*************** ** ** ** TIF-Clean ** ** ** *************** ------------ - Contents - ------------ * Introduction * Compatibility * Versions * Installation - Manual Installation - Automated Installation - Missing Files - Special Considerations - Before You Reboot... - DELTREE vs. WIPE - Switching b/wn DELTREE and WIPE versions - TIF-Clean & Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP - TIF-Clean & Windows Me - TIF-Clean & TweakUI * Uninstallation - Temporarily Disabling TIF-Clean - Completely Uninstalling TIF-Clean * Customization - Non-Standard Locations of Windows Dir - Non-Standard IE Dir Locations - Preserve Cookies/URL History - Enable TIF-Clean for non-Admin Users - Customize WIPE.EXE Overwriting - Use ERASERD.EXE instead of WIPE.EXE - DELTREE or WIPE Other Directories * Problems & Limitations - "Why does my PC take so long to start now?" - "It ran once but hasn't run again. What happened?" - "Can TIF-Clean fail to do its job?" - "How can I tell if TIF-Clean is working?" - "What can I do if TIF-Clean seems not to be working?" * Problems & Questions ---------------- - End Contents - ---------------- ============ Introduction ============ TIF-Clean is a small batch utility that runs when Windows starts up and automatically cleans out junk left behind by Internet Explorer (IE). TIF-Clean is primarily intended to help users of Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP keep their PC's free of stray IE files which can clog PC's and potentially compromise users' privacy. TIF-Clean comes in two major versions (TIF-CLN-9X and TIF-CLN-NT) and is compatible with any version of Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP. Windows NT 4.0, 2000, and XP users may need to edit the two main .BAT files used by TIF-Clean to reflect the true locations of Internet Explorer's directories. Windows 9x/Me users might also need to edit these .BAT files, if their systems are configured for multiple users. See the "Customization" section below for more information on locating Internet Explorer's directories and editing the two .BAT files. Both TIF-CLN-9X and TIF-CLN-NT include a batch file installer program (INSTALL.BAT) that can be used to install either a DELTREE or a WIPE version of TIF-Clean. See the "Installation" section for more details. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A More Involved Explanation... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-Clean is designed to be run from a Registry key that launches programs every time Windows starts: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce When it runs, TIF-Clean uses either the standard DELTREE.EXE utility or a free file shredding utility called WIPE.EXE to purge the following Internet Explorer directories of all files (where %WINDIR% is the user's Windows directory and %USERNAME% is the user's personal store): Windows 9x: %WINDIR%\Temporary Internet Files %WINDIR%\Cookies %WINDIR%\History Windows NT 4.0: %WINDIR%\Profiles\%USERNAME%\Temporary Internet Files %WINDIR%\Profiles\%USERNAME%\Cookies %WINDIR%\Profiles\%USERNAME%\History Windows 2000/XP: Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Cookies Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Local Settings\History These directories contain data and files which can reveal where users have surfed on the Web, what they have looked at, and what they have downloaded. In addition, the cookies contained in the Cookies directory can be used by online marketers to track users' behavior across the web and compile detailed profiles of their habits and interests. Although these directories can be cleared manually through the Internet Explorer interface (Tools or View >> Internet Options...), Internet Explorer is notorious for leaving orphaned files in these directories (esp. \Temporary Internet Files). Over time, these files accumulate into hundreds of megabytes of junk which are resistant to normal means of viewing or deletion. Still further, these three directories employ special index files (all named INDEX.DAT), which often preserve the names of files and URL's associated with IE use, even after the directories themselves have been purged of the corresponding files and URL's. Not only does this behavior represent a potential threat to the privacy of users who may have (mistakenly) believed that they had removed all evidence of their activity on the web, but these INDEX.DAT files can grow in size to enormous proportions, possibly affecting the performance and reliability of Internet Explorer. As these index files are locked after Windows finishes starting, the only solution is to delete them during boot up before Windows grabs a hold of them. One of the more widely disseminated "tricks" or "hacks" for cleaning these IE folders of offending files and junk is to add the following lines to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file in order to purge these folders of junk before Windows locks them: deltree /y C:\Windows\Tempor~1\*.*>nul deltree /y C:\Windows\History\*.*>nul deltree /y C:\Windows\Cookies\*.*>nul Unfortunately, this trick will NOT work on Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. Windows Me won't execute commands from AUTOEXEC.BAT; Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP don't even use an AUTOEXEC.BAT. So what's a poor user to do? One solution is to run a batch file containing the above commands from the HKLM\...\RunOnce key of the Registry. TIF-Clean uses this precisely this method in order to offer users of Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP a means for purging these directories before Windows locks them. In addition, TIF-Clean lets users use a file shredder (instead of DELTREE.EXE) to ensure that all Internet Explorer junk is securely and thoroughly deleted. ============= Compatibility ============= Although primarily designed for use on Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, TIF-Clean will work on all versions of Windows 9x (incl. Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, and Windows Me) as well as Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. TIF-Clean will work with any version of Internet Explorer 3.0 or above (incl. 4.0x, 5.0x, 5.5, and 6.0). Note that this batch file cleans Internet Explorer junk only. It will have no effect whatsoever on Netscape Communicator. ======== Versions ======== TIF-Clean comes in two different versions: TIF-CLN-9X and TIF-CLN-NT. Whatever version of TIF-Clean you have downloaded, please read the "Installation" and "Customization" sections below before installing TIF-Clean in order to ensure that TIF-Clean is properly installed on your system and that it is configured to clean the directories that Internet Explorer is actually using on your system. ~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-CLN-9X ~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-CLN-9X uses .PIF files, and is designed for use on Windows 95, 98, and Me boxes. If you're running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, the .PIF files could cause TIF-Clean to fail. If you attempt to install TIF-CLN-9X on Windows NT4/2K/XP with the installer utility (INSTALL.BAT), the installer will refuse to install TIF-Clean and advise you to use TIF-CLN-NT instead. If TIF-CLN-9X seems not to be doing its job on your Windows 9x/Me system, you might try