Where is porn stored on your computer if you think something was downloaded by accident that is illegal?

[anonymous]

Is it only on the hard drive? Would getting a new hard drive fix the problem or is porn stored in other places besides the hard drive?
How do i take the computer in to have the hard drive replaced without the guy looking at what's on the drive when he replaces it and puts the new one in?

[Empire539]

Yes, any data that's stored in the long term will be stored in on the hard drive. If you completely replace your hard drive, then yeah, any data that was on the old one obviously won't transfer to the new one, assuming you won't be keeping any of your files. I mean, the only other place it could be stored is the RAM, but that's only if you recently loaded the data - a simple shutdown would clear it.

[Tim]

Your server may also have records of what sites you visit even if you clean your computer completely. Also, if the site you visited gets arrested for distribution of illegal material, they will also back track and find what users and addresses visited the site. What I am saying is nothing is really hidden so keep it legal.

[Smokies Hiker]

The information ( web site address ) would be permanently stored on your hard drive. You can "delete" the information, but it's really just written over by other files. With proper equipment and knowledge, this illegal information can be retrieved by authorities in the future. Your ISP also is required to keep a record of web sites your computer has visited. The information can be retrieved by authorities there also ( if they believe a crime has been committed using your computer. If your computer should ever be taken in for repairs at a computer repair shop, these web sites would be blocked by the technician working on your computer. if child porn is involved, they'll alert the police. Replacing your hard drive will solve the problem if you really want to hide the "evidence", but unless you have been on a child porn web site, you should have nothing to worry about.