Turning off autocomplete for windows

Underdog

I keep some files hidden. This way, the only way a person can get to them is if they know the file name and type it right into the address bar. Problem is once I've typed it in the first time, the damn autocomplete gives away the path to the hidden files as soon as you type the first correct letter in. How do I turn this off? Can I?

Fibretip

on the menu bar at the top of IE....

tools, then internet options, then the content tab, then near the bottom is "autocomplete", you can turn it off, and clear the current cache of files.

Cold Koala

Couldn't someone just get to them by searching c:\ and including hidden files in the search? That is, if they're of a suspicious filetype, especially .mpg, hey? Or .doc, .rtf, .txt if you're dealing with the CIA, in which case you're fucked anyway.

Actually maybe you could just remove the extensions and only add them back in temporarily to use the files.

Fibretip

People only tend to look for things if they think they're there.... that's one situation. However i think the OP means more like, someone with no malicious intent comes to his PC and goes to search for "Sega" and after pressing s and e, it starts autocompleting to something less wholesome...

not saying it's porn, just using that because it's the obvious example.

edit : also bear in mind... if you're on xp (or anything earlier) any file you open, however you open it... will be in your "recent files" bit of windows. I know it doesn't look like it's there on XP, but if you change start bar back to classic, it suddenly appears... just something else to think about. (it's easily cleared out by right clicking on the bar at the bottom, choosing properties, start menu - customise, advanced tab, then at the bottom click on "clear list"

Underdog

Fibretip wrote: »

People only tend to look for things if they think they're there.... that's one situation. However i think the OP means more like, someone with no malicious intent comes to his PC and goes to search for "Sega" and after pressing s and e, it starts autocompleting to something less wholesome...

not saying it's porn, just using that because it's the obvious example.

edit : also bear in mind... if you're on xp (or anything earlier) any file you open, however you open it... will be in your "recent files" bit of windows. I know it doesn't look like it's there on XP, but if you change start bar back to classic, it suddenly appears... just something else to think about. (it's easily cleared out by right clicking on the bar at the bottom, choosing properties, start menu - customise, advanced tab, then at the bottom click on "clear list"

Yeah I'm trying to avoid that type of situation but not with my internet. I mean when I open my C drive and I'm typing stuff into the address bar there. It's not really an autocomplete, it's more like "helpful suggestions to files that have recently been opened". Like the address bar reads "C:\" and when I type an S next to the backslash, a bunch of suggested folders that start with the letter S pop up underneath the address bar. I'm trying to get it to stop doing that.