TIF-CLN- NT, which does not use .PIF files. ~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-CLN-NT ~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-CLN-NT does not use .PIF files, and is primarily designed for use on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP installations. If you are running Windows NT, 2000, or XP, please take care to read the "TIF-Clean & Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP" section below for important information about running TIF-Clean on these versions of Windows. TIF-CLN-NT does include files for use with Windows 95, 98, and Me as well. Windows 9x/Me files have been included with TIF-CLN-NT for those Windows 9x/Me users who don't want to use .PIF files or who encounter problems with the standard TIF-CLN-9X package (as some Windows Me users have reported). No matter what version of Windows you're using, the TIF-CLN-NT installer utility (INSTALL.BAT) will install the proper files for your version of Windows. ============ Installation ============ TIF-Clean can be installed manually or through a batch file (INSTALL.BAT) which automates the setup process. There are several "special considerations" that you should take into account before installing. See the "Special Considerations" section below for more information. No matter which method of installation you choose, you will have to decide whether you want to use the DELTREE version of TIF-Clean or the WIPE version of TIF-Clean. For more information on the differences between these two versions, see the "DELTREE vs. WIPE" section below. ------------------- Manual Installation ------------------- To install TIF-Clean manually: 1] Copy Core Files to Windows Directory Copy or move the following files to your Windows directory (usually C:\Windows or C:\WINNT), depending on the version of TIF-Clean that you have downloaded. TIF-CLN-9X | TIF-CLN-NT ---------- | ---------- | re-tif.bat | re-tif.bat re-tif.pif | tif-cln.reg tif-cln.pif | tif-cln.reg | Note that TIF-CLN-NT users will have to use the proper versions of RE-TIF-BAT and TIF-CLN.REG from the directory appropriate to their version of Windows: \9X (Windows 95/98/Me); \NT4 (Windows NT 4.0); \2K (Windows 2000); or \XP (Windows XP) . 2] Copy a TIF-CLN.BAT to Windows Directory Next, you have to copy one of two different versions of TIF-CLN.BAT to your Windows directory. One version is named TIF-DEL.BAT; the other is TIF-WIP.BAT. Once we copy the version of the file you want to use, then we'll rename it in the Windows directory to TIF-CLN.BAT. If you don't rename the copied file to TIF-CLN.BAT, TIF-Clean will not function. (TIF-CLN.BAT is the name of the batch file that will be called from the Registry to clear the IE directories).) ** DELTREE Version ** If you plan to use the standard DELTREE.EXE utility to clear Internet Explorer's directories, copy TIF-DEL.BAT to your Windows directory and then rename it to TIF-CLN.BAT ** WIPE Version ** If you want to use WIPE.EXE (instead of DELTREE.EXE) to clear the Internet Explorer directories, copy TIF-WIP.BAT to your Windows directory and then rename it to TIF-CLN.BAT. ** TIF-CLN-NT Users ** If you've downloaded TIF-CLN-NT, then you will find copies of TIF-WIP.BAT and TIF-DEL.BAT for your version of Windows in one of the sub-directories where you unpacked TIF-CLN-NT: Dir Windows Version --- --------------- \2K: Windows 2000 \9X: Windows 95/98/Me \NT4: Windows NT 4.0 \XP: Windows XP Use the files in the appropriate directory for your version of Windows. 3] Copy Deletion Utilities to Windows Directory Now you need to ensure that both deletion utilities are in the Windows directory. No matter what version of Windows you're running, you should copy WIPE.EXE to your Windows directory (usually C:\WINDOWS or C:\WINNT). If you're running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, copy or move DELTREE.EXE to your Windows directory (usually C:\WINNT or C:\WINDOWS). (Windows 95, 98, & Me already have copies of DELTREE.EXE in C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND). 4] Merge .REG Files Into Registry Finally, double-click on TIF-CLN.REG and then RE-TIF.REG to add the Registry values that launch TIF-Clean during boot up to your Windows Registry. ** TIF-CLN-NT Users ** If you're using TIF-CLN-NT with Windows NT 4.0, double-click on TIF-CLN.REG and then RE-TIF.REG from the \NT4 directory to add the Registry values that launch TIF-Clean during boot up to your Windows Registry. If you're using TIF-CLN-NT with Windows 2000, double-click on TIF-CLN.REG and then RE-TIF.REG from the \2K directory to add the Registry values that launch TIF-Clean during boot up to your Windows Registry. If you're using TIF-CLN-NT with Windows XP, double-click on TIF-CLN.REG and then RE-TIF.REG from the \XP directory to add the Registry values that launch TIF-Clean during boot up to your Windows Registry. If you're using TIF-CLN-NT with Windows 9x/Me, double-click on TIF-CLN.REG and then RE-TIF.REG from the \9X directory to add the Registry values that launch TIF-Clean during boot up to your Windows Registry. That's all there is to it. TIF-Clean should run the next time you start Windows. ---------------------- Automated Installation ---------------------- Included with TIF-Clean is an INSTALL.BAT file which will automatically install TIF-Clean for you, if you so desire. To use it, simply run INSTALL.BAT. After you start the INSTALL.BAT batch file, you will be presented with a menu offering you two main choices: [1] Install TIF-Clean [2] Uninstall TIF-Clean These menu options ought to be self-explanatory. When you choose the "install" option, you will be presented with another menu: [1] Install DELTREE Version [2] Install WIPE Version ...asking you whether you want to install the DELTREE version or the WIPE version. For an explanation of the differences between these versions, see the next section, "DELTREE vs. WIPE." Whichever option you choose, INSTALL.BAT will copy all the necessary files to your Windows directory. Also, if you're using TIF-CLN-NT, INSTALL.BAT will automatically install the correct files for your version of Windows. If you hit the "1" key from the main menu to "Install TIF-Clean" and then immediately see a notice that TIF-Clean was installed (without ever seeing a choice between DELTREE and WIPE), then you likely hit the "1" key twice by accident. In this case the DELTREE version has been installed. If you would prefer to install the WIPE version instead, return to the main menu and start the installation again. The INSTALL.BAT will simply replace the TIF-CLN.BAT file copied to your Windows directory with the WIPE version of the same .BAT file. (There is no need to uninstall the DELTREE version that was mistakenly installed.) Once you've installed TIF-Clean, it should run the next time you start Windows. ------------- Missing Files ------------- If INSTALL.BAT complains about a missing file when you attempt to install, the most likely reason is that the TIF-CLN-NT package you downloaded wasn't completely unpacked. The TIF-CLN-NT installation package contains several sub-directories under the main \TIF-CLN-NT install directory, and your "un-zipper" program may not have properly unpacked all the sub-directories. If you downloaded the .ZIP file, the easiest solution is to download the self-extracting .EXE install package and use that package instead. The .EXE file should extract on its own to the directory C:\TIF-CLN-NT. All the sub-dirs should be properly unpacked. ---------------------- Special Considerations ---------------------- Some users may have to edit the TIF-CLN.REG, RE-TIF.REG, RE-TIF.BAT, TIF-DEL.BAT, and TIF-WIP.BAT files *before installing* in order to make TIF-Clean work properly on their systems. You might have to edit TIF-DEL.BAT and TIF-WIP.BAT in the following circumstances: 1] If your Windows directory is not either C:\WINDOWS (Windows 9x/Me & Windows XP) or C:\WINNT (Windows NT 4.0/2000), then you'll have to edit TIF-CLN.REG, RE-TIF.REG, RE-TIF.BAT to reflect your actual Windows directory. 