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I just came across a folder with shortcut links to 151 files and url's that I'd visited/opened/created!
I deleted the whole lot after copying them to floppy just in case.
I'm sure some people might be happy to know about this...
And if you have insight this, please pass it on.
C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Recent
What the recent folder is is a folder that keeps a record of what you’ve opened. View it in details and you’ll have a date and time of access.
Lance.
Thanks Lance1.
Call me paranoid, but I don't like any means of potential spyware/malware such as index.dat file contents, cookies, history files. log files, etc left on the pc.
I use Spider, Xcleaner, Cleanup!, Ad-aware, regleaner, trojancheck 5....
to clear it all out.
I didn't know about this particular log until today.
Unders Windows (in Explorer) there is a Recent file which is usually hidden, but it only keeps track of things opened on the computer. However, it can become quite large if not cleaned out once in a while. I removed the hidden tick and now it's handy to clean out.
Hadn't noticed the Recent in Office, glad you brought it up.
^dAvEy^, thanks for the tip, had 32 megs in there...
The items in the Recent folder are just links. How could you have 32MB of links? That's thousands and thousands of links. Are you sure you didn't accidentally delete the actual files?
I don't quite understand the paranoia about log files and internet temporary files. Who are you trying to hide this information from? What sites do you visit that you don't want others to know about? If you don't want other users of your computer to see your recent file list, shouldn't you be concerned about them seeing the actual files on the hard drive? Anyone who could find the recent documents list can just as easily find the actual documents they point to and read them, print them, or make copies of them.
Hiya jholloway...
>Unders Windows (in Explorer) there is a Recent file which is usually hidden ... I removed the hidden tick and now it's handy to clean out.
Cleanup! and XCleaner get that one! ;)
>Hadn't noticed the Recent in Office, glad you brought it up.
I had a hunch some might be happy to know about it.
By the way, ZoneAlarm has at least one log that I think oughta be perged periodically - I wonder how many log, dat, bak, or whatever files/directories there are, what they're recording, and why, and if there's any optional benign mainenance that could help narrowpotential opportunities for privacy/security to be compomised.
Hi to you, Junker bud!
Nice work on Bugs, by the way.
>... thanks for the tip, had 32 megs in there...
like us all, I'm always happy to help out.
Casey820 kinda got a point though, you think?
How DID those shortcuts amount to 32 mgs - 1 k at a time? :confused: guess it's possible
and hi to you too, Casey820...
You know, it's neither here nor there to me if you don't care if people are digging around in your stuff for anything they might be able sell, like personal (ie not public!) information - , or potentially use in ways contrawise to your interest. Personally, I like to decide when I air my laundry and I'll do what I can to defend my right to do so.Respectfully, bollocks!Quote:
1 - What sites do you visit that you don't want others to know about?
2 - ...shouldn't you be concerned about them seeing the actual files on the hard drive?
3 - Anyone who could find the recent documents list can just as easily find the actual documents they point to and read them, print them, or make copies of them.
1 - do you really feel you have the right to ask that question?
2 - of course, the files this folder's shortcut files are pointing to are cleaned out regularly, but the shortcuts do name the files, and many are url's.
3 - surely, you are not suggesting we are concerning ourselves with shortcuts but ignoring their targets, are you?
You'll see above that we are dealing with the recent documents.
I was being a tad facetious when I said "Call me paranoid, but..." becasue:both from jerryctx's siteQuote:
When speaking of computer systems, never use the word secure
- Donald H. Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defense
There is no such thing as PC Security, only degrees of insecurity.
Just a' bit a' twit,,,a neat lil' program written by one of my favs (Neil J. Rubenking) over at PC Mag is HD Valet. It will clean out many temp files/folders including the ZA log and the Temp Internet File with ease...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,26680,00.asp
Hi Ridgerunr - I've calmed down...:eek:
Say, by chance, have you tried and compared HDValet with Cleanup! and/or XCleaner?
I think XCleaner is a mighty tight, stable little yootie!
Might just HDV whirl to eval ffor myself for mysel, but s far as it's stability, etc, you're more qualified to field that Q than I!
Casey820, Davey has covered the reasons pretty good. Let me put it another way. You have any kids? A daughter?
