NSClean 8.00 offers the full spectrum of features to maximize your privacy and security when using allcurrtnly available versions of Netscape, Mozilla or Mozilla Firebox/Thunderbird. It allows you to securely (unrecoverably) remove sensitve data that the browser maintains on your computer, as well as enhance your online privacy by allowing you to control your online identity, block http referrer information that could potentially be used to track your movements around the Internet.

Browser management including secure deletions are of greater importance for businesses where privacy rights are mandated by law, such as medical services. NSClean (and IEClean afor Internet Explorer users) insure sensitive and legally protected information is removed from any computer used to, for example, trasmit medical insurance claims information over the Internet. The mechanisms written into today's browsers to "delete" history an dcache are not secure, leaving open the possibility that the information could be recovered by a sophisticated sleuth.

NSClean was the first program of its kind, and it retains the cookie editing capabilites of its previous versions. This frees the user to accept cookies without cause for concern, enabling full use particularily in sites that use cookies for their internal reference, and for sites that retain subscription information in their cookies. With the editor, cookies such as that can be retained, while all others are deleted after a session. The NSClean 8.00 version allows any saved cookie to be automatically updated, so the user the time no longer needs to resave an updated cookie and destroy an outdated one.

NSClean simplifies turning off Java and Javascript in the browser. This is an important security concern, as Javascript is not blocked from the rest of the system, used on the Net, so it should only be used for the most trusted of sites. There are articles in our Archive that provide detailed information about these rouge scripts, which have been at the root of many major security "bugs" capable of doing severe damage to systems. This version also allows you to block the http referrer, which some folks feel could potentially be used to track movements around the net by developing a chain of URLs visited and then associating them with information gathered by another means, such as a questionnaire form or name/password from an FTP download. There is also an option the block out the Autocomplete function, which saves data used to fill out multiple forms in Netscape browsers and URL entries in all Netscape versions. This is similar to the function available in its sister program, IEClean.

Netscape 6 and higher provides a mysterious "Anonymous tracking" capability according to the "ALL-NS.JS" file which you can find in your Netscape distribution in a subfolder of the binaries included with it. If you search for the file "ALL-NS.JS" and look at the end, you'll find confirmation of its presence. If you check this box in NSClean, NSClean will stop the "Anonymous tracking" from reporting back to AOL's "netscape.com."

NSClean deals with this in two ways - first, it sets the Netscape registry and preferences to utilize the opt-out option and enforces it by removing the data from memory as the site lists are compiled in memory.

NSClean also has the capibility to clean the Most Recently Used (MRU) items from the system, such as Start menu run items, Explorer Streams, Temp folder contents, "My Documents" listings, Real Player and Winamp listings and more. Full documentation is included with the software on these and all of NSCleans features.

This version also allows the user to delete (secured as is with all NSClean deletions) the Windows Clipboard from the traybar menu. This convenient feature can be used at any time, in conjunction with any other software in use.

Access to Full Circle reporting of program crashes and "glitches" can be blocked in NSClean as well. This reporting is one "feature" of the browser that we have received a good amount of feedback about, so we offered this option. By customer request we also included the option to block access to "My shopping" and "My Netscape". There is also the ability to turn off the Netscape start screen ads that appear in Messenger, in much the same manner as the push channels that were once popular. NSClean provides the option of removing the AOL Instant Messenger as well.

In order to assist in speeding up the time required to load pages, an option to force loading and display of text first, while graphics are loading has been added to NSClean.

As in previous versions, there is full control over cleaning of newsgroup information and email sent and received through the browser and/or Thunderbird news/email available. The cleaning of those, as well as the traditional caches, history, URLs, and bookmarks can be secured so they cannot be recovered even with sophisticated file recovery tools.

The NSTSR icon which displays on the traybar will tell you which profile is current, and which mode (real name or alias)it is running in. The TSR can also start the program itself.

NSClean is fully supported by Privacy Software, to the same high standards we established ten years ago with the first NSClean.



IEClean is included in the NSClean Complete license package.

IEClean 6.00 is an advanced, comprehensive package of tools which perform a number of functions to allow you to control your online privacy. It allows you to remove sensitive files from your system to prevent others from viewing them, it allows you control over your online identity, caches, history databases, newsgroups, email, URL window data, the browser's index.dat database files and your start button document history.

IEClean also allows you to control cookies and XML "supercookies", ActiveX, java and javascripts, and allows you to switch off system recognition of Visual Basic scripting if you wish to protect your system from dangerous programs and viruses that could harm your machine. Further, IEClean also can protect you from "Hit logging" invasions of privacy from sites using Microsoft's ActiveChannel technology in IE4 and IE5 as well as a raft of new privacy threats such as the "GUID person tracker," a highly flawed "AutoComplete" feature and a plethora of other security and privacy bugs in IE4 and IE5 from the "cross-frame bug" to the "clipboard bug." Details on the risks can be found in the "PRIVACY" tab documentation of IEClean.