2] If your Internet Explorer directories are in locations other than the locations TIF-Clean is designed to use, then you'll have to edit TIF-CLN.BAT to reflect those proper locations. 3] If you wish to preserve Cookies or URL Histories, then you'll have to edit TIF-CLN.BAT in order to prevent TIF-Clean from purging the \Cookies or \History directory. For more information on editing these files, see the "Customization" section below. If you downloaded TIF-CLN-NT, then you should take care to edit the files in the appropriate directory (\2K, \9X, \NT4, \XP) for your version of Windows. -------------------- Before You Reboot... -------------------- If you're running TIF-Clean for the first time and you haven't been in the habit of clearing your Temporary Internet Files from within Internet Explorer (Tools >> Internet Options... >> Delete Files), then you likely have thousands, if not tens of thousands of files in your Temporary Internet Files folder. When TIF-Clean encounters these thousands of files on your first reboot after installing TIF-Clean, TIF-Clean will undoubtedly take a LONG time to clear out all of those files (I've had reports of up to one hour boot times!) You can reduce the work that TIF-Clean has to do (and improve the time to boot) by clearing Temporary Internet Files from within Internet Explorer before you reboot. Keep in mind, not all of the files will be deleted using this method (that's why you need TIF-Clean), and the INDEX.DAT files will still be bloated far above their default sizes (another reason you need TIF-Clean), but you can significantly reduce the files that TIF-Clean has to clear. Here's how to manually clear as many Temporary Internet Files as possible before rebooting and letting TIF-Clean do its stuff: 1. Open Internet Properties From within Internet Explorer, go to Tools >> Internet Options... The Internet Options box should open. (If you're using Internet Explorer 4.0x, then choose View >> Internet Options...) 2. Delete Temporary Internet Files On the "General" tab, hit the "Delete Files" button under "Temporary Internet files." Your hard drive will thrash a bit (perhaps quite a lot) while Internet Explorer clears as much as it can from the Temporary Internet Files directory. 3. Close Internet Properties Click "OK" to close Internet Properties. Then close Internet Explorer as well. You're now ready to reboot. Remember that the steps outlined above still leave a fair amount of detritus in the Temporary Interet Files folder, but that's what TIF-Clean is designed to clean up. By doing some preliminary clean-up yourself, you've reduced the amount of time TIF-Clean will take to do its job. To keep boot times fast, it would probably be good idea to regularly delete Temporary Internet Files as we described above, especially after long web surfing sessions. See the "Problems & Limitations" section below for more details. ---------------- DELTREE vs. WIPE ---------------- TIF-Clean allows you to choose between two different methods for cleaning Internet Explorer's directories. If you use the INSTALL.BAT to automate the setup process, all the proper files for the method you choose will be copied to your Windows directory. ~~~~~~~ DELTREE ~~~~~~~ The DELTREE version of TIF-Clean uses the standard DOS utility DELTREE.EXE to clean the IE directories. DELTREE is simple, fast, and efficient, but does not completely "scrub" data off your hard drive -- it merely removes the entries for the files from your hard drives "index" of files. Anyone with a simple "undelete" utility could easily recover the deleted files. One other problem with the DELTREE method is the possibility that the new INDEX.DAT files that IE creates for its directories could pick up data from the old files that were deleted if the new ones happen to be created in the same physical locations on the hard drive as the old ones. Thus, stray references to URL's, files, and cookies that you thought were gone when the old INDEX.DAT's were deleted could magically reappear in the newer ones. ~~~~ WIPE ~~~~ The WIPE version of TIF-Clean uses a small, freeware DOS utility called WIPE.EXE. WIPE.EXE is a "file shredder" or "overwriter." Instead of merely removing references to files from a hard drives "index," it actually writes over the file with other data. This process of overwriting is called "wiping," and makes it much more unlikely that someone could recover the deleted files. Using the WIPE version of TIF-Clean has the added advantage of avoiding the problem of junk from old INDEX.DAT's reappearing in newer ones since the older INDEX.DAT's are overwritten. WIPE.EXE is capable of taking a number of switches that specify the method and number of overwrites or wipes, allowing you to increase the security with which files are overwritten. By default, TIF-Clean uses the default methods specified by WIPE.EXE. For more information on these switches, see the WIPE.TXT that is included in this package. For more information on customizing TIF-Clean to use these special switches, see the 'Customization" section below. A copy of WIPE.EXE (and its documentation, WIPE.TXT) is included in this package. If you use INSTALL.BAT to setup TIF-Clean and choose the WIPE version of TIF-Clean, WIPE.EXE will be copied to your Windows directory. If you manually install TIF-Clean, you should copy WIPE.EXE to your Windows directory yourself. WIPE.EXE is a freeware utility written by Vesa Kolhinen and Jason Hood. It, along with the authors' other programs DELEN and XRD, are available from: http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~vjko/programs.html or http://adoxa.homepage.com/delenxrd/ ---------------------------------------- Switching b/wn DELTREE and WIPE versions ---------------------------------------- To switch between DELTREE and WIPE versions of TIF-Clean, you can run the INSTALL.BAT, uninstall TIF-Clean, and then re-install the version you prefer. It's not strictly necessary to completely uninstall, though. You can also simply replace the TIF-CLN.BAT file in your Windows directory with the version of TIF-CLN.BAT that you prefer to run: * Copy TIF-DEL.BAT to your Windows dir for the DELTREE version. * Copy TIF-WIP.BAT to your Windows dir for the WIPE version. Remember that the file you copy to Windows must be re-named to TIF-CLN.BAT, though. --------------- TIF-Clean Files --------------- TIF-Clean requires several files in order to work properly. During installation of TIF-Clean, these files are copied to your Windows directory and must remain there for TIF-Clean to do its job consistently. Depending on the version of TIF-Clean that you downloaded, those files are: ~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-CLN-9X ~~~~~~~~~~ File Explanation ---- ----------- tif-cln.pif called from HKLM\...