Can You Undelete Internet Explorer History

Internet Explorer builds up a history of the websites you've visited. Every so often, it can pay to clear it out. But what if you do this and didn't mean to? Can you undelete Internet Explorer history?

As always with Windows, there's more than one answer to this question.

The simple one is to use Windows built-in Restore feature.

At intervals, modern versions of Windows take a snapshot of your computer. These snapshots are called "restore points". If you regularly install software, it can be worth manually setting a restore point before going ahead with the software setup routine. That way, if something nasty happens you can get your system back to how it was.

The chances are that you'll have a reasonably recent restore point set by your system. It's then just a matter of running Windows Restore and you should get all your Internet Explorer history back.

But sometimes there are reasons that restore points don't exist.

Maybe you've changed your system settings so that they aren't automatically taken. Or maybe some malicious software has changed the setting for you. Or it may not even be safe to restore your system - maybe you've recently cleaned out a virus and the nearest restore point is actually before you got rid of the thing. You probably don't want to go to the hassle of re-ridding yourself of a virus. Or the latest system restore was taken before you installed a complicated piece of software.

What can you do in these instances to undelete your Internet Explorer history?

Depending on what other software you are running, there's a chance that there are some other files used by Internet Explorer to track your browsing history. These files are called index.dat and they may be hidden by the system and will almost certainly be littered across your hard drive in a variety of folders.

You can see why people use software to remove their tracks now, can't you?

So how do you go about finding these files?

Go to your Start menu and select Search.

Choose the "For files and folders..." option from the menu that appears.

Then select the "All files and folders" option.

Several options will be given to you. The file name box needs to have "index.dat" in it (don't type in the quote marks).

Then click the "More advanced options" link and tick the "Search hidden files and folders" option as well as the options that are already pre-selected for you.

If Windows thinks you've got more than one hard drive, just select "Local Disk (C:) from the drop down list.

Then click the Search button and let Windows go off and present you with a list of files. You may want to go off and grab a coffee while it does this.

Whilst you could open these files in a word processor, they won't make much sense when you view them. So you're going to need a specialist piece of software to read them - just use your favorite search engine and search for "index.dat reader". Use the software you find to open these index.dat files and get your browsing history back.

What Do You Need To Backup Online?

Deciding what information and data files you need to backup online can depend on a few things. The first thing to consider is that most online backup services give you a certain amount of storage either free as a trial, or a limited "starter" account for a small fee. The second thing to consider in choosing what to back up is to ask yourself "what data could you afford to lose if the inevitable actually happened?"

While there are many online backup service options to choose from, each level, or plan, usually has a free trial period. Plans can start out on the low end of about 100 megabytes. If you want additional storage, the subscription amounts will vary up from there, depending on the amount of storage space you'll require.

Regarding the amount of data you have, you might have to make a few choices about what vital data you really need to back up in order to stay under the storage limit if you're going with a smaller plan.

Something to consider: the type of data backup choices you make may also depend on the speed of your internet connection. If you have DSL or Cable high speed access, you'll be able to upload large amounts of data in a very short time. If you have a dial-up connection, however, uploading data will could be a slow and tedious process.

Most word processing documents and such are pretty small files, and you can back them up rather quickly no matter what your internet connection speed. If you're planning to back up entire databases, graphic files or large applications though, you may need to be much more selective if you're choosing a limited plan.

What you back up finally depends on whether or not an online service is your main method for backing up your data. If you already back up your data on company-owned or redundant servers, or just external hard drives at home and simply use the online service to access files when you travel, it's a relatively easy decision. You will just back up those few vital files that you think you'll need when you are on the road.

Ultimately, your decision on what data you need to back up will be determined by the cost of possibly losing any or all of it. If you own your own business, it may be wise to have someone take inventory of what you have stored on your machines, then ask the most pessimistic techie-types what would be the worst possible scenario that you would need to be prepared for, and which data is most vital.

In the event of a catastrophe, an online service makes a good primary backup option, and you should make sure that you back up all of your vital data no matter how long it takes. It's just safer that way. A remote service will be well away from any disasters in your local - along with your vital data.

So, what data can you afford to lose? For the little bit of time involved, and the small overall expense, (like the cost of a good cup of coffee per day) you can't afford not backing up your vital files. Especially if the life of your business may depend on it.