User's Guide PrivacyExpert 2003 Compute with confidence www.acronis.
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Table of Contenets INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 1. INSTALLING AND STARTING TO WORK WITH ACRONIS PRIVACYEXPERT............................................................................ 8 1.1 WHAT’S INCLUDED .......................................................................... 8 1.2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ................................................................. 8 1.3 INSTALLING THE SYSTEM ...............
Introduction What is Acronis PrivacyExpert Acronis PrivacyExpert provides you with complete confidentiality while working with a stand-alone or networked personal computer (PC). The confidentiality that Acronis PrivacyExpert delivers allows you to clean-up trace data and Windows files by removing any evidence of your work or Internet activities. Unlike other software Acronis PrivacyExpert fully removes evidence of PC usage through the use of guaranteed data destruction algorithms.
A user regularly using Acronis PrivacyExpert to clean up their computer can be sure that personal data as well as information about Internet activity is only presented in resources (files) that he/she controls.
. to clean hard disks free space; 7. to clean the opened/saved files history; 8. to remove the evidence from find files list and find computers list. 9. to clean Internet cache; 10. to delete cookies; 11. to delete downloaded components; 12. to clean the last visited pages journal. Acronis PrivacyExpert unrecoverably removes evidence of user PC activity.
Based on current legislation the «License Agreement» is considered as a contract between user and software vendor. The contract has the legal effect, its violation may lead to a trial. Illegal use or distribution of software a violation of the law and will be prosecuted. Technical support Users that have legally purchased and registered their copy of Acronis PrivacyExpert receive free technical support from Acronis.
Chapter 1. Installing and Starting to Work with Acronis PrivacyExpert 1.1 What’s Included Acronis PrivacyExpert package includes: 1.2 • installation CD-ROM, • this Guide, • license Agreement, • registration card, • advertising information. System Requirements To take full advantage of Acronis PrivacyExpert you should have: 1.3 • a PC-compatible computer with a Pentium CPU or similar, • 32 MB RAM, • a floppy or a CD-RW drive, • VGA monitor, • a mouse (recommended).
In the installation wizard window select Recover/Update Acronis PrivacyExpert and click Next. All Acronis PrivacyExpert files will be copied to your hard disk again to restore the software. 1.5 Removing the System To remove the software select Acronis Æ PrivacyExpert Æ Remove Acronis PrivacyExpert from the Programs menu. You will see the dialog box to confirm removal of the software from your PC hard disk. To confirm removal click Yes.
The Acronis PrivacyExpert main window Clean-up variants are executed, set, scheduled, and renamed with the help of corresponding items of the main menu, toolbar, sidebar, and context menus. 1.6.2 Logical Software Organization: Sections Logically Acronis PrivacyExpert consists of several parts, each enabling users to perform (1) specific variants of complex PC clean-up from PC activity evidence or (2) clean-up separate system components.
Cleaning separate system components Internet Components and System Components sections allow you to perform a quick clean-up of separate system components after you take specific actions at your PC. For example, you need to clean-up browser cache from garbage after visiting a dubious content site and remove its URL from the list of visited sites, etc. This takes much less time than a complex clean-up. If you need to perform: 1.
temporary files to clean; directly select browser used; disable separate component clean-up; etc. This will enable Acronis PrivacyExpert to clean your PC at maximum speed and performance. Settings are described below. Clean-up settings editor Having selected a clean-up variant by mouse-clicking from the right part of the Acronis PrivacyExpert main window, and then Properties from the sidebar Edit list, you invoke the settings editor.
2. set component clean-up; for this consecutively select each component clean-up setting and set-up it as necessary (selecting/entering clean-up algorithm, file type, Internet browser, etc.); «Files» setting 3. to save your settings click Apply. To discard changes click Cancel . If you need to restore Acronis PrivacyExpert default clean-up settings: 1. select the component tree root – Settings; 2. in the right part of the editor click Restore Defaults .
1.6.5 Separate Components Clean-up Settings Having selected a specific component to clean from the editor, you open the list of its clean-up settings. Each component to clean has several settings in Acronis PrivacyExpert (from 1 to 3 depending on a component). Below are settings common for a number of components. Specific settings of separate components are described in the Chapter 3 «Separate PC Components Clean-up».
If you need to clean-up only one browser: 1. Set the checkbox near its name only (for example Internet Explorer), unchecking all other boxes; 2. If you use a version of Netscape Navigator (or Mozilla), you should additionally select a personal profile (by clicking Profiles… link). «Address» setting The «Address» setting is meant for cleaning up Internet cache and the last visited pages list. («Address» setting has only two system components to clean: Internet Cache, Last Visited Pages.
System component clean-up settings «Data Destruction Algorithm» and «Files» settings are common for system component clean-up. «Data destruction algorithm» setting Having selected «Data Destruction Algorithm» setting you can change the security level provided for PC clean-up and clean-up speed. For detailed information about data destruction algorithms, please see 1.7 «Data Clean-up Algorithms» and Appendix A «Hard Disk Wiping algorithms».