\RunOnce; runs tif-cln.bat tif-cln.bat called by tif-cln.pif; clears the IE directories Note: tif-cln.bat will be a renamed version of either tif-del.bat or tif-wip.bat, depending on the deletion method you choose to use. re-tif.pif called from HKLM\...Run; runs re-tif.bat re-tif.bat called by re-tif.pif; merges tif-cln.reg tif-cln.reg merged into Registry by re-tif.bat to restore RunOnce value As you can see, the first group of files (tif-cln.pif, tif-cln.bat) launch from the HKLM\...\RunOnce key and actually do the cleaning of the Internet Explorer directories. The next group of files (re-tif.pif, re-tif.bat, tif-cln.reg) launch from the HKLM\...\Run key and restore the HKLM\...\RunOnce value (which Windows automatically deletes each time it is executed). ~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-CLN-NT ~~~~~~~~~~ File Explanation ---- ----------- tif-cln.bat called from HKLM\...\RunOnce; clears the IE directories Note: tif-cln.bat will be a renamed version of either tif-del.bat or tif-wip.bat, depending on the deletion method you choose to use. re-tif.bat called from HKLM\...Run; merges tif-cln.reg tif-cln.reg merged into Registry by re-tif.bat to restore RunOnce value As you can see, the first file (tif-cln.bat) launches from the HKLM\...\RunOnce key and actually does the cleaning of the Internet Explorer directories. The next group of files (re-tif.bat, tif-cln.reg) launch from the HKLM\...\Run key and restore the HKLM\...\RunOnce value (which Windows automatically deletes each time it is executed). Why all these files? TIF-Clean launches from the RunOnce key because the RunOnce values are executed much earlier in the start up process than either most other auto-start Registry keys (e.g., HKLM\...\Run, HKCU\...\Run, et al) or shortcuts in the StartUp folder. By running earlier in the start up process, TIF-Clean has a better chance of doing its work BEFORE Windows can lock the Internet Explorer directories. Still further, unlike the other auto-start Registry keys, the HKLM\...\RunOnce key is run synchronously, meaning that it must complete before other steps in the boot process can start -- yet another added advantage to using the RunOnce key. (By contrast, all the other auto-start Registry keys are executed asynchronously.) Using the HKLM\...\RunOnce key comes with one "catch," however -- once values in that key are executed, Windows automatically removes them (that's why it's called RunONCE). But we want TIF- Clean to execute on EVERY boot, not just once. To remedy this problem, we execute another batch file from the HKLM\...\Run key (which is loaded later than RunOnce) in order to restore the HKLM \...\RunOnce value. The RE-TIF.REG file is used to create the HKLM\...\Run value. It is not copied during installation to the Windows directory because it is not needed to keep TIF-Clean running boot after boot. Once RE-TIF.REG is merged into the Registry, the Registry value it adds to the HKLM \...\Run key will remain across system startups (unlike the RunOnce value which is automatically removed by Windows at every system startup and must be restored by TIF-Clean). One final note about TIF-Clean files: TIF-CLN-NT users will note different versions of the following files in the \9X, \NT4, \2K, and \XP directories: TIF-CLN.REG RE-TIF.REG RE-TIF.BAT The 9X, 2K, XP, and NT4 versions of these files use different default Windows directories: C: \WINDOWS for Windows 9x/Me & Windows XP and C:\WINNT for Windows NT4/2000. The installer for TIF- CLN-NT automatically uses the correct versions of these files for your version of Windows. If you're installing manually, however, you'll have to copy and use the proper files yourself. If you're interested in reading more about the HKLM\...\Run and RunOnce keys, try these articles from the Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB): Q179365 - INFO: Run, RunOnce, RunServices, RunServicesOnce and Startup http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q179/3/65.asp Q137367 - Definition of the RunOnce Keys in the Registry http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q137/3/67.asp ---------------------------------- TIF-Clean & Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP ---------------------------------- If you've downloaded TIF-CLN-NT to use on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, then there are several issues that you need to take into account. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHOICE.COM & DELTREE.EXE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-Clean makes use of two standard DOS utilities: CHOICE.COM and DELTREE.EXE. These DOS utilities ship with every version of MS DOS 6.0 and above, as well as with all versions of Win 9x, including Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me (they reside in \WINDOWS\COMMAND). Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP do not, however, include copies of these files. Moreover, CHOICE.COM apparently has compatibility issues with the Windows XP command shell interpreter. ** DELTREE.EXE ** This distribution includes a copy of DELTREE.EXE (from Windows 98) for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP users. It also includes copies of both CHOICE.COM (from Windows 95 B - OSR2) and CHOICE.EXE (from the Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit), which has equivalent functionality to CHOICE.COM. If you install TIF-Clean manually, you should move or copy DELTREE.EXE to some location on your "Path" -- good choices for locating these files are: Windows NT4 & 2K: \WINNT or \WINNT\SYSTEM32 Windows XP: \WINDOWS or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 If you use INSTALL.BAT to install TIF-Clean, DELTREE.EXE will be copied to your Windows directory (usually \WINNT or \WINDOWS) directory automatically. ** CHOICE.COM\CHOICE.EXE ** CHOICE.COM or CHOICE.EXE are required only to run the automatic installer (INSTALL.BAT). (If you install TIF-Clean manully, CHOICE.COM and CHOICE.EXE are not needed.) If INSTALL.BAT detects that you're running Windows NT/2000/XP, it will automatically install CHOICE.EXE to your Windows directory (usually \WINNT or \WINDOWS). (If you're running Windows 95, 98, or Me and CHOICE.COM seems to be missing, INSTALL.BAT will instead install CHOICE.COM to \WINDOWS.) If you're running Windows XP and INSTALL.BAT gives you errors every time you reach one of the menus, the problem is likely that a straight DOS version of CHOICE.COM is somewhere on your path. Even when CHOICE.EXE is installed in the Windows directory (\WINDOWS), if INSTALL.BAT finds CHOICE.COM, it will use CHOICE.COM instead of CHOICE.EXE. We want INSTALL.BAT to use CHOICE.EXE, which is compatible with Windows XP. Check your Windows directory (usually \WINDOWS) as well as your System directory (\WINDOWS \SYSTEM32). If you find CHOICE.COM (as opposed to CHOICE.EXE), remove it. Also, if you downloaded an earlier version of this utility that included only CHOICE.COM, make sure that CHOICE.COM is not located in the top level installation directory (a copy is included in the \CHOICE sub- directory, but that's OK). In other words, make sure that there is no chance that CHOICE.COM will be used. On Windows XP, you should be using CHOICE.EXE instead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Windows NT 4.0 vs. Windows 2000/XP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-CLN-NT (the version intended for Windows NT/2K/XP) comes with several different versions of TIF-DEL.BAT and TIF-WIP.BAT intended for use with different versions of Windows. If you are running Windows 2000 or XP, you can find versions of the two default .BAT files supplied with TIF-CLN-NT (TIF-DEL.BAT & TIF-WIP.BAT) for your version of Windows in the \2K or \XP sub-directory where you unpacked TIF-CLN-NT. These .BAT file versions are configured to clean Internet Explorer directories in the \Documents & Settings directory (where user profiles are stored in Windows 2000 and Windows XP). If you are running Windows NT 4.0, you can find versions of those same two .BAT files that use % WINDIR%\Profiles directory (where user profiles are stored in NT 4.0) in the \NT4 sub-directory. