bash: is it possible to disable logging to .bash_history?

[Bartman]

... either for one command or for a whole session? I dont want any "sensitive" commands to end up in my history in case someone else sees it. This is for a system in which I only have access to a 'guest' account.

[redhead]

# mv .bash_history .bash_history_old
# ln -sf /dev/null .bash_history
<do what ever stuff needs to be hidden, and logout>
<login again and>
# rm .bash_history
# mv .bash_history_old .bash_history

[redhead]

Just found this in man bash:

HISTCONTROL
If set to a value of ignorespace, lines which begin
with a space character are not entered on the his*
tory list. If set to a value of ignoredups, lines
matching the last history line are not entered. A
value of ignoreboth combines the two options. If
unset, or if set to any other value than those
above, all lines read by the parser are saved on
the history list, subject to the value of HISTIG*
NORE. This variable's function is superseded by
HISTIGNORE. The second and subsequent lines of a
multi-line compound command are not tested, and are
added to the history regardless of the value of
HISTCONTROL.
HISTFILE
The name of the file in which command history is
saved (see HISTORY below). The default value is
~/.bash_history. If unset, the command history is
not saved when an interactive shell exits.
HISTFILESIZE
The maximum number of lines contained in the his*
tory file. When this variable is assigned a value,
the history file is truncated, if necessary, to
contain no more than that number of lines. The
default value is 500. The history file is also
truncated to this size after writing it when an
interactive shell exits.
HISTIGNORE
A colon-separated list of patterns used to decide
which command lines should be saved on the history
list. Each pattern is anchored at the beginning of
the line and must match the complete line (no
implicit `*' is appended). Each pattern is tested
against the line after the checks specified by
HISTCONTROL are applied. In addition to the normal
shell pattern matching characters, `&' matches the
previous history line. `&' may be escaped using a
backslash; the backslash is removed before attempt*
ing a match. The second and subsequent lines of a
multi-line compound command are not tested, and are
added to the history regardless of the value of
HISTIGNORE.
HISTSIZE
The number of commands to remember in the command
history (see HISTORY below). The default value is
500.

Any of those should be something that would help your situation.

Taking this into considderation, making a:
# export HISTFILE="/dev/null"
befor all the bad stuff, might be the way to go..

[Bartman]

Thanks, guess I should have read the man