Stop Microsoft

All Things Microsoft => Microsoft Software => Topic started by: maddogg1952 on 12 May 2005, 12:05

Title: XP & XP pro
Post by: maddogg1952 on 12 May 2005, 12:05
only been using computer for 3 years (I am 52). article on microsofts truly hidden files( cmd would not work) any update any advice on how to use on these 2 OS computers then suggestion on what OS to go to? thanks
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 12 May 2005, 19:22
Our article is out of date, Windows XP dosen't store any of you internet history once you've deleted it. But either way  I would strongly recommend using the FireFox (http://www.getfirefox.com) web browser instead of Microsoft Internet Explorer which is insecure and very buggy.

If you're openminded enough you could try using a different operating system like Linux or BeOS, but please be aware that changing your operating system is harder than using a different browser.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: WMD on 12 May 2005, 23:09
Quote
Our article is out of date, Windows XP dosen't store any of you internet history once you've deleted it.

Eh?  All the index.dat, desktop.ini, and Content.ie5 folders are still in XP, doing their thing.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 13 May 2005, 01:01
Even though the files are still there the contents are cleared. Try it yourself, clear IE's history, cache cookies ect. and you'll notice the files are smaller than they were before.

If you realy want to delete them you can from the administrator account. You can't delete the administrator's  hidden files from the administrator user are as they will be in use, to do that you need to do it from another user area with administrator rights. You just don't need to delete them in Windows XP because IE clears them for you.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: WMD on 13 May 2005, 02:17
It doesn't delete everything.  The cache folders with the random names (A09FJAJD) don't get deleted.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: muzzy on 13 May 2005, 02:22
firefox is also insecure and very buggy, so recommending to use it sounds a little silly.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: BobTheHob on 13 May 2005, 02:28
Quote from: muzzy
firefox is also insecure and very buggy, so recommending to use it sounds a little silly.
Your just jealous
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: toadlife on 13 May 2005, 03:12
Quote from: muzzy
firefox is also insecure and very buggy, so recommending to use it sounds a little silly.

Regardless of it's actuall security, Firefox has the benefit of security through obscurity right now, so recommending it isn't so silly.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: Orethrius on 13 May 2005, 04:13
Quote from: muzzy
firefox is also insecure and very buggy, so recommending to use it sounds a little silly.

Prithee tell us, kindly knave, (whilst bearing in mind that a flaw found doth not amount to a flaw exploited) how a browser that is directly tied into the system might be MORE secure than a browser that exists as a separate application?
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 13 May 2005, 10:19
Quote from: WMD
It doesn't delete everything.  The cache folders with the random names (A09FJAJD) don't get deleted.


So what the directories are still there but their contents have gone along with the contents of the index files.

muzzy,
You've said before you only use FireFox for looking at content that requires Java script. This would be very silly if you believe that FireFox is less secure than Internet Explorer.

We know how secure/insecure FireFox is because the bug tracking system is open so we are aware of all the known bugs. We don't know about Internet Explorer, all we can go on is past bugs and exploits and given it's track record is a lot worse than FireFox's we have to conculde that FireFox is more secure.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: BobTheHob on 13 May 2005, 11:36
Has anyone else noticed how muzzy talks shit and hopes noone realizes its crap, and when he gets owned out the ass, he conviently ignores that thread till the topic changes?
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: piratePenguin on 13 May 2005, 18:24
Quote from: BobTheHob
Has anyone else noticed how muzzy talks shit and hopes noone realizes its crap, and when he gets owned out the ass, he conviently ignores that thread till the topic changes?
A bit harsh but yea, I've noticed.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: WMD on 13 May 2005, 21:15
Quote
So what the directories are still there but their contents have gone along with the contents of the index files.

No.  They.  Haven't.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 14 May 2005, 02:54
Oh yes the have!

Just because the files are still there it doesn't mean their contents are intact.

I've just veiwed a few sites with Internet Explorer, then I looked at the index files with a hex editor and they contained the names of the sites, then I deleted my temporary Internet files and history with Internet Explorer. I looked at them again and they are a lot shorter now and the names of the websites have vanised.

Don't believe me?

Try it your self.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: Orethrius on 14 May 2005, 09:31
Quote from: Aloone_Jonez
Oh yes the have!

Just because the files are still there it doesn't mean their contents are intact.

I've just veiwed a few sites with Internet Explorer, then I looked at the index files with a hex editor and they contained the names of the sites, then I deleted my temporary Internet files and history with Internet Explorer. I looked at them again and they are a lot shorter now and the names of the websites have vanised.

Don't believe me?

Try it your self.

No thanks, that would require me to use Windows as more than a glorified file manager for the times that I can't quite get my external drive to cooperate with Linux (it's a mutual problem, before anyone says anything - it seems to hate all OSes on hardware that uses USB 1.1 ports pretty equally).  It would require me to reinstall MSIE, and I'm not prepared to track down my install disc to bother with something so trivial.  :p
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: WMD on 14 May 2005, 17:04
Quote from: Aloone_Jonez
Oh yes the have!

Just because the files are still there it doesn't mean their contents are intact.

I've just veiwed a few sites with Internet Explorer, then I looked at the index files with a hex editor and they contained the names of the sites, then I deleted my temporary Internet files and history with Internet Explorer. I looked at them again and they are a lot shorter now and the names of the websites have vanised.

Don't believe me?

Try it your self.

I'm not talking about the index.dat files.  It stores a lot of other stuff in there, and that stays.
Title: Re: XP & XP pro
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 14 May 2005, 17:17
Not on my machine, I've looked at all of the files in all the subdirectories and while they weren't empty all the website information had disapeared. They were previously >500KB (I don't use IE much these days) and they had shunk to well under 100KB.