[Libertarian4Bush]

I think it's "autocomplete" that you're wrestling with. Tools --> Internet Options --> Advanced

[cd jones]

I use 'window washer v4' window washer

[giotto]

Use Tools/Internet Options/Content/Autocomplete/Clear Forms to clear out the information you have stored. You can also uncheck the box under Tools/Internet Options/Advanced to avoid storing the information in the first place.

[rit]

The other important point is that you should never use the search button on IE. This info is recorded at the MS site, and thus they have a record of what terms you entered, and what pages you selected as a result thereof.

If you want to search google, then enter http://www.google.com and then enter the search terms, but do not do it from the MS IE menu (usually displays on left hand side of screen after selecting the search button)

[backhoe]

Pardon the salty words!-- more here:

-http://www.f@ckmicrosoft.com/content/ms-hidden-files.shtml#4--

[houston1]

Index.dat does different things depending on what version of Windows you are using, but it generally stores your user settings, etc. You will never be able to modify/delete it because it is always in use by Windows, you may be able to boot to Dos (hit F8 during startup) and delete it from there, or boot from a floppy and go to the C: drive and try deleting it.