Stop Microsoft
Miscellaneous => Applications => Topic started by: Plasticman on 25 February 2004, 15:10
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Hi guys, intresting site, i am a new user here and it has really opened my eyes, i have always known that Windows stored personal data out of the reach of the masses but just recently i have become so incensed with the amount of errors and hangups IE has that i had to do something.
That's when i found "Microsoft's Really Hidden Files" by The Riddler unfortunately this covers IE5 so when I tried it i run into a wall ( can anyone point me in the right direction to delete them from IE6 ). So i landed in here, thankfully.
Anyway i am thinking of changing to Firefox or Mozilla, I not an illiterate comp user but also not an expert by far. I just need something reliable that won't die every 20 mins and is not as vulnerable, I'll welcome all input from anybody with a valid opinion.
And the burning question, will changing my Browser stop windows from logging ALL of my internet activity and personal info?
Oh yes i am an XP ( the bane of my computing life ) user for those of you that wants to know,
Thanks for any input in advance.
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That's a though one. I personally like Mozilla better, because it looks so much like Netscape, which is the shit (well, used to be, Netscape sucks now-days).
Firebird got some fixes Mozilla doesn't have, like not showing a WMV file as ASCII.
I guess you should try Mozilla first, because it's at version 1.6 (which is stable) while Firefox is at version 0.8 (which means not finished).
If you find Mozilla too hard, try Firefox.
About the e-mail:
Mozilla got a built-in Mail client.
Thunderbird is a stand-alone mail application, which you should use in combination with Firefox.
[ February 25, 2004: Message edited by: Refalm ]
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Thanks Refalm looks like i'll take your advice and go for Mozilla, one question though will Mozilla stop logging info in the Really hidden files? or will i still have to continually purge this from my system while using Mozilla.
And has anybody got any ideas on getting rid of the Really hidden files i have accumulated from from IE6, i am not generally a DOS user but i can find my way around when i need to.
All my DOS knowledge has seeped from my brain since School and college...
Oh yes i also use ICQ, and Yahoo messengers will changing my browser affect any of these ?
[ February 25, 2004: Message edited by: Plasticman ]
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quote:
Plasticman: Thanks Refalm looks like i'll take your advice and go for Mozilla, one question though will Mozilla stop logging info in the Really hidden files? or will i still have to continually purge this from my system while using Mozilla.
And has anybody got any ideas on getting rid of the Really hidden files i have accumulated from from IE6, i am not generally a DOS user but i can find my way around when i need to.
All my DOS knowledge has seeped from my brain since School and college...
Oh yes i also use ICQ, and Yahoo messengers will changing my browser affect any of these ?
Mozilla saves their cache in "C:\Documents and Settings\%UserName\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\%RandomNumber.slt\Cache".
Once you made Mozilla your default browser, any links opened in ICQ and Y!IM will be opened by Mozilla.
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Thanks
I still need some answers on my other stuff.
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quote:
Plasticman: I still need some answers on my other stuff.
This website help you ;)
http://www.microsuck.com/content/ms-hidden-files.shtml (http://www.microsuck.com/content/ms-hidden-files.shtml)
http://faq.belg88.com/index.php?op=view&t=74 (http://faq.belg88.com/index.php?op=view&t=74)
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I have been using firefox on my mac and pc(wnxp) for a few weeks now and it is great. It seems to render pages faster then other web browsers, especially ie.
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Mozilla. Forget about that 1.6 crap, download the nightly build. I use 1.7a from a few weeks ago. It is totally stable. I've been getting a brand new version of Mozilla every month for about a year or so, and it has only crashed 4 times. 3 times when using Y!IM to open Mozilla and go directly to my email, which turned out to be Y!IM's fault, and once when I tried to install the DirectX plugin, which so wasn't worth the hassle. Make sure to get the Quicktime and Flash plugins (easy as pie), and you can view just about anything.
One problem, though: installing the java plugin is kinda hostile. If you install it as administrator, other users won't be able to see it. But other users can't install! Damn windows! Workaround - make yourself a member of the administrators group temporarily.
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Refalm>>
If i install PurgeIE Pro will it clean my system in the same methodical way that The riddlers manual instructions will? if so i will use the evaluation version and then revert to Mozilla and i will be able to clean all my cache from here:
C:\Documents and Settings\%UserName\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\%RandomNumber.slt\Cache
So basically Mozilla will not store ANY informatoin in the really hidden files destination, as i don't want to be running The Riddlers solution every couple of weeks?
worker201>> sounds great, better to crash 4 times a year than 4 times a day..
Thanks for your patience guys, i owe you one.
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quote:
Plasticman: If i install PurgeIE Pro will it clean my system in the same methodical way that The riddlers manual instructions will? if so i will use the evaluation version and then revert to Mozilla and i will be able to clean all my cache from here:
C:\Documents and Settings\%UserName\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\%RandomNumber.slt\Cache
So basically Mozilla will not store ANY informatoin in the really hidden files destination, as i don't want to be running The Riddlers solution every couple of weeks?
I'd say use both. PurgeIE won't clean out all the hidden files.
As for Mozilla, it's better to hit the "Delete Buffer" button in Mozilla, or to click on the "Privacy" button in Firefox's control panel, where you can delete buffer (cache), automatic forms, history, download history, etc.
If you're really paranoid then you might think about the possibility to clear the cache directory.
Also, what The Riddler forgot to tell you: In Windows XP, it's a pretty good idea to clear the "C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch" directory once a week (not every day, because it can cause Windows to act weird).
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quote:
installing the java plugin is kinda hostile
That's not really true on a Windoze system. If you have the Java 2 Runtime Environment ( http://java.sun.com (http://java.sun.com) ) installed, all you have to do is go through the control panel, there should be a Java Plug-In option. Go through that, and It'll ask what browsers you want to install the plug-in for. If you installed Mozilla, it'll be there ;)
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Like I said before, tho, root has to install J2RE, but J2RE doesn't install for all users. I thought I was doing something wrong when I couldnt use Java as non-root. J2RE has to be separately installed for all users, and if you don't know this it can be very confusing. That's all I am saying. It's not difficult, just potentially confusing.
Listen to me: root? On windows, they're called administrators! Guess I been Linuxing too long.
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worker201: Like I said before, tho, root has to install J2RE, but J2RE doesn't install for all users. I thought I was doing something wrong when I couldnt use Java as non-root. J2RE has to be separately installed for all users, and if you don't know this it can be very confusing. That's all I am saying. It's not difficult, just potentially confusing.
Listen to me: root? On windows, they're called administrators! Guess I been Linuxing too long.
Normal accounts are a part of the administrator group (which is standard on a computer without Active Directory/Domains).
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My XP box at work has been customized, regular users are in the users group, and only administrator is in administrators group. More "secure", but infuriating when it comes to software installation.
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Best way to run Mozilla on a Windows box:
http://www.knoppix.org/ (http://www.knoppix.org/)
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maybe the wrong place to post, and sorry to hijack another's topic....but concerning his question about other means to remove the hidden files....could you use Knoppix to find and remove them on a Win98 system??? Just curious. So far, I haven't been able to locate them that way...but I have shit for brains
:eek: