PrivaZer Discussion Thread

Hi again. Question: Windows creates restore points whenever a Windows update is applied. When I run Privazer, it tells me that a restore point was created and exists (taking up space), but only at the end of the cleaning process. Since restore points contain shadow copies of the drive (a privacy issue), would it not make more sense for Privazer to detect them and delete or offer to delete them before the cleaning process begins so that the free space they used can be cleaned? As it stands, I have to delete the restore point at the end of the cleaning run and then run Privazer again to clean that newly freed space.

 

Hello @tgraf66,

We will make it possible as an additional option at this place :
- always create restore points
- or always remove restore points

Certainly available in the new release at the end of March (PrivaZer v4.0.21)

 

PrivaZer v4.0.20 Released (13 March 2021)
Website
Release Notes
Download (Donors Version)

 

Excellent. Thank you for your diligence and promptness, both in responses and in action.

 

What is this?

 

Replay Media Splitter is an app for splitting/joining media (audio and video) files. I've not used it, but it likely keeps some kind of history or log of which files were opened/edited with it, and I assume that Privazer has added this app to their cleanup protocol to make sure there are no traces left from its use on your system.

 

Ah, OK. Thanks for the explanation.

 

@The_PrivaZer_Team another couple of questions, please. 1) If I have files on an external drive, are there MFT's and Indexing information about those files in Windows? 2) If so, when that drive is disconnected, are those MFT's and indexing information marked for deletion and then cleaned by the next run of Privazer, or do they remain in the MFT/indexing record?

 

Thanks, any ETA on this? It's still functional but has been in a semi-broken state for years as far as the interface is concerned, it's a great tool still though, I like being able to run a specialized tool that just scans for old/dead shellbags and remove those, quick and simple. Also who knows if things have improved in terms of shellbags scanning over the many years since last update, maybe that can get improved also, by taking what you've learned from PrivaZer.

 

Yes @Special, on our roadmap,
expected before the end of March.

 

Windows commands sfc /scannow and dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth both report errors. sfc report corrupt files which cannot be repaired and dism command reports missing source file. Ran Privazer System File repair and Windows Image repair. Both completed successfully. Ran Windows sfc and dism commands again, but same errors are reported. How's that?

 

@zoeff50,
So far, there is no log provided by PrivaZer when repairing.
We will make it better.

@tgraf66,
Interesting question,
1) The MFT or FAT of a drive is 100% stored on the drive itself. So, when disconnecting drives, there is no traces of their MFT on your PC except if you use programs like Everything.
2) But Indexing information can still contain traces of files on drives you have disconnected. It depends of your Indexing Options.
See below. If you have added custom paths to an external drive to the index, then it may have been indexed even if it's disconnected. So, it may still contains traces of your files.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/NEPXy.jpg

 

Thank you! I disabled indexing on all drives before I ran Privazer for the first time and have never re-enabled it. However, I've noticed that Privazer still seems to be cleaning index files whenever I run it, so I'm not sure why that's happening.

 

Hello @tgraf66,

can you check the status of your indexing service (Wsearch indexing) to see if it's like below :

 

The only difference is that I have allowed hibernation. Should I not?

 

@The_PrivaZer_Team - some UI-related feedback/requests ...

********************************

1) The title bar, when I open PrivaZer from the system tray, loses the color and becomes white.

Normally, when a program is launched, the title bar stays the same color as Windows' color scheme.

This does not happen with PrivaZer. It can get distracting after a while. Can you please kindly fix this?

********************************

2) I'm curious. Why does the program icon stay in the taskbar while PrivaZer is in the system tray?

Why include an option to hide the icon in the taskbar, too? I've never seen a configuration like this before.

Is it because of the way you programmed PrivaZer? Can this be fixed to be more like other programs' behavior?

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@The_PrivaZer_Team - thank you so much! I hope you follow through on the title bar issue, at least ...

 

@The_PrivaZer_Team

See below GIFs to see what I am talking about (re: the title bar colors).

The first one is of PrivaZer. The second is of me opening Notepad. See the difference? Can this please be fixed?

I appreciate how you listen to your users, and are so willing to make changes. Thanks!

 

@tgraf66,
no influence from hibernation.
Can you send me a screenshot here or to support@privazer.com of the findings concerning the indexing?

@Omnimaxus,
1. yes, that's due to the way it is coded, it's not a conventional title bar that could be handled by the system color scheme. I will investigate.
2. PrivaZer is always in the system tray so that user can always find it when it is running.
Some users wants it also in the taskbar and some others don't, so we added an option in the "advanced options" / "General" tab to switch it off/on.

 

PrivaZer v4.0.21 Released (01 April 2021)
Website
Release Notes
Download (Donors Version)

 

thanks @mood,

@tgraf66 restore points /snapshots deletion is eventually under "system".
Is is unticked by default.
It can be selected per drive :

 

@Special,
next update is for shellbags AnalyZer and cleaner.

 

Yahoo!!!!!

 

@The_PrivaZer_Team

Mr. Shellbags' on suicide watch.

 

@The_PrivaZer_Team - thanks for replying. I do not mind re: the taskbar issue. I can live with that.

But if you can please fix the title bar issue, that would be EXCELLENT. Great program, but the UI needs a tiny bit of refinement.

I have no complaints about PrivaZer otherwise. Again, I can live with the taskbar thing. The title bar needs fixing.

Would appreciate an update either way re: the title bar. Thank you very much. @The_PrivaZer_Team

 

I hadn't been able to replicate the issue until today, and I think it may be related to installation files that have index attributes when they are installed. I will e-mail you the exported file from Privazer shortly.