Index.dat Analyzer v2.5

Supported OS: Win XP, Windows Vista, IE 6.0+
 
Index.dat Analyzer is a tool to view, examine and delete contents of index.dat files.

What are index.dat files?

Index.dat files are hidden files on your computer that contain all tracks of your online activity, where have you been on internet, what sites you visited, list of URL-s, files and documents you recently accessed. Index.dat files stored on your computer are obviously a potential privacy threat as they can be found and viewed without your knowledge.

Why they exists?

Only Microsoft knows that for sure. According to them they are used to cache visited web sites and speed up Internet Explorer. The problem with this is it ' s simply not true: index.dat are hidden files that do not contain an actual web cache other than informations about your browsing habbits, they can ' t be deleted in any regular ways and there is absolutely no prove that those files in any way can speed up your browsing experience – they just sit there hidden and record where you have been on internet, simply as that.

Can I get rid of them safely?

Yes. Download and install our Index.dat Analyzer, and delete the evidence entries you want to get rid off. No harm to your system or OS can be made, everything will continue to function as if was prior to deleting them.

How to use Index.dat analyzer?

Choose one of three categories from the pull down menu: History, Cookies or Cache. Mark the checkboxes for the entries you want to delete and press “ Delete Cheched ” button. You can check and uncheck all entries at once and you have nice filter that can help you shorten the list to find what you are looking for.

Why it is free?

Most of the index.dat viewers that you can find on internet are only that, viewers.. you can ' t delete entries within index.dat files with them. The makers want to force you to buy their paid product to clean up index.dat files. Nothing wrong with their wish to sell products, we are selling ours too but we wanted to make a really usable tool and give it free to all people concerned with protecting their private informations. We have our full fledged privacy protection suite called Shadow Professional with options that extends way beyond deleting index.dat entries, and if you find our Index.dat Analyzer useful and one day want to take a full measures to protect your privacy take a look at our paid products, they are completely free and functional to use for 30 days.

Delete or Clear My Online Searches, Including My Google Search History

It is entirely possible your Google search history be visible by other people on their computers. When logged in, Google can easily store your searches on their servers in addition to on your own computer.

Warning: Securing your online searches will not remove all traces of your browsing history. Files will still exist that are indicative of the websites you have visited. Click here to learn what else you need to delete. This is still true even if you have been using a ‘private browsing’ mode.

An example of what can happen…

• You search for something while logged into Google on your own computer, tablet, smartphone.
• And, then if you then login to Google on another computer (e.g. at work), tablet, smartphone etc, then you will see your searches coming up as ‘helpful’ suggestions as you start to search for something in Google (below).

Above – Searching in Chrome on desktop PC while logged into Google account.
Above – Then logging into google account on an iPad and starting to type the same search phrase automatically triggers the search done on the PC to appear. (Note: You need to have actually visited the websites on the first computer for google to give suggestions on the second).

• Then if you forget to log out, anyone using this computer after you will be able to see your Google searches automatically appearing as suggested searches. And, if they are nosy enough and goto the Google History page they will see a full list of all your searches (below). So, for example, a colleague on a work computer could see what you Googled on your home computer last night at home!!

Some things are not for sharing.

What is the answer?
Clearly the obvious answer is to always log out!!  However, it’s easy to forget. So to stop any accidents, you may want to:-

• While logged into Google, go to https://history.google.com/history/
• Click the gear icon in the top-right.
• Click ‘delete all’.
• Then click the ‘Turn off’ button.

Note: Clearing your browser history will have no effect on this problem because when you are logged in Google stores it’s searches on it’s own server.

Something to think about first
As you delete your history you will see the warning “Are you sure you want to permanently delete your entire Google search history? Your history makes Google search better for you, with more relevant results and smarter search predictions.”  This is true. So instead you may want to delete individual items:

• While logged into Google, go to https://history.google.com/history/
• Tick the box to the left of the item.
• Click the Remove Items button.

Help – I’ve left myself logged in somewhere!
If this problem has already happened, then do the above and also change your Google password:-

• While logged into Google, go to https://www.google.com/settings/account.
• Click Security in the left-hand menu.
• Click the Change Password button.

This will log you out of all computers you have been logged in on previously.

Other software, including Facebook and You Tube
Most websites that require you to log into an online account.  For example, You Tube work in the same way and present the same issues Google as described above.

• Find out how to clear my YouTube history.
• Find out how to clear my Facebook history.

You should also be careful when using the iCloud with Safari when sharing between iPhones, iPads, Macs etc.

Also, it is worth mentioning that this is not exactly a problem: providing you remember to log out it is a useful way of giving you quick access to information most relevant to you.

How to Delete My Downloads Folder

Even if you clear your browser history, the contents of your Downloads folder will not be removed on a Windows computer or laptop. To delete my downloads:-

• Click on the Start button (far bottom-left of your screen).
• Click Computer.
• Click Downloads.
• Select the files and press Delete.
• Then remember to empty your Recycle Bin.

Warning: Deleting your download folder will not remove all traces of your browsing history. Files will still exist that are indicative of the websites you have visited. Find out why clearing your browser history is not enough. This is still true even if you have been using a ‘private browsing’ mode.

