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Giveaway of the day for November 12, 2008 is Secure Evidence Scrubber.
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When you run Setup.exe, it places SecureEvidenceScrubber.exe into your C: folder. If you have some security software like Threatfire, you might get a prompt that this might be malicious software. The security software is right in prompting you because extracting anything into the C: folder is really odd.
Anyway, when you find SecureEvieneScrubber.exe, run it and extract it. After installing, you will be prompted to restart Windows. After installation, if you go to Help -> About you may notice it says “24 hour license”. Bubby from GOTD has this to say about that:
The comment in the about box – re: “24 hour license” appears to be only that. A comment. I’ve set my system clock forward a few days and the software starts up just fine. (But thanks for pointing it out. Stranger things have happened)
Here is a list of features this software has (right off the developer’s website):
KEY FEATURES: 01. Professional Secure Privacy Erasing Software. 02. Supports Microsoft Windows evidence erasure. 03. Supports Internet Explorer evidence erasure. 04. Supports Opera evidence erasure. 05. Supports Mozilla Firefox evidence erasure. 06. Supports Netscape evidence erasure. 08. Supports Sea Monkey evidence erasure. 09. Supports many Instant Messengers evidence erasure. 10. Supports many P2P Clients evidence erasure. 11. Supports many 3rd party applications evidence erasure. 12. Supports custom file/folder secure erasure. 13. Supports US depart of defence certified erasing algorithms. 14. Supports Drive Wiping - Scrubbing of deleted data. 15. Supports Secure File Erasing - Scrubbing of files data beyond recovery. 16. Supports Garbage Seeker - Locate and destroy unneeded data. 17. Supports Recycle bin secure erasing. 18. Supports logging of all data scrubbed.
ArzooSoft Solutions is a new company that was started in 2008. It is a company run by IT students pursuing their graduation from Kolkata, India. Now there is nothing wrong with IT students from India, nor is there anything wrong with software written by college students, but I for one am not ready to trust the security of my computer to students when there are more viable alternatives out there. Not to mention there is no phone number for contact on the company’s website, and the only email for contact is a @gmail.com email.
I installed this program, but I have yet to use any of its features. This program is almost identical to WinUtilities, which was a giveaway earlier. And the thing is, with program like these, you really want to be careful because these programs can really mess up your computer by deleting important files. Meaning if you delete something by accident, something important, you are bound to have to reinstall your windows. So, I am not willing to trust this software yet – if you google it you will find almost no feedback on it. When there are viable and more reliable alternatives, you should not use this software either:
WinUtilities was a giveaway a couple of weeks back. It is not free, but it is the buffed up version of CCleaner. It has all the features Secure Evidence Scrubber has (and more), but it has a better GUI, and it more reliable. It is a much superior software when compared to Secure Evidence Scrubber.
CCleaner is an excellent piece of software. It is 100% reliable and has a reputation for not deleting core files on your computer (meaning it actually does what it claims to do). Best of all, it is always free. It does not have all the features SES has, unfortunately, but it is a much superior software for what it does have.
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Cleans the following
Internet Explorer
Temporary files, URL history, cookies, Autocomplete form history, index.dat.
Firefox
Temporary files, URL history, cookies, download history.
Opera
Temporary files, URL history, cookies.
Windows
Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files.
Registry cleaner
Advanced features to remove unused and old entries, including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more… also comes with a comprehensive backup feature.
Third-party applications
Removes temp files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many apps including Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, MS Office, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and many more…
-CCleaner Developer
Recuva will allow you to recover files that you have deleted, whether by accident or purpose. It is by the same company that made CCleaner. I have no personal experience with it, but someone on the GOTD website recommended it.
Eraser will…erase. Eraser is a program that permanently deletes your files, using Department of Defense standards. Again, no personal experience with this program, but people have recommended it to me before, so I pass on the knowledge without malice =).
PMnet Verdict: Do not put your computer at risk by using Secure Evidence Scrubber. Go the safe path, and if you got WinUtilities from GOTD the other day, keep with it. Otherwise get CCleaner, Recuva and Eraser.
