
Content box, and click OK. Note that this last step may take a few minutes so if
you’re in a big hurry, skip it, but be sure to perform the first two steps
(clearing history and deleting cookies) as they’re the most important.
Finally, restart the computer: click Start, Turn Off Computer,
then Restart.
Using a public computer isn’t especially risky as long as you
follow a few precautionary steps. It’s unlikely someone using the PC immediately
after you will have the inclination and/or the wherewithal to “see” what you
were doing, but why not take a few seconds and clean up any bread crumbs you
might have left behind.
This is Larry Schneider, logging off.
