In an effort to help users, Windows Vista, by default, creates a handy list of recently opened files and programs. For those of you that require these items to be private, here's how to disable the list:

1. Right click an open area of the taskbar.
2. Select Properties from the resulting menu.
3. Click the Start Menu tab.
4. Uncheck the checkboxes under "Privacy" titled:

• Store and display a list of recently opened files
• Store and display a list of recently opened programs

6. Click OK when finished.