Thanks for the information, Vince.  I wasn't sure if I was getting
all of it when I cleaned out those directories.  Web browsing seems
to leave a lot of stuff in the cookies and temp directories, and I
wasn't sure if there was other stuff.  I guess a lot of it goes into
the registry;  I routinely use spybot to clean up all that junk.
It's a pita, that's for sure.

Didn't realize Evidence Eliminator's claim to fame was scrubbing
deleted files - I've got Norton on this thing, and I know it can
do that if I want to fool with it.

Thanks again,
Henry Bibb


> [Original Message]
> From: Vince Teachout <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 7/14/2003 7:20:10 AM
> Subject: Re: [PCSOFT] Evidence Eliminator Software
>
> At 07:07 PM 7/13/03 -0400, you wrote:
> >One thing I've been curious about, regarding these kinds of
> >programs:  Apparently, browsing the Web leaves all sorts of
> >junk all over one's hard drive,
>
> It doesn't really leave junk "all over" your hard drive - only in one or
> two directories reserved for the purpose.  For example: \windows\cookies
> for Internet Explorer cookies, and \program files\netscape\user\cache for
> Netscape temp files.  In either case, you can clear out those temp files
> whenever you want by using the tools or edit menu of your browser.
>
> >  would using one of these things
> >to clean it up, followed by a defragmenter, help performance
> >and/or stability of the system?
>
> No.  If by "those things", you mean Evidence Eliminator and co., what they
> do ( or purport to do) is to completely destroy deleted files on your hard
> drive.  When you delete a file (I'm assuming PCs, here - no idea how Apple
> does it), you don't actually delete the file.  Instead, you set the first
> byte of the file to a special character that tells the computer that the
> file is deleted, and that the file space is available for new uses.  Until
> those disk sectors get used again, the file is actually still on your hard
> drive.  The EE type programs are supposed to overwrite those sectors with
> data (usually binary zero) so that it is actually destroyed.
>
> So no, using one of those programs (assuming you use one that actually
> works, like PGP or Norton) won't really help performance.  Disk Defragger,
> on the other hand, actually *usually* does overwrite those deleted files
as
> a side-effect of defragging, and will also slightly speed up your
> performance.  However, you won't see much of a speed increase, unless your
> hard drive is very fragmented.  Running Defrag once a month will keep it
in
> good shape.  (Actually, once a month is overkill - about once every six
> months is all you need for normal use)
>
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>                      visit our download web page at:
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