A part of a computer that keeps history even when erased in history menus?

Question

My I.C.T teacher recently told us in a lesson that in a computer, there is one area that cannot be erased, and everything you do and access is there. He also said that the only way to clear this part is to completely empty and reset your computer, returning it to how it would be when bought. Is this true? If so, what is the name of this part? Can it be accessed easily? I'm going to have more virus protection updates installed by a family friend soon, and although I actually don't have anything to hide, I don't want him to be able to go through everything I've done when he feels a little bored and a quick rummage through my history takes his fancy. -.-

Answer 1

It can be accessed and rewrote so all information is deleted. Any .dat files can store information about where and what you do. They can be erased and then rewrote but special programs are needed. The .dat files can not be erased or deleted after Windows has accessed them. To delete or erase the information they contain you need a program that creates a .bat file to run at startup before Windows has accessed them to clean them.
One program I know of is FREE and is called Index .dat Suite. Seems to be an OK program, it can allow you to visually see what sites a person has been to even after they THINK they have deleted all the history and cookies. I use it sometimes just to help make the .dat files smaller and seems like the computer runs faster to me, probably not and just my imagination, lol.
There are different .dat files located on the computer and each is for something different, such as internet history or files you may have opened up.

Ccleaner claims to have a .dat files eraser but I have tried it and then ran Index .dat Suite and the web sites were still there, so it is of little use to actually remove any information in the .dat files.
Virus programs have nothing to do with this information. You could have all the anti virus software you want and it will still not change how or what is in the .dat files cause they are files that anti virus programs DO NOT scan. The .dat files are wrote in a different code or language than what the anti virus programs are searching for.

Oh just for the extra "TOLD YA SO" credit tell your I.C. teacher or better yet show him after you become familiar with the program.

Answer 2

Not exactly...even if you "reset" the computer back to when you purchased it, it does not erase anything. It would be possible but difficult to directly access the disc and view files that have not been written over. CCleaner is an advanced program that will delete all traces of your online activites for free (though possible to recover directly from the disc, but very difficult).

I will show you have to recover deleted history.

The easy and quick way to restore file and activity History is the System Restore feature. Since much history is saved into the Windows Registry, restoring it to a previous state will restore file and program History. Revert your computer back to the desired date and enjoy restored History.

If a user has used eraser track programs such as Ad-aware or Spybot, this method will not work and you will need to access the lesser known log files that Windows keeps (the "index.dat" files). Search for "index.dat" on your computer, you will need to download Super WinSpy to view them.

If a user has used advanced tools to erase usage tracks, program logs, registry history and the index.dat files, restore is more difficult. Try using a disk editor to directly access hard disk sectors.

Answer 3

when something is deleted (you drag it to the recycle bin and empty it out) it actually truly isn't. in fact, anything that you delete using this normal method can easy be brought right back using some programs you can find with a quick google search.


when you delete something, you are basically telling the computer that it can overwrite that section of data and put something else upon it (kind of like recycling it...). if you happen to delete something, and that section of data has not been "recycled" yet, a program can easily resurrect these files...

even if you were to drag and drop everything to the recycle bin, it would not matter...

try using the program at www.ccleaner.com to get rid of you personal info that happens to be stored on cookies, or on your web browser, etc.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1139&page=1
try reading some things over there and enlighten your self a bit more

Answer 4

Everything is stored somewhere on the hard drive. Without serious technical experience, you can't access it. This is why when you get rid of a computer you should literally smash the hard drive to smithereens - just wiping it is a waste of time.

Answer 5

There are parts of the Registry that log your activity - not just your browsing, but the applications you have run, how many times you ran them, etc. You can't get to all of them unless you are an administrator and know where to look. But there is an application called CCleaner that will clean up most of these areas of the registry for you.

Answer 6

Threes history and threes cache.

To delete cache go to:

Internet Explorer
Tools
Internet Options
Delete files
Delete all offline files
Delete cookies

Hopfully that works

Answer 7

dont know where the file is at but i do know that when you delete something it really isnt deleted until windows needs that space for something else