The song lyric 'every step you take, I'll be watching you' definitely applies to your computer. Each Web page you visit, each term you search on, and even the files you delete remain recorded somewhere in the deep, dark corners of your hard drive -- even after you delete the records and empty your recycle bin. With the right tools and a little know-how, anyone with access to your computer could discover all your recent activities down to which files you had most recently opened in Microsoft Office.
The CuteShield Privacy & Security Protect Suite is one of the many products designed to help you keep your computer private. The package consists of three separate applications: Track Eraser 2.30, FileShredder 1.32 and IE Popup Blocker 1.22. Each covers a different aspect of the privacy problem. Track Eraser allows you to permanently delete all records of your online activities, from your cache to your browser's cookie collection. FileShredder permanently removes files from your system with a seven-pass file shredding methodology that should prevent recovery. IE Popup Blocker deals with that eternal annoyance to all Web surfers -- pop-up browser windows.
Track Eraser does just what it says it will. When you start the application, it offers you several functions. You can use the different tabs to pick and choose which tracks you'd like erased, whether it's your free disk space (to remove tracks of deleted files) or your IE browser tracks, which include your visit history and cookie collection. The application also offers a "Quick Erase" option so that you can go down the list and check off all the tracks you'd like to remove. Once you've selected your tracks, erasing them is as easy as clicking a button.
FileShredder's functionality is even simpler. Browse to find the file you want and click the 'start shredding' button to remove it permanently. IE Popup Blocker fulfills its name as well. In hours of surfing, we didn't see a single unsolicited popup window. So if you are concerned about leaving tracks on your computer for whatever reason, if you are sick to death of annoying popup ads, or both, the CuteShield Privacy & Security Protect Suite might be just what you need.
