20 replies to this topic

[samee]

hi my name is samee, i have the latest version of ccleaner i have adjusted the settings to secure 7 passes to erase the data securely. i have scanned my pc and it found a lot of junk files then i ran ccleaner to remove the junk files and then after the process was done i ran a software which recovers deleted file, believe it or not the recovery software has detected the delected data deleted by ccleaner and i was using the secure 7 passess to erase the data securely. therefore i do think that ccleaner does not securely erase the data. the recovery software i used was file recoverer from the pc tools.com website yes that software that i have used is also upto date.

why does ccleaner do 7 passes and not remove the data securely???????????????????????????????

[TheFiresInTheSky]

thats interesting.
what program do you use to recover the files?
and i think it just re-writes over the deleted files 7 times.

[Eldmannen]

It rewrites over the data 7 times with pseudo-random data. The filename will still not be gone. So the application you use finds the filenames, but I don't think you are able to recover them.

Might want to check into Eraser, a software dedicated for secure removal of files.
* http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

[samee]

also even formating and scanning the drive with file recoverer does not find the delected files, and does formating erase the data securely.

[TheFiresInTheSky]

are you saying that now it doesnt find the files?

[TheFiresInTheSky]

im pretty sure that program is finding them in system restore.
"C:\system volume information" is where it showed the files.

[samee]

where is the system restore folder.
also ccleaner does not scan for compressed files and does anybody know where the compressed files are kept.
thanks sam

[JDPower]

samee, on Jul 26 2006, 10:58 AM, said:

where is the system restore folder.
also ccleaner does not scan for compressed files and does anybody know where the compressed files are kept.
thanks sam

Why do you want it to scan for compressed files, CCleaner cleans junk files, compressed files are generally not junk. Can you be a little clearer about what you are trying to do, your posts are a little confusing?

[TheFiresInTheSky]

the system restore points and files are stored at C:\system volume information.
you CANNOT access this folder and it always shows this folder as being empty but its not.
if you want to truely edit:clean your computer, right click on my computer then click on properties.
click the system restore tab.
check turn off system restore then click apply.
that deletes all of the points that are made.
just re-enable it and click apply.
then go to start>programs>accessories>system tools>system restore.
make a new point right after you do that.
I DONT ADVISE DOING ANY OF THIS BECAUSE YOU WONT BE ABLE TO SEND YOUR COMPUTER BACK TO AN EARLIER DATE!

[JDPower]

neighberaaron, on Jul 26 2006, 10:23 PM, said:

the system restore points and files are stored at C:\system volume information.
you CANNOT access this folder and it always shows this folder as being empty but its not.
if you want to truely erase your computer, right click on my computer then click on properties.
click the system restore tab.
check turn off system restore then click apply.
that deletes all of the points that are made.
just re-enable it and click apply.

Alternatively go to Start>All Programs>Accessories>Disk Cleanup then under the 'More options' tab in disk cleanup you can click clean up in the system restore section to remove all but the most recent checkpoint. (BTW this removes restore points, it doesn't "erase your computer" )

neighberaaron, on Jul 26 2006, 10:23 PM, said:

then go to start>programs>accessories>system tools>system restore.
make a new point right after you do that.

Don't think thats necessary, I'm pretty sure a new restore point is created automatically when you turn system restore back on.

[samee]

can anybody tell me where then Compressed folder is located on my hdd i dont want to run disk clean up but just want to track where the folder is and what is located in that folder.

[TheFiresInTheSky]

Quote

can anybody tell me where then Compressed folder is located on my hdd i dont want to run disk clean up but just want to track where the folder is and what is located in that folder.

C:\system volume information
you cant access it though.

[JDPower]

samee, on Jul 27 2006, 02:14 PM, said:

can anybody tell me where then Compressed folder is located on my hdd i dont want to run disk clean up but just want to track where the folder is and what is located in that folder.

Now I understand, you mean the 'Compress old files' in disk cleanup. There is not one individual folder as the files are old files all over the disk (they are not moved to a compressed folder, they are compressed where they are). If you've got an NTFS formatted hard disk you can tell what files are compressed as the file name turns blue (if they are not go to Control Panel>Folder Options and under the 'View' tab tick the box 'Show compressed NTFS files in color').