Private Browsing Mode Is Not Private

All web browsers now offer ‘private’ or incognito browsing modes. However, while the private browsing mode may stop other people using your computer accidentally stumbling across your browser history, there are no match for someone more inquisitive.

Private mode stops your browser software (ie. Firefox, Chrome etc) recording your browsing, but they do not stop your activities being recorded by other software:-

It is easy for Spyware, malware, keylogger etc. software to install itself on your computer without you being aware it is there.  This software can record your browsing. For example, keylogger software records every key that you type.

Private browsing only attempts to control what your browser saves on your computer. It does not control information your internet service provider (ISP) saves about you on their servers.
Your history, such as google searches, will still be recorded on the websites you have logged into. For example, if you are logged into your Google, You Tube or Facebook accounts then neither using private browsing or deleting your browser history will not remove your online search history.
You can still download files into your Downloads folder on your windows computer while in private browsing mode.

If you are using Internet Explorer then your browsing history is still stored in a multitude of ‘index.dat’ files scattered across your computer. To make things worse, these are not deleted when you clear your browser history.  Find out how to clear the index.dat files in Internet Explorer.
Any plugins or add-ons software installed in your browser (sometimes without your knowledge) can still record information about your browsing history even when you are in private mode.

Therefore, while  ’private browsing’ is technically an accurate term in the sense that the browser software itself is private, it is misleading because it stops people considering the other (above mentioned) software that may be recording their searches and leads them to believe that it is their browsing that is private. You may also like to read about why clearing or deleting your history is not enough.


References
Aggarwal, G., Bursztein, E., & Jackson, C. (2010). An analysis of private browsing modes in modern browsers. [This Stanford university research is the key paper that subsequent research has sprung from. Summary of the Stanford paper.]

Ruiz-Martínez, A. (2012). A survey on solutions and main free tools for privacy enhancing Web communications. Journal of Network and Computer Applications
Volume 35, Issue 5, September 2012, Pages 1473–1492.

Komando, K. (2013). How safe if private browsing?

Weinberg, Z. Chen, E., Jayaraman, P. & Jackson, C. (2011).  I Still Know What You Visited Last Summer: Leaking Browsing History via User Interaction and Side Channel Attacks,” Security and Privacy (SP), 2011 IEEE Symposium on , vol., no., pp.147,161.

How can I delete a Tweet?

If you’ve Tweeted something from Twitter that you are now regretting, then you need to ….

1. Sign in to twitter.com.
2. Click ‘Me’ (icon at the top of the screen) to goto your Profile page.
3. Find the Tweet you want to delete.
4. Hover your mouse over the message and click Delete (written just under the tweet).

Warnings
You cannot delete other peoples’ retweet of your tweet.

Also, “Deleted Tweets sometimes hang out in Twitter search, they will clear with time.” (Quote taken from Twitter’s website).

How can I delete a retweet?
If you want to delete something you have retweeted…

1. Sign in to twitter.com.
2. Click ‘Me’ (icon at the top of the screen) to goto your Profile page.
3. Find the retweet you want to delete.
4. Hover your mouse over the message and click Retweet (written just under the tweet).

Why Deleting Or Clearing Your Browser History Is Not Enough

Deleting or clearing your browser history is not enough to prevent other people from seeing (accidentally or otherwise) what you have been looking at online.  Incidentally, using a Private Browsing mode is also sufficient to prevent people from seeing your history.

Your browser (ie. Firefox, Chrome, Safari etc.) only attempts to remove what it has saved on your computer, but it does remove information stored by other software while you are browsing. For example, in addition to clearing your browser history you should also consider:-

• It is easy for Spyware, malware, keylogger, etc. software to install itself on your computer without you being aware it is there.  This software can record your browsing. For example, keylogger software records every key that you type.
• Your browser does not control information your internet service provider (ISP) saves about you on their servers.
• Any plugins or add-ons that may have been installed in your browser (sometimes without your knowledge) will still record information about your browsing history.
• Your history, such as google searches, may still be recorded. For example, if you are logged into Google, You Tube or Facebook then deleting your browser history will not remove your online search history.
• Deleting or clearing your browser history does not delete the contents of your Downloads folder.
• Any plugins or add-ons software installed in your browser (sometimes without your knowledge) may have recorded information.
• If you are using Internet Explorer then your browsing history is still stored in a multitude of ‘index.dat’ files scattered across your computer. To make things worse, these are not deleted when you clear your browser history.  Find out how to clear the index.dat files in Internet Explorer.

This list is some examples of why clearing or deleting your browser history is not enough. It is, however, possible there are further issues not highlighted here. Although the nature of the internet makes it hard for the ‘average’ user to keep track of (or remove) what has been recorded, this is possible using specialist software.

Clear Or Delete My Web Browser History

To clear or delete your browser history select the browser you are using from the list below.  You may first want to check what browser I am using.

• Internet Explorer
• Chrome
• Firefox
• Safari (Mac and Windows)
• Safari (iPad and iPhone)

Warning: Although deleting your browser history can remove some things, it does not remove all traces of your browsing history from your computer. Files still exist that are indicative of the websites you have visited. Find out why clearing your browser history is not enough. This is still true even if you have been using a ‘private browsing’ mode.

Also, you should clear your downloads folders.  You may also want to take a look at what has been stored in your browser’s bookmarks in case anything has been added without your knowledge.