IEClean will automatically protect you from these risks on the internet if you desire without interfering with access to trusted features on corporate intranets. Thus you can protect against the outside without losing the use of features on an internal network. We STRONGLY advise you to always turn off java, script and ActiveX for your protection. They are a SERIOUS security risk. Be aware that some sites depend on using these things and our advice is to forego any site that requires you to accept potentially unsafe downloaded programs such as these. No site, no matter how pretty should be allowed to be so arrogant as to refuse access unless you open up your system to peril. Microsoft's scripts, "java" and ActiveX are dangerous as a little research on the internet will show you.

IEClean is designed to work with Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4 through 6 (Windows XP) with the standard mail and news clients which come with them. IEClean will present slightly different screens depending on which version of Internet Explorer you're using. These different screens are designed to accommodate the different features of each browser without cluttering the screen with functions that may not be available in a particular one. Once configured the way you want it, IEClean allows you to control all of these items with the push of one single "OK" button without inconvenient editing of data unless you wish to make changes to how IEClean is configured. This version makes setup even easier, with a quick default configuration button for each of the screens which require setup. IEClean safety feature won't clean until the configuration is complete, eliminating the possibility of system damage, as well.

IEClean provides the ability to use either your real identity or an alias identity. Using an alias identity online allows you to foil spam since the name a spam site may collect will be useless to them. You also are given the option of using your real name so that you can receive replies to email or news postings. The alias ID feature only works with "Internet Mail and News" or "Outlook Express" which are provided with MSIE. It does not extend to outside newsreaders or mailers such as Microsoft Exchange, Eudora or others. If you use an external newsreader or mailer however, you can leave MSIE using the Alias ID all the time and this prevents sites from identifying you and then spamming you at a later time. For AOL users, the alias will function once you hit the "real" Internet, but will not function within AOL's network. Your AOL screenname is kept in Reston, VA by AOL itself, IEClean can't modify their server.

IEClean allows you to remove all traces of your newsgroup activities when using either "Internet Mail and News" or "Outlook Express" news reader. By default it only wipes out recordings of the actual messages in the newsgroups you've visited and read messages in (yes, the complete text is stored by MSIE - imagine the wasted disk space). You can also configure IEClean to wipe out several ancillary pieces of newsgroup records if you wish to clean out the subscriptions.

IEClean allows you to clean Internet Mail and News or Outlook Express' trash folder of mail you've trashed. You can also have IEClean remove other email folders if you wish by using the "PRIVACY tab" settings to identify other folders you want cleaned up in addition to the default emptying of just the trash folder. You may also clean up to 10 additional folders anywhere in your system. This can be helpful if you use an external mail/news program, and wish to clean it along with your browser files.

IEClean allows you to clear the dreaded "history database" which stores every place you've visited and every filename and picture element you've seen on the web. The history database is particularly vexing in IE4 through IE5.5 as they time and date stamp everything and then save it in separate tracking folders which can identify your activities down to the second you were there along with details of each page seen. These databases are kept locked by Windows and any attempts to manually delete these databases will fail, resulting in an "access denied" error by Windows.

IEClean allows you to clear the URL window in Internet Explorer which shows you the sites you've visited previously. This will prevent others from easily seeing the last 10 to 25 sites you've visited, depending on which version of MSIE you're using.

IEClean allows you to completely control cookies. This button acts upon settings you've made in the cookie editor as to which cookies (if any) you wish to keep. You can accept cookies,destroy all but the cookies you want to keep (such as customized screens, newspaper logins and sites you trust), reject either or both session and persistent cookies (IE5.-5.5 ONLY, IE4 users will be able to block all cookies, not supported by IE3 due to a design limitation in MSIE), destroy all cookies, and control whether you are warned of cookies or not. This version will automatically update and maintain cookies selected to be kept by the user, eliminating the need to go back and resave cookies after a session. Our cookie handling goes far beyond any other product in its flexibility and ease of use.

"XML persistence," otherwise known as "UserData persistence" or "supercookies" were introduced in Internet Explorer 5.0 but didn't work very well. In IE 5.5 and 6, this latest privacy risk is fully functional and has since become a very serious privacy risk as more and more sites find this to be an excellent alternative to cookies as far as the magnitude of data that can be stored and the detail of that data.

"UserData" is designed to allow sites to leave data on your machine which they can then access without any warnings at all. This is something completely different from "cookies." There are no limits on the size of UserData while cookies are generally limited to 2000 bytes or so in size. Microsoft envisions large amounts of data being stored in these areas which is why the hidden structure and location of UserData is built to be as large as the caches (temporary internet files) with four subfolders and an INDEX.DAT file all its own.

