How to Recover Deleted Browsing History on Windows

There will be times when you need to restore your browsing history to know what previous users accessed, find lost URLs, or simply retrieve deleted information. Although web surfing history can be deleted in the browser, Windows computers still store data in cache and we can access it in many ways. The easiest way to find deleted history is through your Google account. Choose this method if you were signed in to your Google account during the browsing session you want to review. Otherwise the process may be more complicated. Luckily, you can still access your lost history stored in your computer's built-in cache.

Use DNS caching

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Open the "Start" menu and select "Run." In the search bar, type 'cmd' (without the quotes) and select 'OK.' While browsing history can be deleted, the DNS cache still retains this information. Note: this method may confuse you because DNS caching doesn't just save history from the browser but includes everything related to the internet, such as applications.

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Wait for Command Prompt to open. When the black window appears, enter the command ipconfig/displaydns. Press 'Enter.'

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Restore history that you deleted. After you enter the command, your browsing history will appear.

Download recovery software

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Find reliable recovery software. You may consider using Recuva or Data Recovery Wizard. After downloading some free software, launch the program. In this article we use Recuva as an example, but most other software also have similar methods.

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Click 'Next' on the Welcome to the Recuva Wizard page. If this page does not appear after the software runs, go to 'Options' and select 'Show Wizard at Startup'.

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Select the file type you want to recover. In this case, deleted internet history. Once selected, click 'Next.' The File Location page will appear.

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Select the location you want the software to scan through. Click 'Start' and wait a moment for the scanning process to complete.

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Select 'Recover'. Once the scan is complete, you will have the option to restore files and choose a destination for the data on your computer. After selecting the location, you click 'OK.'

Access Google browsing history

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Access Google browser history. This is the easiest way, but only applies if you were logged into your Google account during the browsing session you want to review.

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Sign in to your Google account. Go to www.google.com/history and enter the account information you used to browse the web.

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Take a look at your browsing history. From this page, you can view your browsing history by date and time. If you want to clear your history, simply click the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen and select 'Remove Items'.