[Air-l] [cc]Microsoft's really hidden files

[jeremy hunsinger]

>
>
>One of Holland's leading magazines on "freedom, rights and rules/law" on the
>internet reports about Windows and Internet Explorer keeping invisible files
>containing ALL the URLs of the sites you've EVER visited whether you had IE
>clean up or not, and Outlook keeping similar invisible copies of EVERY e-mail
>and attachment EVER sent or received on your computer.
>
>It goes without saying that this is a serious security breach on your system,
>never mind what the spooks can find on your computer by using the
>not-so-secret-anymore embedded *cough*NSA*cough* key in Windows.
>
>For those who can read Dutch go here:
>
>http://www.netkwesties.nl/editie19/artikel1.html
>
>The English article on which they base their story/inquiry is here:
>
>http://fuckmicrosoft.com/content/ms-hidden-files.shtml
>
>Two programs that apparently DO clean up whatever Microsoft chooses to store
>away without your knowledge are here:
>
>http://www.anonymizer.com/washer40/washer40_desc.shtml
>
>http://www.aandrc.com/purgeie/
>
>Summary of the English article found on the URL mentioned above:
>
>There are folders on your computer that Microsoft has tried hard to keep
>secret. Within these folders you will find two major things: Microsoft
>Internet Explorer has been logging all of the sites you have ever visited --
>even after you've cleared your cache, and Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook
>Express has been logging all of your e-mail correspondence -- even after
>you've erased them from your trash bin. (This also includes all incoming and
>outgoing e-mail attachments.) And believe me, that's not even the half of it.
>
>When I say these files are hidden well, I really mean it. If you don't have
>any knowledge of DOS, then don't plan on finding these files on your own. I
>say this because some of these files/folders won't be displayed in Windows
>Explorer at all -- only DOS. (Even after you have enabled Windows Explorer to
>"view all files.") And to top it off, the only way to find them in DOS is if
>you knew the exact location of them. Basically, what I'm saying is if you
>didn't know the files existed, then the chances of you running across them is
>slim to slimmer.
>
>To give you an example of how sneaky this is, there are some hidden folders
>that may contain your name, address, phone, all the sites you've visited,
>every single e-mail you've sent/received, every attachment you've ever sent/
>received, everything you've searched for in a search engine, every filename
>you've downloaded, names of documents containing "sensitive" information,
>copies of all your cookies, full readable e-mail from your hotmail account,
>your PGP keys, and more.
>
>Funny that Microsoft would make no mention of this on microsoft.com.
>
>--
>The Cyberculture, Identity and Gender Resources
>==> http://fragment.nl/resources/
>
>
>
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Jeremy Hunsinger          	http://www.cddc.vt.edu
Instructor of Political Science	Center for Digital Discourse and Culture
Webmaster/Manager CDDC
526 Major Williams Hall 0130	http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy --my homepage
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