BIOS: Technology Means Business

Anyone who uses the Internet is increasingly vulnerable to privacy invasions unless you take steps to protect yourself and your computer's data. Window Washer 5.0 from Webroot Software is just one of many solutions that attempts to remove files placed on your computer without you being aware of them, such as cookies, recently-used file lists and temporary files. Also, when combined, many small files like these can take up a lot of space on your hard disk and reduce your system's overall performance. Window Washer 5.0 deletes all these files and provides autocomplete and stored-password controls to help eliminate excess files and data tracking on a wide range of programs, including Web browsers, which will help you to take effective steps toward protecting your personal privacy and the privacy of data on your computer. Unfortunately, there are no tools to protect your integrity against snoopers when you're online by camouflaging your IP address, reject ActiveX objects, JavaScript and pop-up windows, or password protect your Internet Bookmarks and Favorites.

Pros: Schedule automatic cleaning cycles; preserve cookies
Cons: Few tools to protect your identity when you're online

Window Washer is an easy-to-use and relatively effective software application that helps to protect your privacy when online and improve your computer's performance by removing unwanted information and files from your hard disk, including cache, cookies, history and recent documents lists. Window Washer also includes a 'bleach' function that wipes files from your hard disk by overwriting areas of the hard disk where they are stored, which should help to make files unrecoverable by undelete or un-erase utilities.

Built-in safety features prevent you from accidentally removing important files and you can save valuable cookies to maintain your preferred Internet settings and log-ins. Window Washer 5.0 can also automatically discover and install free plug-ins for around 150 of the most popular applications, such as KaZaa, Real Player and Adobe's Acrobat.

Upon installation, Window Washer 5.0 presents you with the option of running the software in either Basic or Advanced user interfaces. The Basic interface presents simple wash functions that let you remove unwanted files and information from your system. Designed for new computer users who want to protect their privacy, but who are new to using Windows, the Basic interface leaves out more in-depth options, such as Cookies and Plug-ins.

The Advanced user interface provides all of the basic wash functions as well as more advanced functions to give you better control over how Window Washer washes your computer. However, you needn't worry about making the wrong selection because you can change back and forth between the user interfaces by clicking either Basic or Advanced at the top of the Window Washer main window.

The software's main window lets you change your wash settings, create customised settings, and run a Wash. By default, Window Washer is configured to remove basic settings, such as Internet Explorer's address bar history and cookies' list, as well as Windows' document history, find/search history and temp folder. More advanced options allow you to wash Windows XP's Memory Dump Files (deletes the memory dump files that Windows creates when you receive certain Windows errors), Registry Streams (deletes information about recent changes made to the Windows registry) and Paging (Swap) files (clears the paging file that Windows uses to store parts of programs and files that do not fit into memory).

Other key features of the software include the ability to schedule automatic cleaning cycles at specified intervals, during shut down or start-up. There's also a built-in file shredder utility that adds an option to securely remove a document from Windows' right-click menu, eliminating the need to open Window Washer and perform a full wash when you just want to delete and overwrite a single file.

Links:
Window Washer Web site
Window Washer trial (2.6MB)