MBJ10 Posted June 4, 2006 Report Share Posted June 4, 2006 I am curious as to what information is stored within the index.dat file that keeps web page information for sites visited, as i know i can clear history/cookies and temp folder but this folder always maintains a back upcan you please advisethanksMark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted June 4, 2006 Report Share Posted June 4, 2006 Index.dat file--What is Index.dat file ?Index.dat are files hidden on your computer that contain all of the Web sites that you have ever visited. Every URL, and every Web page is listed there. Not only that but all of the email that has been sent or received through Outlook or Outlook Express is also being logged. The file names and locations depend on what version of Internet Explorer you have. If you are running IE version 4.0 or above, the file name is "index.dat". Microsoft has not supplied an adequate explanation as to what these files are for or why they have been hidden so well.According to Microsoft, these files are used to cache visited Web sites to help speed up the loading of Web pages in Internet Explorer. Obviously this cannot be the case because when you clear the Temporary Internet Files the "index.dat" files remain behind and continue to grow. If you delete or clear the Temporary Internet Files, there is absolutely no need to index the URL cache because those files no longer exist.On a Windows 9x computer these files are located in the following locations:\WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat\WINDOWS\History\index.dat\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\index.dat\WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat\WINDOWS\History\index.dat\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\index.dat In Windows 2000 and Windows XP there are several "index.dat" files in these locations:\Documents and Settings\\Cookies\index.dat\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\index.dat\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012001123120020101\index.dat\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012002010720020114\index.dat\Documents and Settings\\Local Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat Index.dat files can be very hard to find. If you are in Windows, even with "Show hidden files and folders" enabled, index.dat files are not visible and cannot be found if you do a search for index.dat files. The reason that these files are so invisible is that they are not just hidden, they have been designated as "system" files. System files and folders are treated differently in DOS and Windows and are effectively cloaked from casual searches.From here.If you really want to see what's inside, a viewer is obtainable from here but, personally, I wouldn't bother. I'm happy enough that they can be deleted when necessary.Please note that I do not make any recommendations about any software availbable in the links I have given and you download and use at your own risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBJ10 Posted June 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2006 Thank you for the response, i do know what the index.dat file is, but its specifically what information it contains i am interested in. in that i imagine it holds the followingthe URL of the page and a short description of the page (as per whats usually listed at the top of the internet explorer page (e.g. just now mine states "windows forum - computer support....etc") but i want to know what else it holds and if it does indeed hold that description?sorry if i am unclear as you can tell i am not the most technical personi have seen the index.dat file on my laptop however this, as you said, cannot be opened/changed etc Index.dat file--What is Index.dat file ?Index.dat are files hidden on your computer that contain all of the Web sites that you have ever visited. Every URL, and every Web page is listed there. Not only that but all of the email that has been sent or received through Outlook or Outlook Express is also being logged. The file names and locations depend on what version of Internet Explorer you have. If you are running IE version 4.0 or above, the file name is "index.dat". Microsoft has not supplied an adequate explanation as to what these files are for or why they have been hidden so well.According to Microsoft, these files are used to cache visited Web sites to help speed up the loading of Web pages in Internet Explorer. Obviously this cannot be the case because when you clear the Temporary Internet Files the "index.dat" files remain behind and continue to grow. If you delete or clear the Temporary Internet Files, there is absolutely no need to index the URL cache because those files no longer exist.On a Windows 9x computer these files are located in the following locations:\WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat\WINDOWS\History\index.dat\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\index.dat\WINDOWS\Cookies\index.dat\WINDOWS\History\index.dat\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\index.dat In Windows 2000 and Windows XP there are several "index.dat" files in these locations:\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Cookies\index.dat\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\index.dat\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012001123120020101\index.dat\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\MSHist012002010720020114\index.dat\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat Index.dat files can be very hard to find. If you are in Windows, even with "Show hidden files and folders" enabled, index.dat files are not visible and cannot be found if you do a search for index.dat files. The reason that these files are so invisible is that they are not just hidden, they have been designated as "system" files. System files and folders are treated differently in DOS and Windows and are effectively cloaked from casual searches.From here.If you really want to see what's inside, a viewer is obtainable from here but, personally, I wouldn't bother. I'm happy enough that they can be deleted when necessary.Please note that I do not make any recommendations about any software availbable in the links I have given and you download and use at your own risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted June 4, 2006 Report Share Posted June 4, 2006 There is a link in my first reply which allows you to see the contents of the files.Here it is in full http://www.stevengould.org/software/indexdatspy/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 I don't know why you are asking this question, but if you are worried about the contents of the index.dat file and want to get rid of it - CCleaner can do this for you (it will be done during the next reboot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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