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[TheJollyRoger]

WARNING! I think this is a HOAX! DO NOT delete index.dat until you speak to your system manager!

[widgysoft]

Well mine is 9.7Mb deleting now.

[demlosers]

What directory/path is "index.dat" located in, and what Windows operating system are you specifically talking about?

[Diana Rose]

bump to check where this goes

[Richard Kimball]

Ping! Hey, Bush2000 you keep up to date on Windows stuff, rumour is you're really Bill Gates, but, even though you pick on my Macintosh, I do trust you completely when it comes to Windows stuff. So, is this guy yanking some chains? Also, if you're really Bill Gates, could you spare a billion or so? I'd even switch back to Windows!

[facedown]

bump

[SauronOfMordor]

I dislike the idea of downloading some random shareware and letting it loose on my disk. And it's unnecessary. To find index.dat, from IE just look in Internet Options->General->Temporary Internat Files->Settings, and observe where the folder for your temporary internet files are. There will be a subfolder called Content.IEsomething. Index.dat will be in that folder

[McGruff]

Be carefull before deleting these files.


What is an index.dat file?

There are three index.dat files residing in the following locations:

Cookies\index.dat

History\History.IE5\index.dat

Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat

index.dat files keep basically a copy of whatever there is in that folder and they continue keeping those records even after you have deleted the contents of those folders.


Why can't I find index.dat files on my hard disk?

Because index.dat files are hidden by default. However if you want to make the index.dat files visible, you can do that in Windows explorer folder options.


Can I delete index.dat files?

You can not delete index.dat files as long as Windows is running. That's why vendor's program needs to restart your PC in order to delete index.dat files.

Although as soon as Windows starts, new clean index.dat files will be created, ready to record your steps.


Does deleting index.dat files affect my PC in any way?

Deleting index.dat files is quite safe and besides freeing up some disk space has no other effects.


Is it possible to delete Cookies index.dat but keep other index.dat files?

No, because the contents of index.dat files are in close relationship with each other. Thus generally to delete the contents of any index.dat file, you have to delete all index.dat files at the same time.


How can I know that an index.dat file is clean?

The size of a clean Cookies index.dat file is 16 KB.

The size of a clean History index.dat file is also 16 KB.

When clean the size of Temporary Internet Files (Cache) index.dat file is 32 KB.

[WSGilcrest]

Lots of 3rd party stuff out there that say they will clean it. ----------------------------------------------------------

Index.dat--What is Index.dat File ?

---

Index.dat are files hidden on your computer that contain all of the Web sites that you have ever visited. Every URL, and every Web page is listed there. Not only that but all of the email that has been sent or received through Outlook or Outlook Express is also being logged. The file names and locations depend on what version of Internet Explorer you have. If you are running IE version 4.0 or above, the file name is "index.dat".  Microsoft has not supplied an adequate explanation as to what these files are for or why they have been hidden so well.

According to Microsoft, these files are used to cache visited Web sites to help speed up the loading of Web pages in Internet Explorer. Obviously this cannot be the case because when you clear the Temporary Internet Files the "index.dat" files remain behind and continue to grow. If you delete or clear the Temporary Internet Files, there is absolutely no need to index the URL cache because those files no longer exist.

On a Windows 9x computer these files are located in the following locations:

\WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat
\WINDOWS\History\index.dat
\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\index.dat
\WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat
\WINDOWS\History\index.dat
\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\index.dat

 In Windows 2000 and Windows XP there are several "index.dat" files in these locations:

\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Cookies\index.dat

\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\index.dat

\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012001123120020101\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local
 Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012002010720020114\index.dat

\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local
 Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat

Index.dat files can be very hard to find. If you are in Windows, even with "Show hidden files and folders" enabled, index.dat files are not visible and cannot be found if you do a search for index.dat files. The reason that these files are so invisible is that they are not just hidden, they have been designated as "system" files. System files and folders are treated differently in DOS and Windows and are effectively cloaked from casual searches.

