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2008年10月22日星期三

How to Delete AutoComplete History

AutoComplete feature may be helpful for some things, it can also seriously compromise your security and privacy.

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AutoComplete You may have noticed that when you type a search into a web site search box (such as Google or Yahoo!), a list of previously searched for terms are displayed. These previous searches are not saved by any web site, but are actually saved by your web browser through a feature called AutoComplete.

Internet Explorer and other browsers includes a feature called AutoComplete that keeps track of information that you've recently typed, such as Web site addresses, information in forms, and search queries. As you type new information, AutoComplete tries to anticipate what you are typing and offers possible matches.

While the AutoComplete feature may be helpful for some things, it can also seriously compromise your security and privacy, because anyone who has access to your computer can see what web sites you visited and what information you entered on web pages. Also various malicious software can use AutoComplete data to steal your personal information such as your name, e-mail address, credit card information and/or retrieve web sites passwords stored as autocomplete data.

How to delete Internet Explorer AutoComplete history?

To delete AutoComplete forms history in Internet Explorer:
• Select "Tools" then "Internet Options".
• Open the "Content" tab.
• Click the "AutoComplete" button.
• Click the "Clear forms" button to delete all AutoComplete form data and/or click the "Clear Passwords" to delete restored passwords.

If you don't want Internet Explorer to save this data in the future, you can disable IE AutoComplete. Just follow these steps:

• Select "Tools" -> "Internet Options".
• Open the "Content" tab.
• Click the "AutoComplete" button
• Check or uncheck the options you wish have or not.
• Click OK.

How to delete Firefox Autocomplete history?

Mozilla Firefox saves information entered in web page forms and the Search Bar to make filling out forms and surfing faster.
To delete AutoComplete history in Mozilla Firefox:
• Select "Tools"
• Select "Options".
• Open the "Privacy" tab.
• Click the "Clear" button in the "Saved Form Information" area.

To disable AutoComplete in Mozilla Firefox:

• Select "Tools" then "Internet Options".
• Select the "Privacy" tab.
• Open "Save form information" category.
• Remove the check mark from the "Save information I enter in web page forms and the Search Bar".
• Click OK.

To disable AutoComplete forms in Mozilla Firefox:

• Select "Edit" then "Preferences".
• Open "Privacy & Security" category.
• Select "Forms" sub-category
• Remove the check mark from the "Save form data from web pages when completing forms".

Note: It's NOT recommended that you turning off auto-completion, because it's too convenient overall. Fortunately, you don't have to: You can tell your browser to forget individual auto-complete entries.

In Internet Explorer and Firefox, start typing out the entry you want to be rid of, wait for the browser to suggest it in a drop-down listing below that form, then select it. In IE, press the Delete key; in Firefox, hit Shift and Delete.

In Firefox, this Shift-Delete trick will also scrub out auto-complete entries in the browser's address bar and Web-search bar.

2008年9月15日星期一

How to remove Index.dat manually?

What is index.dat file?

Index.dat files are used by Internet Explorer and Windows to store history, Internet cache, cookies, UserData records and other information about what you have done in Internet or in your PC. Although some of their functions are useful, they are dangerous privacy threat - any person with even little knowledge about index.dat files locations and structure can see history of almost all of your computer activities. Index.dat files are not the only privacy threat but they are the most obscure and dangerous one because they are hard to find and even harder to delete.Note: these things aren't necessarily problems in and of themselves, so if you're not experiencing random crashes, don't waste your time solving problems that aren't there.


According to Microsoft, these files are used to cache visited Web sites to help speed up the loading of Web pages in Internet Explorer. Obviously this cannot be the case because when you clear the Temporary Internet Files the "index.dat" files remain behind and continue to grow. If you delete or clear the Temporary Internet Files, there is absolutely no need to index the URL cache because those files no longer exist. PC cleaning is always a good idea to keep your computer running stably.

Where are index.dat files located?

