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Window Washer 3.x
by Jorga Riggenbach—November 2000 Tucson Computer Society www.aztcs.org , scribe@azstarnet.com - December 18, 2000 at 15:07:28:
Hey, take off your shoes. You’re trackin’ up the house.—We’ve all heard that a time or two. Nowadays with the Internet, we leave our tracks in cyberspace. Window Washer cleans up after us by erasing all evidence of where we’ve been and what we’ve done on the Web. Do you realize that Windows and other software programs save all sorts of little tidbits of information about what Web sites you’ve visited, what documents you’ve used, and what other exotic things you’ve been up to? So, anyone who is interested can see your tracks, which obviously raises several privacy concerns.On a regular schedule that the user sets, Window Washer cleans cache files, erases browser cookies and histories and cleans your browser. In the process, it frees space and cleans up system resources.
It also has enhanced “bleaching” functions. Window Washer will overwrite documents up to ten times, adhering to the Department of Defense (DOD) directive 5220.22-M for sanitizing files on both removable and non-removable hard disks.
It works with most browsers, and plug-ins are available for Opera. With the flexible “Custom Items” feature, you can specify other files, folders, or registry entries that you want to have automatically cleaned, although when you get to the “Registry” level, you’d better know what you are doing.
Window Washer Help File—The “Help” files come up on your browser and seem to cover all the bases. I didn’t have any problems with the program, so I just read through them out of curiosity.
The Webroot Company’s flagship product is Window Washer. Webroot.com, founded by Steve Thomas, reflects his experience as former DOE contractor who specialized in security issues. Webroot Software, Inc. is a privately held company in Boulder, Colorado and they have a variety of privacy, security, and Internet enhancement software such as Private Bookmarks, WinGuardian, PortFlash, System Snapshot and Accelerate 2000.
System Requirements, Cost and Ordering Information —Window Washer costs $29.95, and runs on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4.
Webroot.com sells its products via its Website www.webroot.com. The software can be downloaded directly from the site or you can receive a disk for the cost of the software, plus a $5 handling/postage fee.
Their toll-free sales line: 1-800-772-9383. Sales and General Questions: saleshelp@webroot.com. Mailing Address: Webroot Software, Inc., P.O. Box 3531, Boulder, CO 80307.
They also offer Cache and Cookie Washer, a “lite” version of Window Washer, for $14.95.
Comment—This is my kind of program. It just does what it’s supposed to do and doesn’t clamor for attention. The “bleach” feature is nice to have. It takes a little extra time and I usually turn it off unless I have a specific need for it. (You know, like those times when Antonio Banderas sends me affectionate notes. I wouldn’t want Melanie to see them.) Also, I don’t have mine turned on to wipe out the Recycle Bin every day. I probably should, but it seems like I spend a fair amount of time retrieving stuff from the Recycle Bin. Also, under my Netscape options, I turned off the option to have the “History and Location Bar” wiped daily. I use it all the time to track down sites I haven’t bookmarked. (I’ve practically stopped using bookmarks. There are so many of them that it has gotten to the point that using the telephone book is easier than finding something in bookmarks, but that’s another story.)
Overall, this is a sweet, affordable, easy-to-use program that really gives you your money’s worth.
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