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Cover Your Surfing Tracks with This Free Utility
It's always a good idea to ensure that you don't leave traces of your web browsing sessions scattered across your PC. Especially if you happen to share that machine with fellow colleagues, students, family members, and so on. Modern browsers have such privacy features built in, but there's always more than you can do.
Wipe, from Privacyroot, is a free, easy to use security tool that allows you to protect your privacy by clearing your browser history and cache, cleaning index.dat files, securely removing cookies, safely deleting the autocomplete history and temporary internet files, as well as erasing any other tracks that you leave behind after having used your PC.
When you start to use the program, you will see that it invites you to register, for a fee. However, we're assured by Privacyroot's customer services people that registration is optional, and all of the most important features remain available whether or not you choose to register.
"Wipe" runs on Windows XP and above, and the download is a lean 5 MB. You can get it from http://privacyroot.com/software/WIPE-download.php.
If you've got a Hot Find that you're dying to tell me about, click on http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/submit-product-review.htm.
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AT FIRST, I REALLY LIKED THIS SOFTWARE PKG. That is until I found out it somehow deleted some special file that was needed to run my Excel. MS Words still works fine, but it seems to cause me more problems that I would have ever thought. PS You are right about scratched up CD to reinstall. ha ha Too funny, but so true. CCLEANAER is really tough to beat, but Glary Utilities comes real close.
CCleaner is ace,
3 clicks .... OPEN click BRUSH click RUN CLEANER Click
Done.
Do you know if this differs in any way to the "Free Internet Window Washer 2.1" that I currently use? Thanks.
There are many freeware utilities of this type. The only way to assess which might be best for you is to browse the feature sets and then try out the programs for yourself.
I installed this earlier. On installation, Windows File Protection window opened up, which I have seen first time in my life. It said that important files of Windows have been replaced, and asked for the Windows CD to be placed in the CD-ROM to restore them. I put my Windows CD in, but it did not accept it, saying that it was not the correct CD, whereas that was the CD from which I had installed Windows :(. In the end, I had to cancel the window. It did not say which files were replaced.
Has anyone else experienced this? Looking at this behavior, I will ask to use the software with caution.
Also, use the Advanced option, for cleaning, which will give you control over what files get deleted. It would be better to check the checkbox "Always open in Advanced mode" too.
Let me guess, your Windows CD is ten years old, full of scratches and covered in hamburger stains?
Only joking - I've mailed the PrivacyRoot devs with this query so let's see what comes back :)
This is what PrivacyRoot had to say:
"Hello, probably there is nothing to worry. If Windows rolls back some drivers, its not a problem. Installation should be fine. May be our setup contains some expired files, I will check it out".
I dont understand this reply from PrivacyRoot. Where did rolling back of driver come into picture? Expired files? Who talked of expired files?
According to the alert message that I got from Windows was that a system file(s) had been replaced. This happened while installation of Wipe. So, obviously Wipe installs some kind of system file(s) which replaces the original Windows one. Does their setup contains such files? The alert message did not show which files were replaced, so I can't help with that.
And I have seen that message the first time in my entire usage of Windows :O. I was very surprised.
I'm still trying to get some more details about this one.
...which have now arrived:
"I think our setup includes system files with a little older version than you have installed. Windows detects that setup replaced newer version with older and rolls back it. Or by some any other reason. Anyway, there is nothing to worry about because any system library will work (any version)"
Thanks a lot for this, MC.
I would like to know the details of the system files which Wipe replaces, and also why do they need these system files to be replaced. I don't think that a disk cleaner, or any other software should be replacing system file of Windows.
Also, the reply says that Windows detects and "rolls back". But, the alert did not have the message that rolling back was done. Means, the files got replaced by Wipe, and the change was not rolled back. I would like to know what these system files were, so that I can perform the roll back manually. I don't like changes being made to my OS, without my permission. An MS update should be doing the changes, not any other software.
My feeling is that this might be peculiar to your own machine for some reason because I haven't seen any similar issues reported elsewhere. It would also not be possible to tell exactly what was done without access to your event logs etc., because as there was no blue screen there won't be a crash dump to refer to.
Yes, I also thought the same, because no one else has reported the same problem. I have already taken a look at the event log when this occurred, but there is nothing there which can give me a clue as to what changes took place, or any more details.
I would really like to know the system files Wipe tends to replace... and why.
LOL MC :D... thanks :p
A different version of CCleaner but with fewer fuctions.
I'll just use CCleaner
On the basis of above I downloaded and installed it despite also thinking it was probably no different than CCleaner etc. Not sure if it was the program or not, but after installing it, then uninstalling with Revo Uninstaller, found problems with my system, eg. All my most commonly used programs on my Start Menu disappeared. Still having problems with the Start Menu some days after.
Had you used the software before uninstalling it? If yes, what options had you chosen?
You posted on 26th, and the article was posted on 25th. How can you be having problems "some days" after?
This is our intellectually challenged trolling friend again - best ignored :)
How is this better than CCleaner or BleachBit?
Or how is it better than ATF Cleaner,Glary Utilities, WinUtilities, or TFC? Thank you as many readers I am sure have these same questions!
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