>>>>>>>>>>>>Index.dat

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
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Guest

On my computer there is a file called index.dat which is
uses by IE so when i try to delete it it says that you
can't. I know that i can delete it if i go into DOS but
if i do delete it what would happen?

Yhe reason i want to delete is that i read somewhere that
i has all your browsing history in it. Could you also
tell me what the file is used for. if that is not what it
is used for.
 
The file does what you've been told it does, by design, and it's a concern for many users. See this link for info about a tool to remove this file and related info:

Free History Eraser
http://smartprotector.com/eraser/free-history-eraser.htm

This file (index.dat) is used by the caching system that IE uses to maintain the internet files that are downloaded to your system for viewing. I have my system setup so that this file's folder is purged whenever the browser is closed.

I do this not so much for the privacy issue but as a way to keep the cache clean since many problems in IE are due to corrupted files in this cache. That's why there's a feature in IE that allows the user to purge these files (but the index.dat file is not deleted).

Hope this helps.
 
Delete the History folder and index.dat:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k

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Computer viruses: description, prevention, and recovery:
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On my computer there is a file called index.dat which is
uses by IE so when i try to delete it it says that you
can't. I know that i can delete it if i go into DOS but
if i do delete it what would happen?

Yhe reason i want to delete is that i read somewhere that
i has all your browsing history in it. Could you also
tell me what the file is used for. if that is not what it
is used for.
 
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