If you need to ensure: 1. MAXIMUM SECURITY of PC activity evidence, select Peter Gutmann’s algorithm (35 data destruction cycles), but please keep in mind that it is quite slow; 2. mid-level security at an average speed of clean-up, select VSITR or Bruce Schneier’s algorithm (7 data destruction cycles); 3. fast PC clean-up without security in mind, select any of the 1-3-pass algorithms (see A.2 «Algorithms Used by Acronis PrivacyExpert »).
The «Files» setting has four system components to clean: Recycle Bin, Temporary Files, Custom Folders/Files, and Find Files List. «Files» setting If you need to: 1. delete only specific file types from the Recycle Bin (system or user folder), enter filenames separated by semicolon(s) as follows: *.jpg; *.gif; 2. delete only specific filenames from the Recycle Bin (system or user folder), enter names as follows: read*.txt. This will result in removal of read!.txt, readme.txt, read1.txt, etc.
«Computers» setting The «Computers» setting cleans-up the registry search strings for finding computers in the local network. These strings keep information on what interested you in the network. These elements should also be deleted to maintain confidentiality. «Computers» setting is the same as «Files». «Computers» setting is a string that can contain any number of full or partial computer names separated by semicolon.
1.6.6 Executing Scheduled PC Clean-up Each PC clean-up variant of Acronis PrivacyExpert can be executed either manually, or automatically as scheduled. Having set PC clean-up as a daily procedure, to be performed for example at the end of workday before powering the PC off, you can be sure that all evidence of your PC and Internet activity will be reliably removed each day. Acronis PrivacyExpert features a built-in scheduler.
Scheduler settings Scheduler provides the user with flexible capabilities for automatic execution of any PC clean-up variant. If you need to perform automatic PC clean-up: 1. daily at specific time only during workdays or periodically – over several days, set the switch on the 1st scheduler page to Daily; 2. weekly at specific time and weekdays, say Tuesday and Friday, or periodically – in two or three weeks, etc., set the switch on the 1st scheduler page to Weekly; 3.
As a result of any of these actions you will see the Rename Item window enabling you to enter a new name for PC or component clean-up variant. 1.7 Data Clean-up Algorithms Unlike most software providing the confidentiality of PC and Internet activity, Acronis PrivacyExpert not only deletes Windows sections (files, folders, registry components, etc.) it also performs a thorough low-level clean-up of hard disk sectors containing Windows components selected for cleaning.
Chapter 2. Complex PC Clean-up Using variants of complex PC clean-up described below, you can clean a large number of various Windows components that keep evidence of your PC activity. Vice versa, if you need to clean-up only a specific Windows component, for example, last visited Internet pages, you should use one of the Acronis PrivacyExpert sections, described below (see Chapter 3 «Separate PC Components Clean-up»). Separate component clean-up is faster than any variant of complex PC clean-up. 2.
2.2 System Clean-up If you need to wipe the evidence of your PC activity from its system sections, use the System clean-up. Executing it allows you to: 1. clean Windows registry from user activity traces; 2. delete temporary files from standard Windows folders; 3. delete any file types from user folders on any disks connected to a PC; 4. clean Windows Recycle Bin; 5. clean Windows swap file; 6. clean hard disk free space; 7. clean last used documents list; 8.
Chapter 3. Separate PC Components Clean-up In the One Click Clean-up section you were able to execute variants of complex PC clean-up (manually or scheduled), to clean a number of system components. These variants will suit most user needs. However, if you need to quickly clean-up separate system components, use Acronis PrivacyExpert Internet Components and System Components sections. Separate component clean-up is described step by step further in Chapter 2 of this Guide.
3.1.1 Internet Cache Internet cache clean-up deletes files downloaded during browsing/surfing Internet pages. As you surf the Internet, your browser keeps («caches») the content of pages you visited in a special folder on a hard disk. This Internet cache folder contains web pages (HTML files), including text and graphics (in JPEG and GIF graphic files). Page caching speeds up Internet access and viewing.
Besides, Internet cache can also occupy a considerable amount space on a hard disk unless limited by means of operating system. You’ll be surprised by the amount and size of files in the Windows cache folder. You should also remember that cache keeps a huge amount of garbage images, in particular banner ads. Moreover, keeping a large Internet cache can degrade your browsers overall performance.
If Netscape Navigator is your default browser, cookies are kept in the single cookies.txt file in the user profile folder – by default in C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\. You can protect selected cookies and delete all other: 1. select Cookies from the Internet Clean-up group; 2. select «Protected Cookies»; check boxes near cookies you want to keep after PC or separate components clean-up.
ActiveX element from a dubious site, Acronis PrivacyExpert will help you to delete it from your hard disk drive. You can control downloads of ActiveX elements to your hard disk to a certain extent by setting an appropriate security level for Internet access. Still, it is nearly impossible to fully control all ActiveX elements. If you wish to control installed downloaded components: 1. select Downloaded Components clean-up in the settings editor; 2.
