Stay safe. Know how to keep your Internet activity invisible

If it's really important that no one in your house knows you have visited our website - or one of our partner organisation's websites -  you need to know how to make your website visits disappear.
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​This is where we show you how to do that.

Hide my visit

If you do not want anyone to know that you have visited this website, the information below could help to increase your safety while using the internet.
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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.

​Please remember that if you are concerned that someone is monitoring your internet usage, your safest option would be to access the internet from somewhere like a trusted friend’s house, your workplace, an internet café or local library.

Hiding your visits on the internet
Make the Call
Every time you use the internet your internet browser saves pieces of information such as images, search terms or words used in search engines and login names. This helps the pages you visit frequently to load faster by loading the files from your hard disk drive instead of having to download the web page in full again. These are saved as ‘cookies’ and they can mark a trail or ‘history’ that reveals what you have been looking at online.

An abuser may be able to see information you have recently viewed on the Internet if they know how to read your computer’s history or cache file. These contain the automatically saved web pages and graphics.

The following simple steps describe how you can hide your tracks when you’re browsing the Internet by ‘clearing your history’ or ’emptying your cache file’. This will minimize the chances of someone finding out that you have visited websites such as this one.
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Please note – There is a risk involved in removing data from your computer. Removing cookies may clear saved passwords for membership sites such as online banking, which may alert your partner to the fact that you have removed information. Also, your partner may notice if the address history on the PC has been cleared, and this may raise suspicion.

Covering your tracks

A 'browser' is the application or programme you use on your computer to access web pages on the Internet. You will need to know which browser you are using to access the internet. If you are unsure what browser you are using:
  • Click on Help on the toolbar at the top of the browser screen
  • A drop-down menu will appear. The last entry on the menu will read: “About…”, followed by the name of your browser. For example, if you are using Internet Explorer, it will read “About Internet Explorer”. Make a note of the version number as well.
​Once you have identified your browser, follow the relevant instructions below.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Google Chrome

Firefox

Safari

Flock

Opera

Toolbars

Toolbars such as Google, AOL and Yahoo! also record the words you have searched for. To remove all the search words check the individual instructions for your toolbar. For example, if you are using the Google toolbar, you just need to click the Google icon and choose Clear Search History.

Keeping safe on other websites

Be aware that your activity on other websites could place you in danger. Be careful what information you share on social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Bebo or Twitter.

​If you are worried about your whereabouts being discovered, please also be aware that messages you post on public forums and chat rooms could put you in danger.
For more information on how to delete history and cache from your PC, visit Computerhope.com.

Email

Reading your emails is a way in which your partner can monitor what you are doing. So it’s important to remember:
  • If an abuser has access to your email account, they may be able to read your incoming and outgoing mail. You can help secure access to your account by setting up a password log-in. When you choose a password, just make sure it’s not one that can be easily guessed – so don’t choose something obvious like your birthday or the name of a shared pet.
  • Also make sure you do not select the ‘Save my password’ or ‘Keep me logged-in’ check boxes, and always log out of your email accounts when you’ve finished your session. This prevents other people from accessing your email account using auto-logins.
  • Any email you have already sent will normally be saved in the folder marked Sent Items. Delete sent emails that you don’t want someone to see.
  • Sometimes an unfinished email will be saved in the folder marked Drafts. Go to the drafts 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.
  • Remember to empty your Deleted Items folder as emails you delete will be stored in there until you remove them permanently.
  • If you have a shared email account or your partner has access to your login or password details, you may wish to set up a new email account that you can keep private. Use a free provider like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo! to create an account you can access from anywhere, and use a name and password that cannot be guessed by your partner.
Please note – If an abuser sends you threatening or harassing e-mail or internet messages (for example, via Facebook), you can save and print them out as evidence of abuse. Keep your print-outs somewhere safe where your abuser will not find them – perhaps give them to a friend for safekeeping, or to a family member who does not live with you.

Being safe in cyberspace

NetSafe is a non-profit organisation that educates and supports individuals, organisations and industry on a range of cybersafety issues.
You can also refer to The Orb. The Orb has been developed by NetSafe to offer all New Zealanders a simple and secure way to report their concerns about online incidents.
About half of all homicides in New Zealand are committed by an offender who is identified as family.
NZ Police recorded a family violence investigation on average every 5.5 minutes in 2014.