Saturday, June 24, 2006

Removing the Deadwood


As we use our computer, temporary files build up. In some ways, this can be good for those with a slow Internet connection. However, malware has been known to nest in various temporary locations. Although such a cleanup can be done manually, as described below, there are a couple of software programs that make it much easier to remove the deadwood.

A software that works well for Windows 2000 and Windows XP is ATF CLeaner by Atribune. Instructions for using ATF Cleaner:
    Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
    Under Main choose: Select All
    Click the Empty Selected button.
If you use Firefox browser
    Click Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
    Click the Empty Selected button.
    NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
If you use Opera browser
    Click Opera at the top and choose: Select All
    Click the Empty Selected button.
    NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.
For Technical Support, double-click the e-mail address located at the bottom of each menu.


Another popular software is CCleaner. You can download CCleaner from this direct link: http://www.ccleaner.com/downloadbin.asp?f=2 .

Clean Temporary Internet files with CCleaner as follows:

  • Close all open programs, including Internet Explorer, Fire Fox and any instances of Windows Explorer.
  • Launch CCleaner and under Options > Advanced > UNcheck "Only delete files in Windows Temp folder older than 48 hours".
  • A pop up box will appear advising this process will permanently delete files from your system.
  • To protect logon cookies that you wish to retain, under Options > Cookies. Select and using the arrow move those cookies to the "Cookies to keep" column.
  • Then select the items you wish to clean up.
  • In the Windows Tab:
    • Clean all entries in the "Internet Explorer" section.
    • Clean all the entries in the "Windows Explorer" section.
    • Clean all entries in the "System" section except Windows Log Files.
  • In the Applications Tab:
    • Clean all in the Firefox/Mozilla section if you use it.
    • Clean all in the Opera section if you use it.
    • Clean Sun Java in the Internet Section.
    • If you need assistance with a malware infection, please UNcheck "Utilities" (i.e., Ad-Aware, ewido and other security program logs.)
  • Click the "Run Cleaner" button and it will scan and clean your system.
  • Click exit.

To manually clean the temporary internet files, do the following:
  • Quit Internet Explorer and quit any instances of Windows Explorer.
  • Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Internet Options.
  • On the General tab, click Delete Files under Temporary Internet Files.
  • In the Delete Files dialog box, tick the Delete all offline content check box , and then click OK.
  • Click on the Programs tab then click the Reset Web Settings button. Click Apply then OK.
  • Click OK.
Empty the Recycle Bin by right-clicking the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop, and then clicking Empty Recycle Bin.

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