Microsofts REALLY Hidden Files

Lobber · Post by **Lobber** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:06 am

I didn't know this

http://www.microsuck.com/content/ms-hidden-files.shtml

really hidden files, not visible even after you use "DISPLAY HIDDEN FILES" in Explorer

Every website URL is saved there, as well as email from Outlook, and all attachments.

Clearing your browser history and cookies does NOT erase this data.

Admiral LSD · Post by **Admiral LSD** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 12:56 pm

*yawn*

I've known about them for a while just never been bothered doing anything about them.

Mobius · Post by **Mobius** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:24 pm

That's why I *never* look at dodgey sites or do anything which might contravene our "acceptable use" pc policy here at work.

Top Wop · Post by **Top Wop** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:22 pm

This is Microsoft, is this really much of a surprise?

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:26 pm

Admiral LSD wrote:*yawn*

x2

Jeff250 · Post by **Jeff250** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:29 pm

Go to the command prompt, and, at the c:\ root, type in:
dir /s /ads

There's your dumb hidden directories. Look through every single one of them, and then tell me when you find your credit card information being sent to Microsoft.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 5:37 pm

Admiral LSD wrote:*yawn*

I've known about them for a while just never been bothered doing anything about them.

x3

Seriously, you're just NOW finding out about this Lobber? This has been well known for years now. Not that I give a rats ass since nobody in this house even USES any microsoft product other than windows and office. What, should I be worried that some microsoft employee might show up at my front door with printouts of some hidden pornographic picture that was stashed away in one of those "hidden" files?

Seriously, if you're that damn paranoid, do the world a favor and just send your computer back to where you got it from.

AceCombat · Post by **AceCombat** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 6:00 pm

interesting stuff......just reclaimed about 2GB of HD Space

Mr. Perfect · Post by **Mr. Perfect** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 7:45 pm

You don't have to be paranoid to benefit from that information. If we can all reclaim about 2 gigs of drive room then it's pretty damn usefull, if you ask me.

Jeff250 wrote:Go to the command prompt, and, at the c:\ root, type in:
dir /s /ads.

Well that definatly takes up more than one command window.

Jeff250 · Post by **Jeff250** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:18 pm

Right, the point being that the "super-uber-secret" directories are really what people in the know refer to as "system" directories and are used all the time-- hardly exclusive to "Microsuck"'s sensational story. Plus they're easy to find if you know how to use "dir."

Oh, BTW kids, here's my index.dat after clearing my cache for anyone who wants to hax0r me or whatever it's supposed to do:
index.dat

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:21 pm

Hooray for sensationalism! It's a byproduct of integrating the History and Temp Internet Files folders into the shell using a special view, much like the Fonts folder.

Lobber · Post by **Lobber** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:52 pm

Lobber wrote:I didn't know this

In case you missed it, I stated at the very beginning why I was posting my discovery.

DUH.

Ned · Post by **Ned** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:09 pm

Yeah, I found this a while back, when I had a dual boot system with SuSe Linux.

There was crap I had surfed a LONG time ago in there, unseeable by any normal means other than using text editors in linux (Im not into HEX utilities, although I used to use them when I was a geek 20 yrs ago).

I'm not as computer savy as most here, but I have to say the fact that IE says "Erase history" or "clear all cache files" and then absolutely does not, really offends me. Everyone assumes it's porn, but imagine a hypothetical:
your wife doesn't feel well
you go to a doc
you are told it's very advanced cancer, 1 mo to live
you try to research cancer on the web, PRIVATELY
she finds out, etc.

let's not debate "you should tell her" Im just saying MS is not commited to user control or privacy at all, and that's offensive.

The Microsoft "Road Ahead" is a good article and he thoroughly cites references:
http://www.aaxnet.com/editor/edit029.html#mspath

I know some like MS, just not me. NO bitternes that SP2 crashed my PC either (the .mpg preview bug in DEP module).

Does anyone know how linux is coming along? I havent done it in a while. Wireless and some other stuff was too confusing.

N

Jeff250 · Post by **Jeff250** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:13 pm

All of my cache clears, so I can't begin to speculate as to why you would experience a problem, but I don't think you have to worry about your wife discovering she has cancer. I mean, on one hand these directories are supposedly so secretly hidden that even you can't find them, yet on the other they're so apparently obvious that your wife will accidently stumble upon them?

Ned · Post by **Ned** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:06 am

Jeff,

Good point, and it occured to me later. But if we can't see them, who does? This stuff isn't written by accident. Well, maybe it is, geez look at early PnP support: pathetic.

Actually, one of the Windows (98 or ME?) makes a lot of easy to find cookie duplicates in another folder which don't delete via IE menus. In that case, they are both a potential for family conflict AND easy to find.

MS? They should be selling stuff, not getting free privacy and habit based marketing info from me.

Anyhow, my main point is MS lies.

The "Delete all offline content" button is a flat out lie in early versions. Why do they feel the need to lie to their customers? What is the motivation? Better marketing, better spying, targeted ads just to me? There was the NSAkey controversy. What ever came of that?

I'm not sure why they do it. Thank god for the Melon, Dupont, Microsoft model: overcharge for mediocre products, amass a fortune, give some away and look heroic. Isn't it amazing it never occured to them just to give out slightly better salaries in the first place or reduce prices.

Admiral LSD · Post by **Admiral LSD** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 2:03 am

Ned wrote:overcharge for mediocre products, amass a fortune...slightly better salaries in the first place or reduce prices.

Welcome to capitalism, where these two concepts are mutually exclusive.

Jeff250 · Post by **Jeff250** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 3:47 pm

I doubt that Microsoft intended for temporary files to have not been deleted in such scenarios. So, likewise, I think it's a stretch to be demanding why Microsoft was lying.

The fact that not everyone experiences the problem suggests that there is a third variable at work-- possibly having upgraded IE, using an older OS, using registry cleaners, etc.

Here are some references I've found:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.as ... -us;843624
http://support.microsoft.com/default.as ... -us;843624

fliptw · Post by **fliptw** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:27 pm

IE has had problems with its cache maitence procedures since IE3. it might have improved in the last couple of service packs. google for CacheSentry.

Ned · Post by **Ned** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:58 pm

Yeah, I am talkin older stuff mainly, and it may be accidental. My 'secret files' had bits and pieces, not everything I had ever done. But c'mon competition would give us great products, but eveytime it pops up, strange things happen

I use Firefox now

I wish linux would get their shizzle together. From what I hear 3rd world contries are deploying it like crazy

Microsofts REALLY Hidden Files

Microsofts REALLY Hidden Files

Re: Microsofts REALLY Hidden Files

I CAN USE THE SUBJECT LINE!