Software Review of:
Internet Cleanup 
ONTRACK 

Today we have some pretty smart people and some sophisticated technologies, especially in computer related areas. It is becoming more visible each day, as more people are associating themselves with the Internet and staying online for longer periods. Many are also entering the online consumer market place. Online is coming to mean we are exposing ourselves more and more to Viruses, Hackers, prying eyes that track our Internet surfing and buying habits, E-Mail address gatherers, and the many other ways people are using Internet related technology to obtain more and more personal information about us. Some of the exposure can be destructive, but most is designed to gather information, whether for use by the gatherer or to be sold to one or more third parties. Information may be gathered for innocent or not so innocent purposes, but both are very real concerns. The bottom line is, it is almost always about making money.

More and more Internet sites intentionally leave behind small files, called cookies, that contain login or registration information or that gathers valuable information on the user - habits, interests, spending patterns, Internet activities, etc. Some cookies also gather information from browser site histories and/or personal cache items. Ontrack Data International believes they have come up with a product to help cover your Internet tracks. It's called Internet Cleanup.

When you connect to the Internet and use your Web browser to visit various sites, several types of files may be automatically downloaded and stored on your hard drive. The company claims Internet Cleanup will help protect your privacy by removing: Cookies used by Web site owners to track your preferences, interests and information requests; Browser history and cache files that document where you've been on the World Wide Web; browser plugins and ActiveX controls that take up space on your drive and can offer those who want to invade your computer a way to damage your computer's other files.

The box contained a registration card (if you don't register you probably can't get support), a users guide, and the program CD. It also contained a CliffsNotes Shopping Online Safely book of about 120 pages, in a 5 x 8 inch format.

Skimming the brief user's guide (about 20 pages, in a 4.5 x 4.5 inch booklet), I sensed that it was probably a simple program to use. This was verified by the system requirements: a 486 or faster PC (Pentium or faster recommended); Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0, or 2000; 8 Megabytes RAM (16MB for Windows NT/2000); CD-ROM drive; at least one Web browser: Netscape Nav/Com 3.0 and up, Explorer 4.0 and up, AOL 4.0 and up, Opera 3.0; and at least 20 Megabytes of free space on your disk drive.

The installation worked as I think all installations should - few instruction screens to transcend, only took a couple minutes, and the computer didn't have to be restarted. (There is also an Uninstall feature.) My kind of program! EasyUpdate was next, to get the latest improvements (free for 90 days after purchase). If there are multiple components for updating, EasyUpdate provides you with a list - you can update everything at once (most logical option), or select only the ones you want.

The program comes with four types of features (menus): Auto Erase Now, Auto Erase Settings, Auto Erase Schedule and Manual Erase. In the course of review, I went through each of them, but not in the order listed. Since Auto anything can sometimes mean Auto Everything, I figured I would look at them in the following order: Manual Erase, Erase Settings, Auto Erase, and Auto Erase Schedule. That should give me the best chance of "getting acquainted" with the program ? seeing what is supposed to be done before doing ? and, hopefully, keep me from inadvertently "trashing" something I may really need.

The Internet Cleanup home window has easy to read boxes on the left and the four main menu items on the right. The boxes, top to bottom, were for Browsers Found, Cached Files (Type, Count, Size), and Internet Data, which read "History Items, Cookies, ActiveX Controls, Plugins" and listed a number before each (zero or greater). The right side of the page listed the four main menus. As I previously stated, I opted for Manual Erase. I was then asked which items I wanted to erase. I could select each one, but the logical thing would be to select only the ones the main page had found with a number of one (1) or greater. After selecting the appropriate area, and clicking "Continue," they were gone. When I got to the "Plugins," I wasn't sure what to do since I wasn't sure which of these I no longer used. So. I clicked the "Back" button and returned to the main menu page.

Since the Auto-Erase settings affect how Auto-Erase works, I went there next. You can check the box next to the item (cache, history, cookies) if you want the program to "clean house." Since some cookies are helpful, you can be selective here. Click on the ADD button and type the URL address of the site(s) you want to keep. The list of protected sites will appear in the Settings window and they will not be "cleaned" during the Erase cycle. Remember, any Erase feature by any program normally doesn't make the information disappear from the hard drive. Only overwriting the area where the information is stored will make it disappear. Some commercial Undelete utility programs and other data recovery methods can retrieve the information until they are overwritten. That is why the Internet Cleanup Shredder is provided (check to box to use). It will completely remove all of the designated files from your hard drive by repeatedly writing over the area of the hard drive where the original file was stored. Better be really sure when using this feature. Needless to say, I chose to leave the "Shred Files" at their default setting (inactive) until I learned more about which files I can safely "shred."

Next, I looked at the Auto Erase Schedule and found that the program can be set to run automatically at one of four times: Computer Startup, Computer Shutdown, Browser Exit, or Daily (at a specified time). I decided not to place Internet Cleanup on a schedule until I was through with the review. I believe the logical choice should be "Browser Exit."  That should leave the information on the computer hard drive for the shortest time. Daily would only apply if you leave your system running 24/7.

Since I had a pretty clean system, I decided to close the program, surf the Net, and return to see what Auto Erase Now would do. After about 10 minutes, I reopened Internet Cleanup and it immediately detected cache and history items. I clicked on Auto Erase Now and they were gone. The screen read "Cleared Netscape Cache," and "Cleared Netscape History." The feature was quite effective and very fast.

In fact, the whole program is quite effective and fast at targeting specific files related to Internet use. Internet Cleanup can quickly and easily remove Internet tracking data from your computer, and stop anyone from "snooping" in your browsing data area. I would recommend it to anyone who visits a lot of Web sites, particularly those that are commercial in nature, or where forms are filled out. The program should give the user an added sense of privacy and security. In my opinion, it is a program worthy of consideration.

ONTRACK Data International, Inc.
3030 Sterling Circle
Boulder, CO 80301-2338
Sales: 800-645-8000, 303-245-8000
Fax 303-245-8111