How To

However, these changes will only affect your content moving forward, not the stuff you've posted in the past. So if you're just seeking a quick fix to get your personal thoughts and pictures of past and present out of the results, this is how you can do that.

First you'll need to copy the URL for your profile. Using my Twitter profile as an example, the link would look like this: https://

Every now and then, we need to make sure that the files we delete are really gone forever. Financial info, old work data, or poems we wrote in college all need to go down the memory hole with no chance of retrieval, and there are quite a few tools out there that get the job done. EraserDrop makes it easy, letting you drag and drop files to shred them for good. Here's how to use it:

1. Download and install EraserDrop here.
2. Run EraserDrop. A shredder icon should appear; its default is set to always on top so you won'

What makes Facebook worth $100 billion? (Likely somewhat less, as Suzanne Vranica and Shayndi Raice explain in The Wall Street Journal.)

Topping the list is the revenue-generating potential of the company's upcoming Premium ads and other new advertising programs.

Facebook, Google, and just about every other big-name Web service make their money by selling ads that get targeted based on what they know about you. The companies say they don't sell personally identifiable information to third parties, but one way or another, information about their users is the services' bread and butter.

The Facebook Data Use Policy explains more

It may have happened to you or to a friend, but the odds are good that you've seen the results of someone leaving their Facebook account unattended. Maybe embarrassing comments were posted, maybe pictures were altered -- or maybe personal info was swiped and used for nefarious purposes. Logging out of Facebook is the best way to avoid these pitfalls, but perfect vigilance is impossible for us humans. Fortunately, a Firefox add-on called Facebook Auto-Logout can take care it for us. Here's how it works:

• Install Facebook Auto-Logout here. 
• The add-on is enabled by default. From now

The Internet companies that power your online life know that data equals money, and they're becoming bolder about using that data to track you. If they get their way, your every online step would be not only irrevocable, but traceable back to you. Fortunately, there are some positive steps you can take to reclaim your online history for yourself.

The online privacy software company Abine, which makes Do Not Track Plus, also offers a service called DeleteMe, which removes your data from numerous tracking sites and keeps it from coming back. In an unusual gesture, though, they've made more

Even casual Facebook users can quickly accumulate a library of photos, videos, and posts reflecting the noteworthy and mundane moments in the lives of family and friends.

Facebook lets you download much of this information and recently enhanced its download archive to include IP addresses used by the account, relationship information, and other categories of personal data.

The download-tool update is being rolled out gradually. (When I downloaded a Facebook profile this weekend the added categories of information weren't included.) To use the profile downloader, sign into your Facebook account and click the down arrow next to the Home more

If you have ever got up and left a Private Browsing session unattended, your private information is sitting there for any passer-by to see. With PB Exit, a Private Browsing window will close after 10 minutes of inactivity, either the last page load or tab switch.

This Firefox extension could not be easier to use; simply install it and let it run in the background. In my trial, it worked as advertised, closing Private Browsing tabs after I let them sit idle for 10 minutes. There are no settings to muss with, though the developer has a note on the more

Many of us, maybe all of us, use Facebook to share interesting articles and other things we find online. The Social Reader app, and other similar apps, try to make this process simpler, but often end up oversharing or otherwise crossing the line into annoying. Here's how you can keep from sharing everything you read: 

• If you've already signed up for a Social Reader app, it's pretty easy to disable it or to limit what it shares. Just open up your Account Settings using the small drop-down menu in the top right next to the word

Sometimes it may seem safer to go back to the days of the Pony Express rather than deal with the multitude of online threats, but there are some simple steps you can take to minimize the risks you face.

First, get a security suite. CNET gave Avast Free Antivirus 7 (download) and Bitdefender Total Security 2012 (download) Editors' Choice Awards recently, although there are about a dozen good suites, free and paid, out there. Go with one that gets good ratings and that you trust, and make sure that you let it update and scan regularly.

Second, I strongly recommend more