Just browsing

What does a person's browser history tell you about them - working on the assumption that they haven't used one of these browsers that allows "private" browsing - ie deleting your browsing history lest it be discriminating in any way. When I started writing this blog item some time ago, I was planning to list what was on my browser history but having looked up a few sites over the last week, that may be wise ... for example I looked up Adolph Hitler on Wikipedia to confirm a friend's birthday (she was born on the same day ... really). Some could see this as less than innocent ... especially if it was linked to another URL or two. It's amazing that after any kind of killing spree happens and the media (and investigators) look to make sense of it, they dredge up their history: who they were friends with, what they read, what movies they watched, what sites they surfed, what they posted on their Facebook page or on other social media, how old were that when they killed their first puppy, what the neighbours thought of them. It's unclear if this approach is helpful - does it offer any insight or possible warning signs to help someone to prevent it happening again? Hopefully some good comes of it.