On my Windows 2000 system with IE 6.0 service-pack 1, I also have about 90
meg of these files in 'content.ie5', but I can see them without any special
tricks.  Also, something must be cleaning them out somehow, 'cause the
oldest files there are from April 2002, and I have had the machine for a lot
longer than that.  When I selected the 'content.ie5' folder and hit the del
key it told me it was a system folder and asked if I really wanted to....so
I chickened out, at least for tonight.

Dave ("Waiting to see what the rest of you think before I run around the
building zapping this stuff from all our PCs") Powell


----- Original Message -----
From: "Roy Brown" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 5:34 PM
Subject: [HP3000-L] OT - Super-hidden files on Windows XP


> Wow. I can still hardly believe this stuff.....
>
> Have you ever come across super-hidden files?
>
> Use Windows, and it marks files 'Hidden' and 'System'. Tyros run without
> being able to see these, or monkey with them, which is best all round
> probably.
>
> But us power users like to know what's out there. So we go into Windows
> Explorer and turn on every selectable Viewing option in Tools/Folder
> Options/View - Hidden, System, File Extensions, etc.
>
> But there are *still* files that are deliberately hidden from you by (in
> my case, certainly) Windows XP.
>
> I'm not talking Hidden, I'm not even talking System; some web references
> call these 'super-hidden' (in which case I'd be talking about
> super-duper-hidden, but I want to avoid the escalation).
>
> And are these critical system files? Nope - just the results of you
> surfing the web. Now why would Microsoft want these hidden away? And I
> guess they're deleted when I ask IE6 to delete my temporary internet
> files, aren't they? Guess again. A few *copies* get scrapped when you do
> that, but that's all.
>
> How did I find all this? Well, NAV reported a trojan in C:\Documents and
> Settings\Roy\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\
> ETO36DM5\id8525[1[].cab
>
snip......
> Truly weird.... try the 'net. Googling for 'super-hidden files' found a
> few references to 'System' files, but then turned up a link to a real
> gem:
>
> http://membrane.com/security/secure/Microsoft_Is_Unscrupulous.html
>
> Unbelievable! Armed with that knowledge, I tried a 'Properties' on the
> folder that WE was telling me held only a few left-over files found by
> IE6. It showed me there were *90mB*, in *14 folders*, inside it.
>
snip...
>
> So, a secret history of everything you ever did on the net, not deleted
> by IE6 when you ask it to delete your temporary internet files, taking
> up 90 mB of your disk space, and acting as a perfect virus haven...
>
> ....thanks a bunch Micro$oft....
>
> If you have WinXP, or, I think Windows2000, navigate to your equivalent
> of C:\Documents and Settings\Roy\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
> (Roy is my username) and see what the contents look like.
>
> Then right-click 'Properties' for the Temporary Internet Files folder.
> What does that report the contents as? You'd be surprised......
>
> Want to see them? Manually add /Content.IE5 to the end of the path in
> WE's Address bar, and press Go. Looky there......
>
> What's going on here? I think we should be told....
>
> --
> Roy Brown        'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be
> Kelmscott Ltd     useful, or believe to be beautiful'  Wm Morris
>
> * To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
> * etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
>
>

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