Microsoft = Big Brother

[Miked]

Slightly off topic but I was looking around my Windows XP environment and starting clicking on the "index.dat" files to see what was in them.  Everything that I've done on my XP system was stored in these files- web sites I've been on, personal info, etc.  Why would microsoft need to store all this information- and in a file that is difficult to delete (and hidden in many hidden folders)?

All the more reason why I need to get away from microsoft.  

Watch out- I wonder what George Orwell would say?

-Miked

[orange]

I'd suggest you use Firefox, its much more functional and also safe.
Sometimes its good to know which sites you have already visited in past.. for eg. when looking for a solution on google you could end up with visiting same site several times over and over again..

[adolescent]

No conspiracy here, it's just for caching.  Now, if Microsoft was monitoring your local index.dat files then that would be a different story.

[Tomas]

Sometimes its good to know which sites you have already visited in past.. for eg. when looking for a solution on google you could end up with visiting same site several times over and over again..

There is just one problem and the problem is that this file is not emptied when you for example clear cahche, history and so on in IE. Also it is hidden on purpose, so that the average joe cannot delete it. Why the hell would they do that?

[KThunder]

are you sure xp put those files there? many types of spyware regularly hide files like that all over the place. other less evil programs do too. toolbars come to mind right off the bat.

we all know that microsoft is evil, everything they do is suspect and they hate us, but there might be better explainations than that microsoft is big brother. (bill gates just called to remind me i missed a toe while clipping my toenails the other day; ill have to remeber to cover my webcam)

[mr_a500]

There are far more things to worry about than just the index.dat. If you want to keep your activities private on a Windows computer, you've got to do lots of work. Microsoft "privacy features" like deleting cache or history never do a proper job of deleting everything (and I've seen many cases where it did absolutely nothing). There are hundreds of records (browsing, recent files, log files, temp, indexing, etc) kept in hundreds of locations. Take a look at the registry (and have a barf bag handy).

Whenever I wanted to "clean" my computers at work (cleaning hidden records, nothing else), I had to spend about an hour deleting files and editing the registry.

(bill gates just called to remind me i missed a toe while clipping my toenails the other day; ill have to remeber to cover my webcam)

:-D That was the little toe on your left foot, right? Yeah, I saw that too, but knew Bill would remind you so I didn't bother. (your sock has a hole in it too)

[justthatgood]

And not to mention that so many of the files that your programs make can remember the date and time of creation. You know magnetic rememberance and stuff they can see through electronic microscopes and other forensic tools.

Dynamite is ultimate privacy.

[stopthegop]

This begs the obvious question:  

Are these dubious files created with Amiga browsers on Amiga hardware?  More importantly, are these files deleted when you try to delete them?  What about under "Amiga" emulation? I think in the case of Faux Amiga, yes, because the "Amiga" is just a layer on top of all that windoze bloat and it is, afterall, a Pee See.  

[mr_a500]

Dynamite is ultimate privacy.

Oh, you ARE naive. They could still get your DNA from the bits blown onto (or through) the walls, ceiling and floor. You'd need an explosive that not only destroys your DNA structure, but even disguises any potentially identifying base elements.
"Ha ha! Now they'll never get my information!" BOOM!!!
(damn... what about the record made when you bought the explosive?)

Seriously though, of any computer system I have ever known, Windows is by far the least "safe". Microsoft might be getting better at security (from external attacks), but it is getting WORSE at allowing the user to see and easily remove and/or disable activity logging.

[deBrun]

Try crap cleaner and IE Privacy Keeper:

http://www.ccleaner.com/
http://www.browsertools.net/

They are spyware free as far as I can tell and free. Won't guarantee total privacy but they're quick tools for a decent job.

Anybody know how that FireFox Amiga translation is going/not going?

[cojones]

Why would microsoft need to store all this information- and in a file that is difficult to delete (and hidden in many hidden folders)?

If you want to know more about index.dat, check out
http://blogs.msdn.com/jeffdav/archive/2004/11/18/266027.aspx and related posts.

[motrucker]

I am shocked at the number of people who don't even know how to really delete a file from Windoze (XP or otherwise).
One thing - NEVER use IE: it is full of holes even with SP2! Use Opera or Firefox. Use AVG Pro AND Spybot S&D and spyware blaster (maybe add Ad-Aware too)  then;
Learn to work with the registry! and your fairly safe.
You all do use good firewalls, right?

[motorollin]

motrucker wrote:
One thing - NEVER use IE: it is full of holes even with SP2! Use Opera or Firefox. Use AVG Pro AND Spybot S&D and spyware blaster (maybe add Ad-Aware too)  then;
Learn to work with the registry! and your fairly safe.
You all do use good firewalls, right?

... or just get a Mac.

--
moto

[mr_a500]

I am shocked at the number of people who don't even know how to really delete a file from Windoze (XP or otherwise).

I am shocked by the number of people who don't read entire threads before posting. Deleting a file is not the point. The point is that there are hundreds of files in hundreds of locations that you have to find. I'm not just talking about internet cache. I'm talking about ALL activity logging.

Learn to work with the registry! and your fairly safe.

Learn to work with the registry? Learn to work with the REGISTRY???!? It doesn't matter how much you learn it (and I know it inside out), the registry is still a convoluted trashbin. Once again, it is not only about knowing HOW, but knowing WHERE the logging information is.

I don't claim that all this logging information is for Microsoft to spy on people as the thread title suggests (although Microsoft have been guilty of spying many times). My point is that anyone with access to your computer will have a total record of everything you ever did if they just check the logging.

... or just get a Mac.

Best suggestion so far. I wish I could find a job where they used Macs instead of Windows. But it's probably only a matter of time before Macs start doing activity logging everywhere too. At least they don't have that stupid registry. The registry has to be the single dumbest OS "feature" ever made.

[Tomas]

motrucker wrote:
I am shocked at the number of people who don't even know how to really delete a file from Windoze (XP or otherwise).
One thing - NEVER use IE: it is full of holes even with SP2! Use Opera or Firefox. Use AVG Pro AND Spybot S&D and spyware blaster (maybe add Ad-Aware too)  then;
Learn to work with the registry! and your fairly safe.
You all do use good firewalls, right?

You apparantly are not getting the point. The point is that microsoft has done alot to stop the average user from deleting or even finding some of these files. Why should we have to hack the registery, boot up windows in safe mode and so on just to delete information regarding my browser history? Why is it not actually removed when you tell IE to remove it?

I just wonder why the hell microsoft have made it as hard as possible to delete something simple as a log. It apparantly is not a bug since they have still not done anything about it after so many years.