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Default Administrator Account ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two main .BAT files supplied with TIF-CLN-NT clean the default Administrator account (\C: \Docume~1\Admini~1\Locals~1 in Windows 2000\XP; %WINDIR%\Profiles\Admini~1 in Windows NT 4.0). If you wish to clean an account other than the default Administrator account, then you will have to manually edit these two batch files before you install TIF-Clean. (It is not necessary to edit any of the other .BAT files, as they all reference the default Windows directory [%WINDIR%].) See the "Non-Standard Locations of IE Directories" section below for advice and tips on editing these two batch files. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTFS Compatibility ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two utilities that TIF-Clean uses, DELTREE.EXE and WIPE.EXE, will work on NTFS drives (not just FAT16/FAT32 drives). Special care must be taken, though, with short file names and paths (see the "Customization" section below for more information). Short directory and file names must be used, as DELTREE.EXE and WIPE.EXE do not recognize long file names/paths. ---------------------- TIF-Clean & Windows Me ---------------------- Although TIF-CLN-9X should work on Windows Me, several Windows Me users have reported that TIF- CLN-9X fails to clear IE directories properly on Windows Me. This is likely due to the .PIF files that TIF-CLN-9X uses. If you're running Windows Me (or any other Windows 9x version, for that matter) and TIF-CLN-9X seems not to be doing the job, try downloading and using TIF-CLN-NT. Keep in mind that if you install manually, you'll have to use the two Windows 9x/Me specific .BAT files from the \9X sub-directory when installing TIF-Clean, though. If you use the installer utility (INSTALL.BAT), the correct files for your version of Windows will be installed automatically for you. Furthermore, the installer utility will automatically uninstall TIF-CLN-9X files from your Windows directory for you when you install the TIF-CLN-NT files. One downside to using TIF-CLN-NT on Windows Me (or any Windows 9x version) is that you may have to close the TIF-CLN.BAT window manually when it runs on Windows startup. It is annoyance that the .PIF file in TIF-CLN-9X are designed to avoid. ------------------- TIF-Clean & TweakUI ------------------- If you have installed the TweakUI utility from Microsoft, you should not use any of the Internet Explorer cleaning options (History or Temporary Internet Files) available on the "Paranoia" tab. Because TIF-Clean blows away Internet Explorer directories on boot, Windows may not have a chance to generate new ones before TweakUI launches. The result: a series of opening windows as TweakUI searches for the Internet Explorer directories, which don't yet exist. ============== Uninstallation ============== Uninstallation is simple. In fact, you can elect to disable TIF-Clean temporarily instead of completely uninstalling it. ------------------------------- Temporarily Disabling TIF-Clean ------------------------------- You can manually disable TIF-Clean (preventing it from running at boot up) by removing the "TIF- Clean" Registry entry in HKLM\...\RunOnce and the "RE-TIF" entry in HKLM\...\Run. Windows 98 and Me users can simply run MSCONFIG.EXE (System Configuration Utility) and uncheck the "TIF-Clean" entry on the "Startup" tab. TIF-Clean will likely run one more time (because the RunOnce value is still present), but not again. If you wish to prevent TIF-Clean from running even one more time, then follow the instructions just below for manually editing the Registry. Windows 95, NT, 2000, and XP users will have to manually edit the Registry with REGEDIT.EXE: navigate to... HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run ...and delete the "RE-TIF" value. Next, navigate to the following key (right below the Run key you just edited)... HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce ...and delete the "TIF-Clean" value. TIF-Clean now remains present on your system, but it will NOT run at Windows start up. To re-enable TIF-Clean, simply re-merge TIF-CLN.REG and RE-TIF.REG to re-create the HKLM\...\Run and HKLM\...\RunOnce values. --------------------------------- Completely Uninstalling TIF-Clean --------------------------------- If you wish to completely uninstall TIF-Clean from your system, remove the HKLM\...\Run value as directed above, and then remove the files from your Windows directory that you copied earlier to it (see the list above in "Installation"). You can also use the INSTALL.BAT utility to remove TIF-Clean from your system: run INSTALL.BAT and select option # 2 from the main menu. Note that INSTALL.BAT will run REGEDIT.EXE so that you can remove the HKLM\...\Run and HKLM\...\RunOnce Registry entries yourself. ============= Customization ============= TIF-Clean can be customized to suit individual needs and preferences. The main file to edit is TIF-CLN.BAT, which actually performs the purging of Internet Explorer directories. TIF-CLN.BAT can be edited with any simple text editor like Notepad (context click on TIF-CLN.BAT and select "Edit"). There are several reasons that you might want to customize TIF-CLN.BAT: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 - Non-Standard Locations of Windows Directory ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-Clean assumes that your Windows directory is one of the following: Windows 95/98/Me: C:\Windows Windows NT4/2000: C:\Winnt Windows XP: C:\Windows If your Windows directory is different than what TIF-Clean is designed to use, then you'll have to edit the following files to reflect your actual Windows directory: RE-TIF.REG RE-TIF.BAT TIF-CLN.REG Note that TIF-CLN-NT users will have 9X, NT4, 2K, and XP versions of these three files, depending on whether you're using Windows 95/98/Me or Windows NT4/2000/XP. Look in the directory corresponding to your version of Windows: Dir Windows Version --- --------------- \2K: Windows 2000 \9X: Windows 95/98/Me \NT4: Windows NT 4.0 \XP: Windows XP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2 - Non-Standard Locations of IE Directories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIF-Clean assumes that the following directories are being used by Internet Explorer: Windows 9x: Long Name: C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files 8.3 Name: C:\Windows\Tempor~1 Long Name: C:\Windows\Cookies 8.3 Name: C:\Windows\Cookies Long Name: C:\Windows\History 8.3 Name: C:\Windows\History Note: some Windows 9x and Windows Me users might find the Temporary Internet Files, History, and Cookies directories in one of the following alternate locations: C:\Windows\LOCAL SETTINGS\... ...or ... C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\\... (where is the name of the individual profile) If you're running Windows 95, 98, or Me and you're having trouble locating the Internet Explorer directories, try the "Find" or "Search" function within Windows Explorer. In Internet Explorer, you can also go "Tools" >> "Internet Options," and click the "Settings" button on the "General" tab (under "Temporary Internet files") to find the location of the Temporary Internet Files folder (the Cookies and History folder should be nearby). Windows NT 4.0: Long Name: C:\Winnt\Profiles\Administrator\Temporary Internet Files 8.3 Name: C:\Winnt\Profiles\Admini~1\Tempor~1 Long Name: C:\Winnt\Profiles\Administrator\Cookies 8.3 Name: C:\Winnt\Profiles\Admini~1\Cookies Long Name: C:\Winnt\Profiles\Administrator\History 8.3 Name: C:\Winnt\Profiles\Admini~1\History Windows 2000/XP: Long Name: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\ 8.3 Name: C:\Docume~1\Admini~1\Locals~1\Tempor~1\ Long Name: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Cookies 8.3 Name: C:\Docume~1\Admini~1\Cookies\ Long Name: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\History\ 8.3 Name: C:\Docume~1\Admini~1\Locals~1\History\ If your Internet Explorer directories reside some place else, or if you wish to clean a different account than the default Administrator account on Windows NT/2000/XP, then you'll have to edit TIF-DEL.BAT and TIF-WIP.BAT before you install TIF-Clean to reflect those true locations. ** Short Directory Paths & File Names ** You must use short 8.3 DOS files names and paths for all directory names, as DELTREE.EXE and WIPE.EXE do not recognize long names/paths. Here's a short intro to long vs. short 8.3 file names and paths: By default, all version of Windows (including Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP on NTFS drives) generate and store both a long name and short 8.3 name for all files and folders. 8.3 file names are created from long names by taking the first six characters (excluding spaces) and tacking on ~x, where x is a number. The number will be 1, unless there are other files\folders in the same directory with the same name, in which case the number can be incremented (numbers are assigned on a first come, first serve basis, not necessarily in alphabetical order based on the long names). Thus... C:\Documents and Settings ...becomes... C:\Docume~1 And these two folders... C:\Program Files\Window Cleaner C:\Program Files\Window Wiper ...become... C:\Progra~1\Window~1 C:\Progra~1\Window~2 If you are running Windows 9x, 98, 98SE, or NT 4.0, you can right-click on any file or folder, select "Properties" from the context menu, and get the "MS-DOS Name" for the file or folder in the "Properties" box for that file or folder. If you are running Windows Me, 2000, or XP, the "Properties" box for files and folders does not contain the "MS-DOS Name," unfortunately, even though it has been generated and can be used. On Windows Me, 2000, and XP you will have to identify the short 8.3 names for files and folders yourself using the rules described above. To identify the 8.3 file names and paths, you can open a Command Prompt (Start >> Programs >> Accessories >> Command Prompt) and use the following directory command at a command line: dir /x /a That directory command will give you a listing of directories and files with both long names and short 8.3 names, such as in this example: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>dir /x /a Volume in drive C is WINDOWS Volume Serial Number is 001DC-81AF Directory of C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator 06/01/2003 01:05a . 06/01/2003 01:05a .. 05/08/2003 12:30a APPLIC~1 Application Data 05/15/2003 11:37p Desktop 04/12/2003 05:21p FAVORI~1 Favorites 04/25/2002 12:31a LOCALS~1 Local Settings 08/21/2002 11:11a MYDOCU~1 My Documents 01/16/2002 12:29a NetHood 02/09/2003 01:58p 2,048,000 NTUSER.bak 06/01/2003 04:33a 2,301,952 NTUSER.DAT 06/01/2003 04:33a 1,024 NTUSER~1.LOG ntuser.dat.LOG 06/01/2003 01:33a 280 ntuser.ini 01/06/2003 05:02a 0 NTUSER~2.LOG NTUSER.tmp.LOG 01/14/2002 11:42a PRINTH~1 PrintHood 06/01/2003 03:20a Recent 05/24/2003 09:59p SendTo 05/15/2003 09:31a STARTM~1 Start Menu 01/14/2002 11:51a TEMPLA~1 Templates 6 File(s) 4,351,975 bytes 15 Dir(s) 3,905,818,624 bytes free Where the long name and short 8.3 name are the same, dir /x /a gives you only the long name. ** Path Copy ** If you're having problems identifying proper short 8.3 paths and file names, you might consider installing a freeware utility called Path Copy. Path Copy conveniently adds a menu option to the context menus (right-click) of files and folder: "Path Copy is a shell extension for Windows 95/98/NT/2000 that enables you to copy the path of a file or directory to the Clipboard from inside the Windows Explorer. All you have to do is to open the Windows Explorer, right-click the item(s) of interest and choose Copy Path in the context menu." Path Copy allows you to copy the Short Name, Long Name, Short Path, or Long Path for almost any file or folder you encounter, making the task of editing TIF-CLN.BAT a lot easier and more accurate. You can get Path Copy here: http://www.image.dk/~ninotech ** Windows NT/2000/XP Considerations ** If you are running Windows NT 4.0\2000\XP and using NTFS drives, it is possible to configure Windows NTFS not to generate 8.3 file names for files and directories. If you disable 8.3 file name creation, TIF-Clean will not work properly, as it must have short 8.3 names to grab onto. The Registry key involved is this one: Registry Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem Value: NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation Type: REG_DWORD Data: 0 (default) or 1 The value data should be set to "0" to preserve 8.3 filenames so that TIF-Clean can function properly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 - Desire to Preserve URL History or Cookies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you don't want TIF-Clean to purge your URL History or Cookies (esp., for example, if you've registered with a web site so that you're recognized whenever you return), then you can edit TIF- CLN.BAT so that the appropriate directories aren't cleaned out when TIF-Clean runs at Windows start up. To disable cleaning of a directory, simply "comment out" the appropriate DELTREE line in TIF- CLN.BAT. For example, to preserve cookies... deltree /y %WINDIR%\Cookies\*.*>nul ...would become... REM deltree /y %WINDIR%\Cookies\*.*>nul The REM tells Windows to ignore the line in question. Don't forget to save your changes in Notepad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4 - Enable TIF-Clean for non-Admin Users ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Windows NT 4.0, 2000, and XP, users who are not Administrators may have problems running TIF- Clean if those users aren't enabled to write to the Registry. TIF-Clean writes a Registry in HKLM \...