YAY get rid of the history properly :good:
3.1. IF YOU HAVE EVER USED MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER
1) Shut your computer down, and turn it back on. 2) While your computer is booting keep pressing the [F8] key until you are given an option screen.
3) Choose "Command Prompt Only" (This will take you to true DOS mode.) Windows ME users must use a boot disk to get into real DOS mode.
4) When your computer is done booting, you will have a C:\> followed by a blinking cursor. Type this in, hitting enter after each line. (Obviously, don't type the comments in parentheses.)
C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV (Loads smartdrive to speed things up.)
CD\
DELTREE/Y TEMP (This line removes temporary files.)
CD WINDOWS
DELTREE/Y COOKIES (This line removes cookies.)
DELTREE/Y TEMP (This removes temporary files.)
DELTREE/Y HISTORY (This line removes your browsing history.)
DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1 (This line removes your internet cache.)
(If that last line doesn't work, then type this
CD\WINDOWS\APPLIC~1
DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1
(If that didn't work, then type this
CD\WINDOWS\LOCALS~1
DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1
(If this still does not work, and you are sure you are using MSIE 5.x, then please e-mail me. If you have profiles turned on, then it is likely located under \windows\profiles\%user%\, while older versions of MSIE keep them under \windows\content\.)
This last one will take a ridiculous amount of time to process. The reason it takes so incredibly long is because there is a ton of (semi-) useless cache stored on your HD.
5) Immediately stop using Microsoft Internet Explorer and go with any of the alternative browsers out there (e.g., Netscape 4.7x from netscape.com, Mozilla from mozilla.org, or Opera from opera.com).
FYI, Windows re-creates the index.dat files automatically when you reboot your machine, so don't be surprised when you see them again. They should at least be cleared of your browsing history.
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3.2. CLEARING YOUR REGISTRY
It was once believed that the registry is the central database of Windows that stores and maintains the OS configuration information. Well, this is wrong. Apparently, it also maintains a bunch of other information that has absolutely nothing to do with the configuration. I won't get into the other stuff, but for one, your typed URLs are stored in the registry.
HKEY_USERS/Default/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/TypedURLs/
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/TypedURLs/
These "Typed URLs" come from MSIE's autocomplete feature. It records all URLs that you've typed in manually in order to save you some time filling out the address field. By typing "ama" the autocomplete feature might bring up "amazon.com" for you. Although I find it annoying, some people prefer this feature. One thing is for sure, however -- it's an obvious privacy risk. You wouldn't want a guest to type "ama" and have it autocomplete to "amateurmudwrestlers.com," would you?
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3.3. SLACK FILES
As you may already know, deleting files only deletes the references to them. They are in fact still sitting there on your HD and can still be recovered by a very motivated person.
BCWipe is a nice program that will clear these files.
For you DOS buffs, there's a freeware file wiper on simtel.net that I use.
If you are using PGP, there is a "Freespace Wipe" option under PGPtools.
The newer versions of Norton Utilities have a nice file wiping utility.
You might want to check out Evidence Eliminator's 30 day trial. This is probably the best program as far as your privacy goes.