3.1.4 Last Visited Pages Last Visited Pages clean-up deletes lists of separate Internet addresses for selected installed browser according to «Address» values. To provide faster access, Internet Explorer shows visited addresses in the Address list and History journal. Internet Explorer’s last visited addresses Internet Explorer stores lists differently depending on the page visiting method – whether a user typed the address in the Address field or mouse-clicked a link on the already opened page.
These folders also contain index.dat files who’s contents are shown as folders named after visited sites, for example, cnn (www.cnn.com), – with URLs of specific visited pages. Internet Explorer’s history folders and a visited page address Netscape Navigator (Mozilla) keeps similar lists as well, located in the browser folders. Acronis PrivacyExpert cleans all visited Internet address lists whether they were manually typed or clicked.
3.2 System Components In the System Clean-up section you can clean-up components (folders, files, registry sections, etc.), related to general system tasks. These Windows components keep evidence of user PC activity, so they too should be thoroughly wiped to maintain confidentiality. 3.2.1 Paging/Swap File Swap file clean-up enables you to obliterate any and all traces of your PC or Internet activity. Windows swap file is a file on a hard disk (for example, C:\win386.
Windows usually keeps temporary files in a special folder. For example, C:\Windows\Temp or D:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temp folder. In this case, temporary files folder means a folder specified in the temp environment variable. It is set by the Windows set command. You can check temp value by typing set temp in the command line. As a result, under Windows XP you will get a string like D:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temp.
The clean-up of disk free space, including each and every sector, is an important part of maintaining confidentiality of PC activity. Please note that 20-40 GB hard disk drive will take considerable time to wipe clean, however your privacy and data security is what matters most. 3.2.5 Custom Folders/Files Custom folders/files clean-up enables to wipe files from selected folders. Windows does not securely delete files. Any file deleted by Windows can be recovered.
3.2.6 Registry Back-ups Windows 95/98/Me operating systems create registry back-up copies that may contain evidence of PC use or Internet activity. Registry back-up copies clean-up destroys back-up copies of registry files, i.e. not just deleted files, but also corresponding hard disk clusters (sectors) using a specified wiping algorithm. Under Windows 95/98/Me registry files are system.dat, user.dat, located in the C:\WINDOWS folder; under Windows Millenium registry files also feature classes.dat.
Registry back-up copies clean-up under Windows 95/98/Me 3.2.7 Find Computers List Find computers list clean-up deletes it from the Windows registry. A search string may contain a full computer name, including its domain name, but can also be a partial computer name. Find computer strings stored in the registry Windows Explorer performs various file system navigation functions.
and Internet work on the hard disk that may become a potential threat to your confidentiality. 3.2.8 Find Files List Find files list clean-up deletes the list that indicates your file search activity on computer disks, from the Windows registry. A file string may contain a full filename, including its path, or just a partial name. Find files strings stored in the registry In most cases you can simply specify «Computers» value as *.* to wipe the entire find computers list.
3.2.9 Recently Used Documents List Recently used documents list clean-up deletes the list of documents, recently opened by a user during PC activity. Selecting Documents from the Start menu you will find that Windows shows recently executed or opened files. These can be images viewed, Excel tables, MP3 or WAV sound files, etc. To protect your privacy, you should regularly wipe the Recently used documents list.
3.2.10 Windows Run List Windows Run List clean-up deletes the list of files opened or executed from the Run box in the Start menu. The Open list of the Windows Run window may contain a list of executed programs, opened files and folders (as well as visited Internet pages). Windows Run List Selecting Run from the Start menu opens a window with the same name. The Open list lets you type in a name of a file, folder, network folder, or Internet address.
3.2.11 Opened/Saved Files History The Windows operating system has a standard dialog box for opening/saving files. You can see this by selecting Open, Save, or Save As… in a standard Windows application (Notepad, Paint, etc). Every office application has a similar dialog box. Windows Open (Save, Save As...) window All information about access to application files (Word, Excel, etc.) and folders are stored as links in the D:\Documents and Settings\\Recent folder.
Appendix A. Hard Disk Wiping algorithms Information removed from a hard disk drive by non-secure means (for example, by simple Windows delete) can easily be recovered. Utilizing specialized equipment, one may also be able to recover even repeatedly overwritten information. Therefore the problem of guaranteed data wiping is vital as never before. The guaranteed wiping of information from magnetic media (e.g.
features of recording data to all types of hard disks. This knowledge speaks to the necessity of complex multipass algorithms to guarantee information wiping. The detailed theory of guaranteed information wiping is described in an article of Peter Gutmann, please see: http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html. A.2 Algorithms Used by Acronis PrivacyExpert The table below briefly describes information wiping algorithms used by Acronis PrivacyExpert.
NN Algorithm (writing method) Passes P. Gutmann’s algorithm 35 Peter Gutmann’s algorithm is very sophisticated. It’s based on his theory of hard disk information wiping (see http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/ ~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html). B. Schneier’s algorithm 7 Bruce Schneier offers seven pass overwriting algorithm in his Applied Cryptography book. 1st pass – 0xFF, 2st pass – 0x00, and then five times with a cryptographically secure pseudo-random sequence.
