Index.dat file

I have IE8 and have encountered an Index.dat file (15.1mb) located within a folder called PrivacIE. CCleaner doesn't clean this particular file and I wondered if this is a file which collects surfing data like the usual index.dat files. Any answer appreciated. Thank you.

 

Thanks for the reply and links. I shall download Index .dat QV now.

 

JRViejo, can you tell me, does this program find all of the index.dat files and then allow you to view them, or must a user enter the location of the file? Point being, can a user rely on this program to not only view the contents of the file, but to also locate them all? Thank you!

 

Hi JRViejo,
So is the answer yes, a user can rely on this program to not only view the contents of the file, but to also locate them all? I think that is what you are saying, but I'm not certain. And thanks for the screenshots!

 

Another question... why do you use the No Install version of Index.dat QV when the No-install version of Index.dat Suite allows for deletion?

 

Index.dat Scanner will show the files from IE8 too.

http://soft.em-tnt.com/downloads.php

 

I installed and ran the full version of the Suite and it didn't find any index.dat files that I hadn't already located and cleaned with assorted other programs. And that's a good thing! I appreciate the heads up and the helpful instructions.

 

R-Wipe&Clean allows the user to view the contents of Cookies, History, and Temporary Internet Files with Internet Explorer 8 – and, to secure erase them as well.

 

System TuneUp clears the Index.dat files from IE8.
I tried the browser cleaner in Revo Uninstaller and that seems to do the job also.

 

Wow...All this time I thought there was only 1 index.dat file (I basically haven't used IE in like 5 or 6 years probably...I've been using Firefox all this time), but I just downloaded this program http://www.systenance.com/indexdat.php and I find out there's like 6 of them on my computer, and one of them is in this very strange folder called PrivacIE (a hidden folder), that mysteriously appeared after I installed IE8.

 

If I understand corectly, IE8 compared to IE7 (in my case, higher security settings), does not improve your privacy, but makes it worse since you have to find and run (are they free?) dedicated software to clean up that index.dat mess ?

 

Index.dat Suite found 14 index.dat files on my computer. I run IE7. Someone else can tell you about IE8, for a comparison.

 

http://www.systenance.com/indexdat.php

I decided to check this out. Note this from the web site:

This is a bit misleading, for it over-writes the data, rather than deleting.

Testing using IE6:

Here, showing my connection to Wilders:



After "deleting" with the program:



I suppose this is OK for privacy, but this file will continue to increase in size.

I don't know about other "cleaning" tools, but using some type of reboot-to-restore program (such as Deep Freeze)
insures that all index.dat files return to their original size of 32K at each reboot.

----
rich

 

Interesting....I guess I'll just have to boot into linux and delete them from there

 

Those Index.dat files have been a collateral issue with IE versions for a long time. Nothing new with IE8 or IE7.

Some of the cleaners are free.

 

Truer words......

But regarding the OP and the index.dat file in the PrivacIE folder with IE8, I'm having a tough time figuring out the exact issue. Just as a test since I don't really use IE8 for much of anything, I selected the index.dat file to be wiped with Eraser and encountered no problems with that procedure; the file was nuked and then re-created the next time I started IE8, which wound up being 16K on my machine.

Although the file *may* be encrypted and it could be argued that it either should be nuked upon exiting IE8 or even that it shouldn't exist in the first place, it's not a huge chore to blast it away. Perhaps a future build of CCleaner will support wiping that file.

 

I have R-Wipe too. I use it every so often. So if I run through all of the categories listed to clean, does that automatically take care of all of the index.dat files?

 

Caspian, concerning Internet related items, I have R-Wipe&Clean configured run automatically at startup to wipe and delete the following categories: Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History, Typed URLs, Flash Player Cookies, and Java Files. Used in this way, yes – the contents of the “index.dat” files are wiped.

You can verify this outcome by launching R-Wipe&Clean at logon, clicking any of the categories (e.g., History), and inspecting the displayed contents in the right window pane of the utility.

 

Thanks. That's simple enough.