How to Clean Internet Explorer Registry
By Ty Arthur
Every web page you visit while using the Internet Explorer web browser is logged by your computer so that you can quickly find them again later. However, this also leaves a trail that can compromise your privacy if other people have ready access to your computer. A number of different ways exist to clean out the Internet Explorer browsing history. One of the ways to ensure the history is permanently deleted is to remove the history values inside the computer's registry editor.
Step 1
Open the Start menu and click the "Search" function. Type "regedit (without quotes)" and press "Enter". Double-click the icon for the registry editor in the search results area.
Step 2
Click the "+" symbol to the left of the folder labeled "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" in the panel on the left side of the registry editor's window. Scroll down through the expanded folder view and locate the sub-folder labeled "Software."
Step 3
Expand the "Software" folder and then continue expanding the sub-folders labeled "Microsoft," "Internet Explorer," and then finally "TypedURLs."
Step 4
Look through the list of registry values in the panel on the right side of the window. Find the specific history entries you want to delete.
Step 5
Right-click the history entry and select "Delete." Continue deleting all of the history files except for the registry entry labeled "Default" at the top of the list.
Step 6
Close the registry editor and restart your computer system.
References
Tips
- If you are using the Windows Vista operating system you must be logged into the computer as an administrator to access the registry editor window.
- You can also clean out the Internet Explorer history by clicking on "Tools" and choosing "Internet Options" in the web browser. Click "Delete" under the "History" heading.
Warnings
- Be careful when deleting values inside the registry editor. If the wrong value is deleted your computer's operating system may no longer load up properly.
Writer Bio
Ty Arthur has been writing technical and entertainment-related articles for a variety of online sources since 2008. His articles have appeared on Metalunderground.com and many other websites. Arthur attended the Great Falls College of Technology and studied both computer science and creative writing.