CCleaner is not clearing Firefox history (scheduled task at start-up)

[KurtCarmody]

Hi,

I'm running CCleaner v5.55.7108 on Windows 7 Pro.
It runs on Windows start-up, as a scheduled task: "C:\Program Files\CCleaner\CCleaner.exe" /AUTO
Windows Task Scheduler indicates that it always completes without error.

But the Firefox history is not being cleared.
My Firefox is not synced.

 

This is becoming very inconvenient as we use a shared PC at home,  and my family & other housemates don't wish to share their browsing history.

thanks in advance for your support,

regards
Kurt

 

[Andavari]

Perhaps try the newest version 5.56.7144:
https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds

Note that the newest version is still getting some bug reports about it not cleaning cookies, etc., and the version you're using also has the same issue.

[nukecad]

Or you could simply set Firefox to delete history on closing.

Options>Privacy & Security, scroll down to History. Check 'Clear history when Firefox closes' then click on 'settings' to further define just what should get cleared.

[KurtCarmody]

Thanks - I will try the latest version, although I've upgraded already to try and fix this issue, so not that hopeful.

I hadn't considered changing the Firefox closure settings. I'll investigate that, if the new CC version still doesn't work.

It's surprising to me how hard it is for the CC folk to fix this. Is the Firefox team purposely making it difficult for 3rd party programs to clean their browser?

[Andavari]

They're always chasing (one step behind) changes in web browsers, for years it's usually been Google Chrome that has the most posts about it not being cleaned. But nowadays that also includes Edge, Firefox, etc.

Like nukecad suggested you can configure any browser to cleanse itself during exit.

[nukecad]

If you have multiple users using one PC you should also consider setting up a seperate user account for each person, each with it's own username and password.

That way all their settings, histories, etc. are kept seperate and can only be seen by that user or an administrator account.
You usually give them a 'Standard' account so they can't access adminitration tasks or settings.
(If you allow visitors to use your computer then you would usually also set up a 'Guest' account with minimal permissions and no password).

It's simple to do, here's an easy guide for Win7:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/create-new-user-account-in-windows-vista-7/

And how to enable (turn on) the guest account:
https://www.lifewire.com/guest-accounts-in-windows-7-3506926

[KurtCarmody]

You're right on that point about multiple users requiring separate user accounts. This issue has just grown (organically) over recent months, but now needs to be dealt with.

Anyway,  that new CC version, on its first run, has cleaned Firefox history. Let's see how that goes.

 

[nukecad]

Of course if you set up mutiple user accounts then you will need CCleaner pro to clean them all at the same time.

CCleaner Free can only clear the one logged in account.

[KurtCarmody]

OK, thanks for the heads-up. Separate user accounts is still probably the right way forward, though.

FYI, v5.56.7144 did not clear Firefox history or cache this morning, so the problem (for me, anyway) persists.
It does work fine when I run it manually. So it's as if Firefox is unavailable to CC when the machine boots, rather than CC is unable to clean the right areas.

Anyway, I'll head off to configure the browser setting/