\RunOnce at every boot in order to re-enable TIF-Clean (TIF-CLN.BAT, specifically) for the next boot. If a user without Administrative privileges logs on, that write to the Registry (by RE-TIF.BAT, which merges TIF-CLN.REG) will fail. The solution to this problem is to change TIF-CLean to run from the User profile (HKEY_CURRENT_USER) instead of the general system (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE). You'll have to edit two .REG files and re-merge them into the Registry: RE-TIF.REG TIF-CLN.REG Edit both of those files in Notepad, changing every instance of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Save your changes, and re-merge both .REG files. Don't forget to copy the newly edited TIF-CLN.REG to your Windows dir. You should also run Windows Registry editor (REGEDIT.EXE) and remove the RE-TIF entry from: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run RE-TIF is now being launched from HKEY_CURRENT_USER. One drawback to this method is that you'll have to merge both .REG files for every user profile that you want to use TIF-Clean (it's not necessary to do a complete install on every profile, as the necessary files are already in the Windows directory). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5 - Desire to Customize WIPE.EXE's Overwriting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WIPE.EXE can be configured to use several different overwriting or wiping methods and processes. These methods and processes are specified by using switches with the WIPE.EXE command. By default TIF-Clean uses the following switches with WIPE.EXE: wipe.exe /y /s For more information on the switches that WIPE.EXE can take and the syntax for their use, see WIPE.TXT, which accompanies this package. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 - Desire to Use ERASERD.EXE instead of WIPE.EXE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WIPE.EXE is a freeware utility written by Vesa Kolhinen and Jason Hood. It, along with the authors' other programs DELEN and XRD, are available from http://www.cc.jyu.fi/ ~vjko/programs.html or http://adoxa.homepage.com/delenxrd/. WIPE.EXE isn't the only freely available command line secure deletion utility out there, though. Eraser (originally by Sami Tolvanen, http://www.tolvanen.com/eraser/) also includes a free command line secure deletion utility called ERASERD.EXE. You can download the most current, full Windows version of Eraser (which includes ERASERD.EXE) from: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/ ...or... http://sourceforge.net/projects/eraser/ To use ERASERD.EXE, simply edit TIF-WIP.BAT before you install, replacing the WIPE.EXE command with the appropriate ERASERD.EXE commands. Don't forget to copy ERASERD.EXE to your Windows directory. Consult the documentation that comes with Eraser for ERASERD.EXE to learn all the switches for ERASERD.EXE. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7 - Desire to DELTREE or WIPE Other Directories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One nice aspect of TIF-Clean is that it's very customizable. Once TIF-Clean is installed, you can edit TIF-CLN.BAT (in your Windows dir) to DELTREE or WIPE other directories as well. This is especially useful to automate the cleaning of routine Windows junk or to remove files that are normally locked while Windows is running (just like Internet Explorer's INDEX.DAT files are locked). To add more directories to TIF-CLN.BAT, just open it in Notepad (or another simple text editor) and add lines to clean the directories or files you want. You can even copy the DELTREE or WIPE lines that are already in TIF-CLN.BAT and simply edit the paths to point to the new directories you want to scrub. Remember to use short directory and file names (see above for more information on this issue). You might also want to comment your additions in much the same way that the other aspects of TIF-CLN.BAT are commented (commented lines start with REM ). ====================== Problems & Limitations ====================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Why does my PC take so long to start now?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you habitually leave thousands of files in the Temporary Internet Files directory (for example, after long web surfing sessions), TIF-Clean may significantly slow your computer down when your computer starts up. This problem can be especially annoying the first time you run TIF=Clean (as described in the "Before You Reboot..." section above). The solution to slow boot times is to delete Temporary Internet Files before you reboot. Keep in mind that not all of the files will be removed from the Temporary Internet Files directory when you delete them through Internet Explorer (that's why you need TIF-Clean), and the INDEX.DAT files will still be bloated far above their default sizes (another reason you need TIF- Clean). Nonetheless, by deleting Temporary Internet Files yourself, you can significantly reduce the files that TIF-Clean has to clear. Here's how to manually clear as many Temporary Internet Files as possible before rebooting and letting TIF-Clean do its stuff: 1. Open Internet Properties From within Internet Explorer, go to Tools >> Internet Options... The Internet Options box should open. (If you're using Internet Explorer 4.0x, then choose View >> Internet Options...) 2. Delete Temporary Internet Files On the "General" tab, hit the "Delete Files" button under "Temporary Internet files." Your hard drive will thrash a bit (perhaps quite a lot) while Internet Explorer clears as much as it can from the Temporary Internet Files directory. 3. Close Internet Properties Click "OK" to close Internet Properties. Then close Internet Explorer as well. Remember that the steps outlined above still leave a fair amount of detritus in the Temporary Interet Files folder, but that's what TIF-Clean is designed to clean up. By doing some preliminary clean-up yourself, you've reduced the amount of time TIF-Clean will take to do its job. If you're running Internet Explorer 5, you will find an option titled "Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed" on the "Internet Properties" "Advanced" tab. When enabled, this option configures Internet Explorer so that it will automatically clear Temporary Internet Files for you every time you exit Internet Explorer. As before, Internet Explorer will leave a fair amount of junk behind, and that's what TIF-Clean will clean up when you reboot. On some installations of Internet Explorer 5 and above, the "Empty Temporary Internet Files" option either may not be present on the "Advanced" tab or may not function as advertised. If either is the case, download EMPTY-TIF from my web site: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/fixes.htm EMPTY-TIF will restore the "Empty Temporary Internet Files" option so that it appears on the "Advanced" tab and functions correctly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "It ran once but hasn't run again. What happened?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If TIF-Clean ran once but hasn't run again, then one or more of the files that was installed likely contains improper path information to other files. Be on the lookout for path info which points to the wrong location for your Windows directory. 