Is your computer being watched?

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

The Herald's investigation into hidden files that remain on Windows 95 and 98 PCs centres on a file called index.dat which appears to log a list of web addresses visited by the PC's user and makes it easy to call up old web-based e-mails.

The file and all its logged data stay on your PC even after you have cleared your cache - a place where temporary internet files are stored.

If you are concerned about whether these hidden files are on your PC, you can check for yourself.

As far as we can gather, a persistent index.dat file is found only on Windows 95 and 98 PCs using Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later.

Be warned, however, that these steps are complicated and should be attempted only by experienced users - on computers that have been disconnected from the internet. Until we get more information from Microsoft, we advise just to look at the files.

Don't change anything.

Showing hidden files

Right click on Start Menu (bottom left corner of Windows screen)

Click Explore

Click View/Folder Options

Click on the view tab. By Hidden Files select the Show all Files button

Close Explorer.

Finding persistent index.dat file

Click on Start/Find/Files or Folders

Type index.dat in the Named: box

The search should return up to four results but C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 is the abnormal one.

Reading old webmail


Click on Start/Find/Files or Folders

Type getmsg in the Named: box

Shift and right click on files that appear, and click on Open with Iexplore (Internet Explorer)

E-mail messages will appear but you might have to click on refresh or work offline.

NB: If you use Xtramail, try typing applogic+mobmain instead of getmsg.

Ihug e-mail gateway files begin with mailman while yahoo messages are called showletter.

Looking at index.dat right click on index.dat in Content.ie5 and look at Properties. Note size of file and check its creation date. Be warned that attempts to open this file directly from Windows may produce strange error messages and/or system crashes.

Opening the index.dat file using DOS on Windows 98

Open a DOS session in Windows from Start/Programs/DOS Prompt

At the C:\WINDOWS > prompt, type in: CD\TEMPOR~\CONTENT.IE5

Press return then type: EDIT /75 INDEX. DAT (or "EDIT /16 index.dat" on some versions)

At this point users may get a message that the file is too big to edit but it can show you the first 65,000 lines or so - press OK.

The beginning of this file contains several pages of unreadable code, but if you keep pressing the Pg Dn (page down) key you will eventually see a list of web addresses in plain text, interspersed with more chunks of binary code. Check whether these addresses correspond with web addresses you have visited.

When you have finished go to File/Exit and then close the DOS Window.

* Let us know what you find: e-mail to business_IT@nzherald.co.nz