I have a security problem

[Papa]

Yesterday I was on a "secure" website making a purchase. When it asked for
my credit card number, and I clicked on the credit card number box. a
drop-down list appeared with my full credit card number in it. That is very
disturbing.

While it is true that I am no newcomer in making online purchases with my
credit card, I frequently clear my history and delete cookies - and I had
done so just minutes before making this purchase. The vendor, by the way,
was one I had never visited before.

As for software protection, I use AVG from Grisoft and Adaware from
Lavasoft, both of which are kept updated and are run several times each
week. I also run Windows Update frequently, and have Service Pack 2
installed.

I did a Windows Search for my credit card number, and it did not appear. I
also looked in the registry and system.ini and win.ini - not there either.

So how can I prevent my credit card number from being so readily available?
Any suggestions will be most welcome.

 

[zibby]

It's autocomplete option for Internet explore.
Go to Tools>Internet Options>Content>AutoComplete
Uncheck all options and clear all forms and passwords

Also easy of coffee, nobody has your credit card #
Just IE stored it for your convenience.

 

[R. McCarty]

You're likely dealing with "AutoComplete". Windows have the ability
to retain data and apply it to similar types of pages. There are three
categories it can retain (1.) Web Addresses (2.) Forms and (3) User
names and passwords.

You can disable this functionality. Open IE, Click Tools, Internet
Options, Content (TAB) and then the AutoComplete Box. Uncheck
the items you do not want IE to retain and automatically insert .

Unrelated, but also many Web vendors have an option to retain the
payment method when making a purchase. However this wouldn't be
a factor in what you described - but you may want to avoid allowing
a site to retain your card data.

 

[Papa]

Thanks, John and Lizzie. You guys are great! Much appreciated (and I am now
breathing again!).