Index.Dat File - Here How to get rid of it.

[TheBlueRaja]

For those of you who saw the article on the news page and got a little twitchy about just whats stored in that file, well i can let you all know how to get rid of it.

There is a program available on the web called Window Washer, in fact its quite a handy little utility. You can pick up a free 30 day trial at http://www.webroot.com/washer.htm.

And yes, it does delete that pesky file.

 

[Terrahertz]

Well my friend why go for 30 days when you can go forever. I use a freeware program called SPIDER. It will erase those hidden logs for ya. Been using it since WIn98.

 

[G-Money]

You can get to this folder this way too :

In the address bar type :C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5

If your the Administrator.

Only thing is I cant delete them..... 🙁

 

[denny250]

I just used search and that found them
Having said that I also cant delete them

 

[TheBlueRaja]

I havent used SPIDER so i cant recommend it Terrahertz, but if it does what it says on the tin, and its free...

Rock on...

 

[silent_bob]

Nice case mod Famine! but where did u get the radiation sticker or is it etched into da serspex?

 

[TR!GG3R]

so where u get this proggy called spider ?

 

[silent_bob]

Spider is at:

http://www.webattack.com/get/spider.shtml

 

[denny250]

Ty
I have just used it and it worked ok

 

[denny250]

BTW
I got it from http://www.fsm.nl/ward/

 

[G-Money]

silent_bob

Thanks silent_bob ......

Click here


😀

 

[huFFamOOse]

hmm, i don't see anything

Slap me if i'm trout but i've got my index.dat and all thats in it is 2 websites (ones i last visited) and the rest is 7mb of

ð­

ð­

ð­

etc.

Thats from wordpad, notepad just crashed :¬p

any help? TIA

 

[l0g0ut]

i just found out that you don't have to copy the folder elsewhere to view the index.dat file.... it's visible to all users that have admin privileges.... but if you're an admin you still can't see the hidden file yourself directly... only in other users folder

 

[Draven]

Get Rid of index.dat the SIMPLE WAY

Here is how to find the index.dat file.
(note: I have, in Folder Options, Show hidden files and folders checked and Hide protected operating system files unchecked. Not sure if this is necessary)

Go to:

<Drive where you installed WinXP>/Documents and Settings/<Your user folder>/Local Settings/Temporary Internet Files/Content.IE5

in the address bar

Now you can see the index.dat file and if you want to view it use a editor like notepad.

To erase just boot the computer in safe mode and then access the file the same way above and delete.

 

[BOBbagels]

I have used both Spider and Windows Washer.
I like windows washer much better cause of the available free plug-ins.
Also for some reason myself AND a few others I know reported that after a while for some strange reason Spider just stopped working. I mean we could run the program and all, but it just wouldnt clean out the index.dat files after a while. This is in XP Pro.
However,On my 98SE partition it still works.
<---- (shrugs)

 

[andre9540]

What to KNOW

I want to know what i have been visiting..... so what program could i use to view this info.... i have tried notepad....

 

[Terrahertz]

Guys I just found out something. Simple actually. If you dont want these hidden files on your system create yourself a Ramdrive. Shutdown, it flushes everything out.🙂

 

[Cole]

Getting rid of index.dat

First off, so there's no confusion (if there was any), the index.dat file is a part of IE, not XP. So, you will get it in any windows environment that you are using IE in, i.e. Win95, 98, 2000, etc. I've been troubleshooting for the Man for a while now and whenever I have to clear that stuff out, temp files and cookies, I just do it in Dos. Not the Dos prompt in windows, cuz your files are still locked down, but in the real dos. Real simple. At least for tech-heads. Just boot up and hit the F8 key until you have the options and choose command prompt. Get in the folder where temporary internet files are kept and type "deltree tempor~1" and hit enter. If you're really cleaning house, continue on with "deltree cookies" and "deltree history". These folders all get rebuilt and you are squeaky clean. And, it doesn't even cost you anything... 🙂 Also, some of those other programs delete more than is needed and can destroy your system if you're unlucky.

 

[UberGrits]

Paranoia

Alright, I consider myself a pretty paranoid guy. As far as firewalling, virus-watching and spyware removing goes, I think I've got things pretty much under control. The only thing I am left feeling vulnerable about are the overwhelming privacy leaks purposely built in to MSIE.

I downright loathe the fact that any conniving website admin out there that wants to can find out information about me that I really don't want them to know. I mean, Christ, look at how much conversation has been generated about how to go about deleting that infernal index.dat file. I have no idea about you all, but this kind of nonsense is really beginning to irritate me. How many different programs am I going to have to run and how many times am I going to have to reboot before all my internet footsteps have been cleared from my system? Frankly, I find the whole process ridiculously tedious--there has *got* to be a better way.

As far as I know, the safest way to browse the net is to surf through some kind of anonymizing proxy. Barring that (I really don't feel like paying a monthly fee or having to deal with the added delay that is no doubt going to occur when surfing through a proxy), so, does anyone out there know of either a web browser designed with the paranoid user in mind or some sort of shielding program you can run to keep IE from reporting your every move to every website you visit? I'm sure it can be fairly easily done, but my search for something of this nature has failed to produce any promising results. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TheBlueRaja]

Dude, You need to start your own thread.

😀