1. Check RE-TIF.BAT in your Windows dir The RE-TIF.BAT file should point to TIF-CLN.REG (also in your Windows dir). 2. Check TIF-CLN.REG in your Windows dir The TIF-CLN.REG file should point to TIF-CLN.PIF or TIF-CLN.BAT (also in your Windows dir). If TIF-CLN.REG contains incorrect information, edit the file and supply correct path info, save your changes and re-merge TIF-CLN.REG into your Registry. 3. Check the RE-TIF.REG file that you merged during installation The RE-TIF.REG file that you merged into the Registry should point to RE-TIF.PIF or RE-TIF.BAT in your Windows directory. If RE-TIF.REG contains incorrect information, edit the file and supply correct path info, save your changes and re-merge RE-TIF.REG into your Registry. When you're editing paths in .REG files, remember that paths should use double-backslashes ( \\ ) to separate directory names. Thus: C:\Windows\re-tif.bat ...is invalid. A valid path in a .REG file is: C:\\Windows\\re-tif.bat This rule of double-backslashes does NOT apply to batch files (.BAT). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Can TIF-Clean fail to do its job?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes, in some cases. In order for TIF-Clean to do its work, the TIF-CLN.BAT file must be run from HKLM\...\RunOnce before Windows locks the three Internet Explorer directories. On most systems, TIF-CLN.BAT should manage to do its work before the directories are locked. Unfortunately, on some systems Windows will beat TIF-Clean to the punch, locking the directories before TIF-Clean can do its thing. In such cases, most junk files will still be deleted, but the INDEX.DAT files will not, which is one of the main attractions of using TIF-Clean. Still further, even on those systems where TIF-Clean normally works, TIF-Clean may fail during certain start-ups, esp. if new software installations are completing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "How can I tell if TIF-Clean is working?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The easiest way to check if TIF-Clean is working properly is to do a search on all files (*.*) in the \Temporary Internet Files directory and check the size of the INDEX.DAT file in that directory. Here's how to do it: 1. Open Windows Explorer Open Windows Explorer from the Start menu. 2. Navigate to your Temporary Internet Files folder Find your Temporary Internet Files folder within WIndows Explorer. 3. Bring Up the Search or Find box Right-click on the Temporary Internet Files folder and select "Search" or "Find" (depending on the version of Windows you're using). 4. Do a Search for All Files Don't specify any file names. Just hit the "Search" or "Find" button. The results you see are all the files actually in the Temporary Internet Files folder. If INDEX.DAT is significantly larger than 32kb (e.g., its over 100kb), then TIF-Clean is probably not getting to the Internet Explorer directories before Windows locks them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What can I do if TIF-Clean seems not to be working?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If TIF-Clean consistently seems not to be doing its thing on your system, there are several things you can try. First, verify that the TIF-CLN.BAT file that's been copied to your Windows directory is set to delete or wipe the actual locations of the Internet Explorer directories on your system. For more information on the locations of your Internet Explorer directories and how to edit TIF-Clean .BAT files, see the "Customization" section above. Second, if you're a Windows 9x/Me user and have been using TIF-CLN-9X, try downloading and installing the TIF-CLN-NT version. The TIF-CLN-NT version doesn't use .PIF files, and several users (esp. Windows Me users) have reported problems with the standard TIF-CLN-9X version that seem to clear up once the TIF-CLN-NT version is used. Keep in mind that once you download TIF- CLN-NT for use on Windows 9x/Me, you'll have to move the two .BAT files from the \TIF-CLN\9X sub- directory to the main installation directory before installing. Third, try cutting down on the number of programs launching automatically when Windows starts. By cutting down on the number of programs that launch automatically on Windows start up, not only may you enable TIF-Clean to start working properly, you'll also be taking a large step towards making your system faster, more responsive, and more stable. If you're a user of Windows 95, NT 4.0, 2000, or XP (which don't ship with MSCONFIG.EXE), or if you simply don't like the limitations of MSCONFIG.EXE on Windows 98 and Me systems, you might consider downloading one of the many start up managers which are available on the Internet. You can get a list of links to such utilities (many of which happen to be FREE!), from this page on my web site: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/soft21a.htm Finally, you might also consider looking into one of the many "junk cleaning" programs that are available on the Net. A number of these "junk cleaning" programs are designed specifically for Internet Explorer, and one of these might do the trick where TIF-Clean fails. You can find links to such programs on this page of my web site: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/soft19.htm ==================== Problems & Questions ==================== I hope you find this utility helpful in your use of Windows and Internet Explorer. If you run into serious problems with this utility and you have made every attempt to address the problem but remain stumped, I can be reached at: eburger68@myrealbox.com Please keep in mind that my busy schedule may not allow me to respond immediately. I will attempt to get back to you, though, and address your questions. Other helpful resources for getting answers to questions about protecting you privacy in Internet Explorer include the GRC Privacy & Security news groups, which are generously hosted by Steve Gibson of Gibson Research (GRC): http://grc.com/discussions.htm ...and the DSLR Security forum: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/security,1 I've found the folks who hang out in these groups to be helpful, knowledgeable, passionate, and more than wise to the wiles of the marketing droids which infest the Net. Finally, you might also check out my web site at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a site which contains a bevy of links to information and software relevant to Privacy & Security on the Internet: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/ ------------------------------------------------- Date: 6/7/01, 10/2/01, 3/2/02, 3/22/02, 3/26/02, 4/14/02, 5/28/02, 12/28/02 6/1/03 From: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/ Made By: Eric L. Howes (eburger68@myrealbox.com) ------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 2000-2003 Eric L. Howes This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. Some files distributed with this package may not be covered by the GNU GPL. Those files remain the property of their original owners and are covered by the licenses under which they were originally distributed. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; see the file COPYING. If not, write to the Free Software Foundation, 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.