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Delete Hidden Tracking files with information about your
IE surfing history and more
If you regularly clear your Internet History, Temp files,
and cookies to keep ordinary snoops at bay, you're overlooking a
very important detail: index.dat files. These hidden files
contain information about your IE surfing history and your
Outlook activity. There are some conspiracy theories floating
around about what index.dat files are really for. Index.dat
files aren't only hidden, they're system files. Even if you
select to show hidden files in your folder options, they remain
unseen. To track down index.dat files, you need to know where to
look. File names and locations depend on which version of
Internet Explorer you have. Assuming you run IE 4.0 or above,
the file names will be "index.dat." In WinXP, here's where
you'll usually find them.
C:\Documents and Settings\username\cookies
C:Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\History
C:Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temporary
Internet Files
Restart your computer in Safe Mode with Command Prompt. (Press
F8 on startup and choose Safe Mode With Command Prompt.) Log on
as administrator.Once you reach the command prompt, type "CD\"
(no quotes) and press Enter to get to your root directory.Type
"del index.dat \s" (no quotes) and hit Enter to erase all files
named index.dat on your computer.
Type "shutdown -r" (no quotes) to restart your computer.
Your index.dat files will return once Windows boots up normally
again, but they'll be empty! |