A quick Google found this, may help you understand:

Quote

This feature is available in Windows 2000 and XP, but exclusively on NTFS-formatted drives. To find it in XP, select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup in Windows 2000). It compresses files older than 50 days. If you need the extra disk space, compressing old files is a good idea.

The compressed files are still accessible--Windows decompresses them on the fly when you open them--but they may take a little longer to open. You can tell a file is compressed because its file name is blue in Windows Explorer.

Is compressing files safe? The technology has been around for about a decade now, and it's well supported by utilities, so yes, it's probably safe.

Whenever you want to return a compressed file to its uncompressed state, right-click it and select Properties. Click the Advanced button, uncheck Compress contents to save disk space, and click OK.

[johnsnepal]

Eldmannen, on Jul 23 2006, 06:51 AM, said:

It rewrites over the data 7 times with pseudo-random data. The filename will still not be gone. So the application you use finds the filenames, but I don't think you are able to recover them.

Might want to check into Eraser, a software dedicated for secure removal of files.
* http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

So are we saying that we are not really sure about this if we have to use Eraser? Does the manufacturer have any comments? Would CCleaner withstand a forensics scan using Ensure, which US border agents now use?

[JDPower]

johnsnepal, on Jul 28 2006, 03:42 PM, said:

So are we saying that we are not really sure about this if we have to use Eraser? Does the manufacturer have any comments? Would CCleaner withstand a forensics scan using Ensure, which US border agents now use?

Its quite simple, CCleaner overwrites 1, 3 or 7 times. Eraser overwrites 1, 3, 7 or 35 times. Your choice, 7 passes is plenty secure enough for the average user. If you're worried about withstanding a forensics scan then I suggest this is the least of your worries.

[Eldmannen]

johnsnepal, on Jul 28 2006, 02:42 PM, said:

So are we saying that we are not really sure about this if we have to use Eraser? Does the manufacturer have any comments? Would CCleaner withstand a forensics scan using Ensure, which US border agents now use?

CCleaner wasn't originally designed for secure deletion. It was designed to clean out old crap (CCleaner = Crap Cleaner). Later the secure deletion feature was added but it is a recent addition and should be considered a bonus feature.
Eraser on the other hand, was crafted and dedicated solely for the purpose of secure file deletion. Its developers and userbase is people interested secure file deletion. Since it is open source, its probably been inspected by several people to make sure the secure deletion implemention works good.

If you interested in file wiping, you might want to read;
* http://en.wikipedia....iki/File_wiping
* http://en.wikipedia..../Data_remanence

[TheFiresInTheSky]

i think they want to get rid of their history of where they've been on the net.
if so, theres no way to get out of that.
all your viewed pages also go to some base thing and are saved in other locations too.

[jamesreh]

samee, on Jul 22 2006, 10:45 AM, said:

hi my name is samee, i have the latest version of ccleaner i have adjusted the settings to secure 7 passes to erase the data securely. i have scanned my pc and it found a lot of junk files then i ran ccleaner to remove the junk files and then after the process was done i ran a software which recovers deleted file, believe it or not the recovery software has detected the delected data deleted by ccleaner and i was using the secure 7 passess to erase the data securely. therefore i do think that ccleaner does not securely erase the data. the recovery software i used was file recoverer from the pc tools.com website yes that software that i have used is also upto date.

why does ccleaner do 7 passes and not remove the data securely???????????????????????????????

[
////////////////////////////////////// ATTENTION \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
CCleaner ONLY overwrites 1, 3 or 7 times The custom file and folders!!!! I used the restoration 3.2.13 recovery program and restored all other files very easly. jamesreh.

[TheFiresInTheSky]

CC isnt meant to shread files so they cant be recovered.
it just cleans out the crap, making your PC run faster and better.

[jamesreh]

Eldmannen, on Jul 23 2006, 01:21 AM, said:

It rewrites over the data 7 times with pseudo-random data. The filename will still not be gone. So the application you use finds the filenames, but I don't think you are able to recover them.

Might want to check into Eraser, a software dedicated for secure removal of files.
* http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

////////////////////////////////////// ATTENTION \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
CCleaner ONLY overwrites 1, 3 or 7 times The custom file and folders!!!! I used the restoration 3.2.13 recovery program and restored all other files very easly. jamesreh.