You might want to keep your surfing habits private or make your computer even more secure - whatever the reason - you can easily hide where you have been online using some simple web browser functions.

Whenever you go online, you leave a trail of information about yourself and the websites you've seen. Protecting your privacy can help hide where you have been and prevent people stealing your personal information.

For example, if you do your banking online, are looking for that perfect birthday surprise, or just want to look for a new job without your boss seeing - hiding where you have been online means you can keep it all a secret.

Getting personal

It doesn't matter if you are buying a gift from an online store, or signing up for a newsletter from your favourite site - each time you enter information onto a web page you are leaving a little marker to say you've been there.

Learning to hide where you have been online can also prevent someone from using your personal information to steal your identity. So it's a good reason to spend a few minutes clearing these files off your computer.

Your name, address, telephone number, age and even your date of birth are all bits of information that someone could use to pretend to be you.

When you enter these facts into a web page you could be making these facts available to the public.

The padlock means 'secure'

Making sure you only enter this information into a secure web page is an important way to safeguard your privacy.

You know when you're in the secure part of a website because a small padlock icon appears in the bottom corner of your web browser.