Oh wow! You checked your email today and you just received the funniest joke ever! You MUST forward this one to all your friends on your email list because you just know they are going to die laughing when they read that joke, right? So you enter ALL your friends email addresses into the TO: field of your email application, hit SEND, and away it goes. This seems innocent enough, right? But did you know that this is one of the ways SPAM gets distributed through the internet? Email addresses entered in the TO: field can be seen by EVERYONE that you forward your message to. These messages can end up on systems that are frequently scanned by spam bots looking for new email addresses to send their junk mail to.

To help your friends avoid SPAM the correct way to forward messages is to enter YOUR email address in the TO: field and then enter your friend’s addresses in the BCC: field . The BCC: field is the ‘blind carbon copy’ field and the email addresses entered in that field are hidden when you forward that message on to others.

So, the next time you get that ‘funniest joke ever’, or that cute adorable picture of that puppy you just can’t resist sending to EVERYONE on your email list, do them all a big favor and BCC your friends instead. It will prevent them from getting SPAM and will make them appreciate your jokes, pictures, etc, a whole lot more!

What you don’t know may destroy your entire operating system! What can be so destructive…Directory Junctions, that’s what! What? You don’t know what a directory junction is? That’s not uncommon. Many people don’t know what a directory junction is. A directory junction is a fancy, geeky name for a link that redirects a reference from one directory to another directory on the same machine. In the Unix world you would know it as a symbolic link. In the Windows world it’s called a directory junction, or junction point. They were introduced with Windows 2000 and NTFS 3.0.

How can a directory junction be so dangerous? Directory junctions can be most destructive when an application (or you yourself) performs a destructive recursive traversal of a directory (or folder). What is a destructive recursive traversal? That’s when you or an application performs a destructive action on the entire contents of a folder or directory, such as deleting, cleaning, or wiping that folder.

For example, an administrator wanting to clean out the contents of his c:\temp folder would issue this (destructive) recursive command: rd /s c:\temp. This would clean out the entire c:\temp folder, including anything in any other folder within c:\temp. But, if an attacker has set a trap by making c:\temp\mytrap point to c:\windows\system32 by using a directory junction, that administrator would unknowingly wipe out his entire system folder!

Likewise, if a destructive application, such as a File Shredder, Web History Cleaner, or the like, fails to detect directory junctions, the results could be catastrophic! If you use a File Shredding program or Internet History Cleaner, or similar program, you should make sure that that program follows secure coding methods and that it can detect and avoid directory junctions.

AceErase File Shredder and History Eraser automatically detects and recognizes directory junctions, warns you when one is found, and avoids traversing through them. Shred safely with AceErase!

Are you worried about leaving your computer connected to the internet every time you turn your computer on? Tired of getting up to disconnect your LAN cable from the back of your computer, or to turn off your router just to disconnect your machine from the internet when you are not using it? Here’s a handy tip so you can enable or disable your internet connection right from your desktop.

Here’s how to do it on Windows XP…

1) From the START menu, select Settings->Control Panel (or just open the Control Panel)
2) In the Control Panel, double click ‘Network Connections’
3) In Network Connections, drag and drop the icon for the connection that you want to be able to Enable/Disable onto your desktop. Usually this will be the “Local Area Connection” icon if you connect to a LAN via a cable (if you do not have a wireless connection)
OR
it may say “Wireless Network Connection”, if you connect to the internet using a wireless network.

Which ever connection you want to be able to control, just drag its icon over to your desktop. A COPY of it should be created on your desktop, leaving the original in Network Connections.

Now when you want to disable your connection, just right click the connection icon and select ‘Disable’.
When you want to enable it again, right click the icon and select ‘Enable’.

That’s it!

Here’s another AceErase Review found at
http://privacysoftware.biz/privacy-software/aceerase-review/…

If you want a file shredder and privacy tool that is easy to use, then check out AceErase. Several strong file shredding algorithms are present in this great software. It protects your privacy by clearing file history, recycle bin, files, folders, free space, cache and more. It cant even be recovered.

It has a “shred your tracks� feature lets you shred everything from one convenient place. In addition system performance is improved tremendously. All the temporary files which are scattered around your computer are erased with the help of AceErase.

The drag and drop interface is easy to use. There are many helpful features in this software and if you want data destroyed, then this is the software to use. Identity theft is nothing to fear anymore and your privacy is kept safe with this great software.

Files deleted from your recycle bin are just hidden and can be recovered using data recovery software. Reformatting the hard drive may not completely destroy data. This makes identity theft easy. To protect yourself you need a great privacy software like AceErase.

How to manually delete traces of your web browsing and computer activities

When you browse the Internet you leave traces of the web sites you have visited. These traces include, not only the URLs (website addresses) where you have been (Internet History), but also entire image files, video files, and other media are stored in your browser’s cache (Internet Temporary Files), plus it stores a list of all the addresses you’ve typed into your browser’s address line (Typed URLs). To make matters worse, when you visit a shopping site or any site that may ask for personal information about you, these sites sometimes store small files on your computer called COOKIES. Cookies are typically used to store website customization information, user preferences, and even login information, making cookies a potentially risky file to leave hanging around on your computer, especially if you are using a public or shared machine!