The location of index.dat files depends on the version of Windows and whether or not you are using user profiles. Regardless of Windows version in many cases you can't see or find index.dat file using Windows Explorer. There is a little file called desktop.ini in each directory where index.dat file is located. This desktop.ini file forces Windows Explorer to hide index.dat files and to show the contents of Internet cache or history instead. However you can use some other file utility and binary (hex) editor to find the files and read their content. If you have Windows Vita then index.dat files are in these locations (note that on your PC they can be on other drive instead of drive C).

How to delete index.dat file manually?

The index.dat file are used by Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer. You cannot delete a file that is in use by a running program. If you feel you need to delete the file, you will have to shutdown all instances of Explorer and IE. This includes applications that may host the Webbrowser control: Outlook, Messenger, IE, Product Studio, Visual Studio, Help, Windows Media Player, etc. Your best bet is just close everything. When you are left with a desktop and a start menu, you will still need to shutdown Explorer. To cleanly shutdown Explorer: Start->Shutdown->CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+Click 'Cancel'. You can use Task Manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC, File->Run...) at this point to open a command window. You should be able to go delete the index.dat file.

For more details, please visit index.dat removal instruction.

Note: Windows Optimization is a dangerous job which might lead to system crash. You're on risk of your own.

2008年9月11日星期四

6 Immediate Ways to Speed Up Your Windows XP


Everyone wants their machine to run faster. We have compiled all the special tweaks we've made into this one handy article. We focus on settings that improve the performance of Windows XP. By following a few simple guidelines, you can maintain your computer and keep it running smoothly.


Eliminate all spyware
Utilize free programs such as AdAware Pro by Lavasoft and SpyBot Search & Destroy by Safer Networking. Once these programs are installed, make sure that there aren't any items listed or checked in the 'Ignore' section. Be sure to check for and download updates before starting a scan.

Run a complete virus scan
Update your anti-virus software and run a complete system virus scan. Many viruses are designed for the sole purpose of draining system resources. Make sure that you only have one anti-virus software package installed. Unlike anti-Spyware programs, mixing anti-virus software is a sure-fire way to spell disaster for system performance and reliability. Some reliable anti-virus products are KasperSky, BitDefender, ESET Nod32. Do NOT trust in Norton. It has been out of date for long.


Run 'Disk Cleanup'
Open 'My Computer' from the desktop. 'Right-click' on your main hard drive, (usually 'C:'). Select 'Properties' and press 'Disk cleanup'. Allow it to run. Once finished, the 'Files to delete' window will show the file categories on the disk that can be deleted or compressed. Check the boxes by those that you don't need and press 'OK'. A windows cleaning utility like PC Washer helps you do this job like a professional.

Detect and repair disk errors
In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.
As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.
If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.
To run the Error Checking utility:

1. Close all open files.
2. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
3. In the My Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties.
4. In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab.
5. Click the Check Now button.
6. In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
7. If bad sectors are found, choose to fix them.

Speedup Windows Explorer
Every time you open a folder there is a delay before the folder's content appears. Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers every time you open Windows Explorer. To correct this and to significantly increase browsing speed open 'My Computer' from the desktop. Select 'Tools' then 'Folder Options'. Select 'View' and uncheck 'Automatically search for network folders and printers'. Select 'Apply' then 'OK' and restart your machine.

Turn off 'System Restore'
'System Restore' can be useful if your computer is having problems, however, storing all the restore points can literally take up Gigabytes of space on your hard drive. To turn off 'System Restore' go to 'Start' > 'Settings' > 'Control Panel' > 'System' > 'System Restore' and check 'Turn off System Restore on all drives'. Then select 'Apply' and 'OK'.

Thousands of reasons can slow down your PC. The above tips help you get rid of some of them and increase the performance of Windows XP as well as keep it running with more stability. Learn more tips to protect your Windows XP and extend its life:

  • Check each hard drive with 'scandisk'
  • Eliminate programs that run during startup
  • Eliminate services that run during startup
  • Disable 'file indexing'
  • Optimize hard disk for better IO performance
  • Eliminate unnecessary 'fonts'
  • Optimize Your 'Pagefile'
  • Disable 'Last Access Update'
  • Speed up shutdown times