"VBS" or "Windows Scripting Host" (WSH) is far and away the single most dangerous security problem in Windows to date. This is the primary mechanism for system intrusions and the spread of viruses. Prior to this version of IEClean, there was no clear cut solution to the problem other than the wholesale destruction of the VBS and WSH capabilities in Windows. To make matters worse though, any time you went to do a windows update, Microsoft would only put the files right back into your system, exposing you once again long after you thought the files were gone forever.

We've come up with a very unique way of dealing with these extremely dangerous mechanisms that have allowed viruses such as Melissa, BubbleBoy, ILOVEYOU, KAKWORM and hundreds more to spread. Instead of removing or disabling the functions, when this box is checked, IEClean will cause Windows to completely forget HOW TO USE THEM. With no files removed or renamed, Microsoft can't put them back and in the rare circumstance where you actually might need to use these functions, all you need to do is uncheck the box for as long as you need to have them enabled, then turn them back off again for safety while you surf.

McAfee's "clinic" and several other online services do use these (a very bad idea but we need to be able to support them) and thus the ability to turn them on when needed. When you check or uncheck this item, you will need to hit SAVE in order to cause the settings to change in Windows. This one feature alone should justify IEClean's price.

Scripting Functions controlled by this button include the following:
HTA - JS - JSE
SCT - SHB - SHS
VBE - VBS - WSC
WSF - WSH

Each of the above is a different specific file extension which invokes the Windows scripting host (WSH) or one of the other scripting hosts (CSCRIPT, JSCRIPT and others) as well as the particularly dangerous HTA (HyperText Application) format which has not been widely exploited YET. HTA is especially dangerous as it's designed to run locally as planted by a website and has absolutely NO security protections whatsoever. Microsoft only recently made detailed information on its use to the public at large on their MSDN site. When Microsoft publishes these "how to's" the trojan and virus makers aren't far behind. HTA will come into prominence very soon. We cover it now.

IEClean allows you to remove your "favorites" (bookmarks) and reset your "favorites" to a state of emptiness. It is highly unlikely that many people will want to wipe out their favorites, but the option is provided for those who wish to. Since "favorites" can be easily edited within Internet Explorer, we have not wasted effort on a favorites editor in IEClean. There's no need for it.

IEClean allows you to clean up the caches and cache databases which actually store every single file that has been sent to your machine on the web. While cached data can be handy in saving some download time, it eats up an enormous amount of your hard drive's space. Thus you can recover a lot of wasted hard disk space by removing the cache data if you decide to let IEClean do so. In order to provide the maximum protection, it is recommended that you select both Caches and history databases when you go to do a cleanup since both may share common information as a result of Microsoft's design.

IEClean allows you to remove downloaded files which appear in the "Documents" section of your Start button. Often when downloading attachments, a file will be placed in the listing of recently viewed documents. Normally you can remove them by going through a string of steps in Win95, 98 ,NT, 2000 or ME. Clicking this on will clean that up along with everything else you choose to let IEClean clean up for you.

IEClean also removes the contents of your temporary folder to free up space plus permits you to select up to 10 folders of your choice which can also be cleaned up for you. Many people will create a special folder of their choice for downloads and it may get quite cluttered. For those usingInternet Explorer 4-5.5, additional cleanups of "My Documents", "Active channels" files are also provided. If you choose to block ActiveX controls, existing ActiveX controls downloaded from the internet will also be removed other than those provided by Microsoft as part of the browser. All of these options are selectable within the "SECURITY" tab to allow you to choose how you want IEClean to work for you.

This version of IEClean now cleans up MRU (Most Recently Used) files. They include items from the XP start button, such as files/programs "Run", network computers accessed, "Start" menu listings. IEClean wil also clean files opened in both Windows Media Player and Real Player clips, as well as Adobe files opened and more. These cleanups are automatic once setup on the MRU tab.

Finally, IEClean allows you the option of either just removing the files or going for greater security by selecting "enhanced file removal" from the SECURITY tab. Enhanced removal will render all files IEClean cleans up completely unrecoverable. Each removed file, if recovered, will be precisely 65k bytes of useless garbage. Most files from the browser will not be findable much less recoverable at all even with Norton utilities. This methodology of "enhanced" removal performs a file wipe in accordance with DoD 5220.22-M standards. The included FileVac utility allows you to take this technology (and more) to maintain your entire hard disk. If you merely want the files deleted by IEClean without the need for this extreme "washing" of the hard disk, leave the "enhanced" cleanup unselected and IEClean's cleanup will be MUCH faster.

BACK