Your computer also stores and logs what you do when not using the Internet. For instance, when you use your word processor or spreadsheet program your computer logs the files you’ve recently opened with these programs (Recently Opened Documents). Additionally, when you run any programs using the ‘RUN’ box under your START menu or if you enter any websites addresses or open any directory this way, they will also be stored (Start/Run History List). Another person can learn a lot about what you’ve been doing on your computer by examining your computer for these electronic footprints.

It is possible to cleanup these traces MANUALLY with just a little bit of time and effort on your part. Please be advised that none of these manual methods will SHRED or PERMANENTLY remove these traces from your computer. This is because, in order to make the deletion operation faster, your computer only marks the start of the deleted file as ‘deleted’. You may not see the file appear on your file list anymore, but the CONTENTS of the file are still hidden on your hard drive. In order to PERMANENTLY delete these files you will need the help of a file shredding program. These programs SHRED the files before deleting them by overwriting the file with specially formulated patterns that make recovery impossible. Even though there are programs out there that will automatically delete internet browsing history, web traces, and computer activity history, you need to make sure the program you get also SHREDS this data so the information will permanently be erased. If the data is not shredded first before it is deleted any one with a file restoration program will be able to scan your hard drive and easily extract the files you thought were gone!

Ok, so let’s get started manually deleting web browsing and computer activity history (please remember that these methods do NOT SHRED or permanently erase this information!).

DELETING BROWSING HISTORY:

1. Emptying Your Browser’s Cache (Temporary Internet Files):
   What the heck is a cache in the first place? Your internet browser uses a ‘cache’ to speed up your web browsing. When you visit a URL (website address) it first checks the cache to see if you’ve been there before and it checks if any of the information has been downloaded before. For example, if the web site has lots of images the same image may appear on multiple pages. The image gets downloaded to your cache and when you visit the next page that same image does not need to be downloaded again, instead it is displayed from your cache.
   So, how do you empty your cache? In Internet Explorer under Windows XP, go to Tools-> Delete Browsing History, then under ‘Temporary Internet Files’ click the ‘Delete files…’ button. This will delete all the files in your computer’s internet cache. Alternatively, in Internet Explorer you can click Tools-> Internet Options and under Browsing History click the ‘Settings…’ button and then ‘View files’. Now you can delete the files as you see fit. Your Internet Browser Cache directory is typically located at C:\Documents and Settings\[Your Username]\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files, but it may be located any where. The location can be changed under ‘Settings’ as well.
2. Erasing Your Internet History List:
   As you surf the Internet, your browser remembers every website and every URL that you have visited within the past few days. You can delete this list of URLs and web addresses in Internet Explorer by going to Tools->Delete Browsing History and then click the ‘Delete history…’ button. This will delete the entire list of websites you’ve visited.
3. Deleting Your Internet Cookies:
   Cookies typically store user-specific information such as user names and passwords used to access web pages. They are also frequently used to store web page customization information. Although they provide you with the convenience of not having to re-enter your credentials every time you visit a web page, the private data they may store can represent a security risk.
   You may delete cookies in Internet Explorer by going to Tools->Delete Browsing History and then click the ‘Delete cookies…’ button. This will delete ALL the cookies stored on your computer.
4. Erasing Your Browser’s Typed URLs List:
   Every time you manually type a website address in your browser’s address bar, your computer remembers the addresses you’ve typed. If you click the drop-down on your address bar you will see all the addresses you’ve previously typed. Deleting your browser’s typed URL list manually can only be done by editing your Windows Registry. This should be done by experienced, advanced computer users only and you should exercise great caution when messing with your registry!! Please do not edit or modify your registry if you don’t know what you are doing because you can potentially damage your system! You have been warned! Internet Explorer stores Typed URLs in the Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs. You can delete these keys one by one or all at once if you prefer.

DELETING COMPUTER ACTIVITY HISTORY

1. Erasing Your Recently Opened Documents List:
   This list tracks your recently opened documents, such as Word and Notepad documents, Excel spreadsheets, etc., and is accessible from the Start->My Recent Documents menu (or just Start ->Documents on Windows XP). To delete this list, in Windows XP, right-click the START button and select ‘Properties…’, then select the Start Menu tab and click the ‘Customize’ button. If you are using the Classic Start menu then click the ‘Clear’ button under the ‘Customize Classic Start Menu’ dialog, otherwise, you have a few more clicks to make if you are not using the classic start menu. In this case, after clicking ‘Customize’, you will have to select the ‘General’ tab, then click the ‘Clear List’ button under the ‘Programs’ section. From here you can also set the number of programs you want your computer to remember.
2. Erasing Your Start/Run History List:
   The commands previously typed into the Start->Run… window are visible by expanding its drop-down control. If not deleted, this list can provide information about recently run programs, recently browsed folders, or even recently visited websites. Deleting this list manually can only be done by editing your Windows Registry. This should be done by experienced, advanced computer users only and you should exercise great caution when messing with your registry!! Please do not edit or modify your registry if you don’t know what you are doing because you can potentially damage your system! You have been warned! Windows stores your Start/Run History list in the Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU. You can delete these keys one by one or all at once if you prefer.