[general_re]

Oh, jeez. Come on. "Super secret"? Can we get a bit more tinfoilish?

"index.dat" is exactly what it sounds like - an index of IE's browser cache and associated cookies, built in order to speed up cache accesses. It's hardly "secret", and hardly worth the paranoia being engendered here....

[socal_parrot]

From About.com-

Microsoft's Super Hidden Files

There are some files that defy detection on your computer

This article started out to be about another topic, but when I discovered the information about these super hidden Microsoft files, I had to write about it. I suppose that many of you already know about these files but this was the first I heard about it and I figured that if I didn't know about them, many of you didn't either.

Hidden on your computer are some files that contain all of the Web sites that you have ever visited. Every URL, and every Web page is listed there. Not only that but all of the email that has been sent or received through Outlook or Outlook Express is also being logged. The file names and locations depend on what version of Internet Explorer you have. If you are running IE version 4.0 or above, the file name is "index.dat". If you are running or have ever run IE prior to version 4.0 there are two files. One is named Mm256.dat and the other is Mm2048.dat. Microsoft has not supplied an adequate explanation as to what these files are for or why they have been hidden so well.

According to Microsoft, these files are used to cache visited Web sites to help speed up the loading of Web pages in Internet Explorer. Obviously this cannot be the case because when you clear the Temporary Internet Files the "index.dat" files remain behind and continue to grow. If you delete or clear the Temporary Internet Files, there is absolutely no need to index the URL cache because those files no longer exist.

On a Windows 9x computer these files are located in the following locations:

\WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat
\WINDOWS\History\index.dat
\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\index.dat
\WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat
\WINDOWS\History\index.dat
\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\index.dat

As I stated earlier, these files can be very hard to find. If you are in Windows, even with "Show hidden files and folders" enabled, these files are not visible and cannot be found if you do a search for these files. The reason that these files are so invisible is that they are not just hidden, they have been designated as "system" files. System files and folders are treated differently in DOS and Windows and are effectively cloaked from casual searches.

I am currently running Windows XP Pro and since there is no underlying DOS core, these rules do not apply and therefore with "Show hidden files and folders" enabled, I can do a search on these files and find them with no trouble. In Windows XP there are several "index.dat" files in these locations:

\Documents and Settings\Default User\Cookies\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Default User.WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Default User.WINDOWS\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Default User.WINDOWS\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Recent\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Cookies\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012001123120020101\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012002010720020114\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012002011420020121\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012002012120020128\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012002012820020129\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012002012920020130\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat
\Documents and Settings\Bill\UserData\index.dat

There is a very detailed explanation of these files and how Microsoft has managed to hide them so well by a person who calls himself "The Riddler". He goes into great detail and provides a lot of information on these super hidden files.

If having these files makes you feel paranoid (and who wouldn't) there is a good little program called "Spider" that can find these files and delete them for you. There is also another good program called PurgeIE that can find and delete these files. Spider is freeware, PurgeIE is shareware and can be registered for $14.95.

[spodefly]

While you are at it, get rid of those goofy 'autoexec.bat' and 'config.sys' files too ... It will speed the start-up dramatically.








{of course, your machine will start-up only to a flashing cursor, but it will be fast!}

[kidd]

bump

[proxy_user]

There are many solutions.

Two that come to mind:

Use a different browser.
Reinstall your OS after wiping the hard drive.

I reinstall mine quarterly.

[egarvue]

ping

[roadcat]

"Keep in mind that most employers keep track, so some degree, of sites you have visited."

That's why, if you are worried about detection, you do your surfing on other workstations that can't get tracked back to you. Or spoof someone else's ID so the data packets get tracked to someone else. We've had a couple instances of dumb employees getting busted because they don't realize the internet traffic stats include their PC workstation name, which just happens to contain their initials. Also helps to use software to do a wipe of your PC (re-write of all free space with zeroes after deleting files).

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[VOA]

bump