SAFETY ONLINE

Safety Alert: Computer use can be monitored and is impossible to completely clear. Therefore, viewing this website could place you in danger. If you're in danger, please use a safer computer, call our 24 Hour Crisis Hotline at (937) 376-8526 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE. If you are at a safer computer read for simple steps you can take to protect yourself.

Simple Steps to Help You Stay Safe

We encourage victims to use a safer computer at a library, community center or even at a local domestic violence advocacy office. This is especially important when researching escape plans. Looking for bus tickets, shelter information and housing classified ads on a home computer can alert your abuser and increase your risk.

To find a community technology center near you visit www.ctcnet.org.
If you bookmark this site or any other site about domestic violence your abuser can find out that you have been getting information on domestic violence. If you can, clear all cache/history files from your web browser. See instructions below for reducing the risk of this visit being traced.

Instructions for Internet Explorer
To delete temporary internet files, cookies (cryptic bookmarks that a Website can place on your computer to acknowledge your visit) and web addresses in your history:

On the menu at the top of the browser window, click on Tools>Internet Options...
In the dialog window that opens, click on the "General" tab.
In the section labeled "Temporary Internet Files", if you wish to delete all files and cookies, click on the "Delete Files..." button. A confirmation dialog will open asking if you want to delete all files in your temporary internet folder. Click "OK".
If you wish to selectively delete files and cookies, click on the "Settings..." button. A dialog window will open. Click on the "View Files..." button. A window will open with a list of all your temporary internet files and cookies. You can highlight the files you wish to delete and hit the delete key or click Edit>Delete.
To empty the History folder, click on the "Clear History" button and then the "OK" button.

Instructions for Netscape
To delete pages in your history:

On the menu bar at the top of your browser window, click on Communicator>Tools>History.
When the history window opens, highlight the addresses you want to delete and hit the delete key on your keyboard or click on Edit>Delete on the menu bar.
If you wish to clear the entire History file, click on Edit>Select All, then click on Edit>Delete.
To empty your cache:

On the menu bar at the top of your browser window, click on Edit>Preferences.
When the preference window opens, click on the "+" sign in front of the "Advanced" in the frame on the left, then click on "Cache" to open the cache dialog.
In the Cache dialog window, click on the "Clear Memory Cache" and the "Clear Disk Cache" buttons. Click on "OK" to close the window.

The above information was taken from The National Network to end Domestic Violence materials and The Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence website (www.acadv.org).