Don’t want to go thru all this trouble? Then just use AceErase Professional File Shredder and Internet Eraser. It not only deletes all this at the click of a button, it also shreds the files before deleting them. AceErase makes history clean up fast, convenient, and safe!

We are happy to announce that we just received an Editor’s Choice award for AceErase File Shredder from Softonic.com! Softonic is one of the top download sites here in the U.S.A and also in Spain and many parts of Europe, so we are very honored that they picked our File Shredder as their Editor’s Choice.

They gave us a very nice review, too, which you can read here:
AceErase File Shredder Review

Just an excerpt from their review:

“What’s nice about AceErase File Shredder is that it supports an easy to use drag and drop interface plus it doesn’t just erase files permanently but it also erases history of surfing habits, recently opened files etc. AceErase File Shredder can protect you against Identity Theft or someone recovering data from a PC you’ve either loaned or used before someone else (such as in internet cafes).” (by Editor Nick Mead)”

Thanks Softonic!

Technorati Profile

IT Works Software, Inc. has released AceEraseâ„¢ 1.5 Professional. AceErase is an easy to use, secure
file shredder and history eraser program in one designed to help users protect their privacy while online and off!

AceErase is a data file shredder and history eraser program for your computer. Currently, it provides five powerful digital data shredding algorithms that are Department of Defense (DOD) strength and stronger. These algorithms securely overwrite the data in your files to permanently delete that data and prevent its recovery forever!

Why should you shred your data?

When you delete files or when you empty your Recycle Bin, those files are not really deleted!
In order to make the deletion operation faster, Windows® simply marks the file as deleted, but the contents of that file
remain on your hard drive indefinitely. There are many file recovery tools available on the market today which allow those files to be easily recovered.


Some data recovery utilities even claim they can recover your files even after the hard drive has been formatted! If you are planning on loaning, selling, or donating your computer, you should properly destroy any sensitive data using a file shredder like AceErase first, otherwise your sensitive information can be easily compromised.

AceErase Pro shreds your sensitive files, (even those in your Recycle Bin) by using Department of Defense strength shredding algorithms to permanently destroy, wipe, and erase those selected files (or even entire folders) from your hard drive, making it impossible to recover that data again.

Shred your tracks!

But, AceErase Pro doesn’t stop there. It’s not just a file and folder shredder, it also uses the same powerful shredding engine to shred, not just delete, your Internet Explorer browsing history, and traces of your computer activity using it’s Shred Your Tracks feature.

AceErase Pro’s Shred Your Tracks feature allows you to not just delete, but shred…

• IE’s Temporary Internet Files (Internet Cache)
• IE’s Internet Cookies
• IE’s Internet History
• IE’s Address Bar History List
• Your Recently Opened Documents List
• Your Computer’s Start/Run History List
• Your Local Temporary Files
• Recycle Bin Contents
• Shred file tips (cluster tips, file slack) automatically
• Unused free space on all of your hard drives

All from one convenient location at the click of a button!

Additional Features

Easy to use and configure!
AceErase File Shredder features a simple drag and drop interface, and was created
with the non-technical user in mind. AceErase provides plenty of context sensitive help and tool-tips through out the program, as well as a comprehensive help file, and free technical support.

AceErase Error Log
The AceErase log records any errors, warnings, or program messages. A quick ’shred log’ option is provided on the toolbar.

Check for Updates Option
AceErase includes an option to ‘Check for Updates’. If an update is available it will automatically be downloaded and installed for your convenience. Updates are provided for free for both the free trial and professional versions until the next major version release.

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems:
Designed for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 (Windows Vista coming soon!)

Supported Browsers:
Internet Explorer

A free trial version of AceEraseâ„¢ is available for download at
http://www.itworkssoftware.com/downloadhtm.htm

AceEraseâ„¢ Professional is available for purchase at http://www.itworkssoftware.com/purchase.htm
 and includes free email and web-based technical support. The single user license fee is $19.95. Discounts are available for multi-user licenses.

Product Reviewers

If you would like to evaluate or review AceEraseâ„¢ 1.5 Professional please contact IT Works
Software, Inc.

About IT Works Software

IT Works Software, Inc. specializes in developing easy to use, quality desktop applications with security in mind. IT Works Software is the developer of AceEraseâ„¢, an easy to use file shredder and history cleaner tool in one. A woman owned company located in the Inland Empire, IT Works Software was founded by former biometrics security software engineer Maribel Arocha.

Media Contacts

IT Works Software, Inc.
Maribel Arocha, Founder and CEO
http://www.itworkssoftware.com
http://www.aceerase.com