Imagine your daughter walking around the mall, and there's this weirdo in a lab coat, pencil and clipboard in hand, and he's following your daughter around wherever she goes. He's always looking over her shoulder, sniffling and marking his little chart. How about when she's looking at underwear? Or tampons? Do you mind if he notes her bra size? If she uses regular or Super Soakies?
Maybe you wouldn't mind that shill coming into your home, either, and see what brand of toilet paper you use, or how many times a day you go. And do you have one of those "Saver Cards" from the big chain grocery store?
SOME doors should NEVER be opened, you know what I'm saying? They're sometimes next to impossible to close.
:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
Haven't tried the new vers. of XCleaner yet,but givin' it some thought.Looks like they've squeezed the bugs out now.
My regimen is to use Juoni's Reg Cleaner(original),then Toni Art's Easy Cleaner(just the unecessary file and reg cleaner portions),then i run HDValet,go to the C:\Windows\ Cookie folder and use Cookie Muncher to blow away the ones i haven't made read only to save.Then Ad Aware and Spider115. Of course the defaults: Disk cleanup/scandisk/and,,,when Spidey wants me to reboot i run the ol' version of Shopvac from Jim(reboot)DeLong from the dos start menu(command prompt).I know-i know,,people have grumped about Shopvac not "cleaning" the registry,but it "does"tighten it up a' bit. Then i run scanreg /fix,back to Windoze,stomp the runnin' progs with End It All(again) and run Defrag,SFC,IE repair tool,reboot back to dos prompt and run scanreg /fix /opt(in case IE repair actually "did" do something in reg)then back to Windoze... Bit of a' bother,,but it's kept my ol' Win98FE goin' for quite awhile with minimum probs...:)
Oh yeah,,I've never had a prob with HDValet. Except for the temp internet files(which it deletes right away)it puts anything it grabs from a temp folder into the recycle bin just in case of a prob later and you can restore from there. Personally,i just read the log file it offers for view after running and delete "that" also,along with the "bin" stuff with "disc cleanupper"...
JoJo Gunn
well put :)
Ridgerunr
likewise - super post - a real keeper!
Hi All,
I too get frustrated with the amount of garbage left on my systems by all sorts of programs, and I am very worried about internet security as I have two young daughters.
Perhaps you have seen some of the UK news recently - unrelated to temporary files BUT two ten year old girls have vanished (together) and the police, having taken away the families PC's have now decided that they probably have been abducted by someone they spoke to on the net. The girls have been missing since last Sunday.
No amount of paranoia or security is too much when you have children!
VP
Actually, there is a type of virtual person following each of us around the mall writing down what we buy and where we go. Do you use charge cards? How 'bout those coupon cards at grocery stores? Ever fill out a warranty card? We've never had much privacy. This problem didn't start with the personal computing era or internet era.
And no, I don't have a daughter. I don't have children. I live alone, so no one else uses my computer. I have a hardware firewall, and I store personal documents on external media in a locked box. I shred all documents that have my name on (rather than throwing them in the trash).
I'm still not understanding why people care about the recent document list. All those recent documents are probably stored on your hard drive where other people and hackers can get them. Deleting the recent document list only prevents other users of your computer from seeing what you've just worked on. It doesn't prevent them from seeing the docuents. They can still go to the folders where they're stored and read them.
Just lately NAV as detected and blocked waves of infected incoming e-mail's.
Yesterday I received an e-mail stating that I had sent this person an uninvited e-mail that had a virus attachment. This has happened even though I do not know this person and his address is not in any of my e-mail folders. I apologised and explained that I had not sent him the email/virus. He later explained that he had traced the e-mail back to my address.
When I ran a virus check, it found the 'swporta Trojan' in my system, I assume that the e-mail was somehow sent as a result of it. Had this person not contacted me, I would not have been aware of it's existence.
What I don't understand is how NAV failed to detect its incoming but found its presents later. Also how could this infected e-mail be sent without my knowledge?
So I would welcome some form of software that automatically detect such things.
Regarding wiping sensitive material off your hard drive, I seem to remember reading that this action would be in vain as deleted information can still be recovered even if the drive has been reformatted.
Dave