Webroot Window Washer

by Webroot Software Inc

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000070MQZ
• Item model number: 10202
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 7, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,550 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Webroot's Window Washer wipes clean your Internet history and PC activity by eliminating cookies, cache, history files, auto complete forms, recently viewed items, and much more. It also helps you boost system performance by eliminating Internet clutter.

During a standard run on our system, Window Washer cleaned out nearly 12,000 files and freed up over 75 MB of disk space. Of course, many of these files can be advantageous during browsing, such as cookie files that keep track of login information on your favorite Web sites. For example, my Netflix login info was wiped out by Window Washer the first time I used it. But the program also includes a neat little feature called Cookie Keeper that lets you peruse a list of cookies on your system and decide which ones to save. I logged back in to Netflix, then told Window Washer to keep their cookie. Subsequent washings skipped over the file.

Window Washer also offers a "bleaching" feature that will overwrite files up to 10 times to ensure that they can't be recovered via an undelete utility. In addition to cleaning standard programs like Netscape and Internet Explorer, you can download plug-ins for up to 150 other applications like RealPlayer and Juno, so Window Washer can clean these as well. We grabbed the Opera plug-in--only 80 KB in size--and it took just a few seconds to install it to be used in the next wash.

Best of all, Window Washer takes up less than 10 MB of space on your system. It's easy to use, it can be set to automatically wash your system periodically, and it's an inexpensive way to add peace of mind to your PC. --J. Curtis

Amazon.com Product Description

Protect your privacy, securely delete files, boost system performance, and much more with Window Washer. Permanently wipe away any history of PC and Internet activities. Remove useless files to regain disk space and speed up your system. And save selected cookies, allowing you to maintain preferred settings.

Window Washer cleans all traces of Internet and PC activity, including the cache, cookies, history, mail trash, drop-down address bar contents, auto complete forms, downloaded program files, Recycle Bin contents, Registry streams, Windows Temp folder files, and more. Easily assign files, folders, or Registry entries for cleaning. More than 150 custom wash item plugins come preconfigured to clean the tracks of various popular programs such as RealOne Player and Adobe Acrobat.

An automatic cleaning feature allows you to clean at intervals you specify or during shutdown or startup, and it works with the Windows task scheduler. Plus, a bleaching tool lets you completely overwrite files with random characters up to 10 times, rendering the file unrecoverable by undelete or unerase utilities. The bleach function overwrites files in FAT, FAT32, and NTFS, and will even overwrite slack space.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the bunch, February 7, 2003

By 

"colorado_dad" (Longmont, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Webroot Window Washer (CD-ROM)

There are several window washing utilities that can be purchased on the web as well as utilities that are included in utility suites such as Norton Systemworks. This utility is by far the best of the bunch. Most of its competitors that can be downloaded are not as efficient and most of the utilities within suites do not work automatically, rather they must be given specific files to wash or wipe from the disk. Window Washer will automatically search for the default directories for your recycle bin, internet cache, cookies, and other temporary files that take up large amounts of disk space but are often not needed. It can then wash them automatically according to a schedule you set. For those who are security conscious or paranoid, numerous settings and histories can be washed such as the Document, Run, and Search histories found in the Windows Start Menu. Numerous "tracks" such as the listing of previously opened files in the File menu can also be washed. In addition to washing files and settings a user can have Window Washer bleach files by overwriting them a specified number of times with random data. There are literally hundreds of plug-ins that can be downloaded for free from the Webroot website to wash specific programs. If you are looking for a program to free up disk space or ensure privacy this the program for you.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not what I was looking for, June 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Webroot Window Washer (CD-ROM)

I purchased this software solely for the bleaching. While this program can bleach files on your hard drive, it does nothing to bleach unused HD space. So, files deleted before this program was installed can still potentially be on your disk. Since the technology is there, I don't see why this feature can't be added.

Even though it is very handy software and I don't intend to return it, I feel I was fooled into buying it by their claim "Wash away all traces of your PC and Internet activity..."

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting item for security and privacy, Excellent, February 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Webroot Window Washer (CD-ROM)

Some times while being online
one may receive pop up ads that will
tell one that one has to download
the recommended window washer from them that is offered
because of your internet activity they say is being recorded every minute, but this is not so. So, I decided to search for the item myself and came across the item on Amazon.Com. The Product is called Webroot Window Washer.
The item is really quite something because the program[Which arrives in a CDROM] will actually destroy and delete all the internet addresses that are stored On your computer[machine]. One[the buyer of this item] also has too do some reading because you have too do some typing and cliking before everything is set up, but for the most part everything is clear[to read and do]. Before you purchase this item make sure it is compatible with your [machine]. I purchased a Hewlett
Packard [machine] that has the Window Programs "XP" so it absolutely works well with mine, but make sure the Cd-Rom is compatible with your machine before purchasing. Because refunds on some items with some companies are just too technical.The issue of money, and money refunds is very politically with many companies, so check. I purchased the item from Amazon.Com but a distributor sent it too me from New York City.

On the product Webroot and its performance.
The Product[Webroot Washer]Once installed works like a charm.
It will delete, and destroy all the internet addresses that
that you have stored on your machine. Internet addresses that you or either your friend visited while being online, whether using his or her machine that you simply want erased for whatever reason it may be.The issue here is control and privacy.
This is Privacy and Security at its Max. You definitely can not go wrong with this. Products such as these [Webroot Washer]should be advertised alot, they are a must to all computer users and novices of the machine[computer]. The future is now, and not tomorrow, so get this product ! [You definitely want control in your life]. Product [Webroot Window Washer]Is Recommended.

You definitely do not want one snooping around your computer for whatever reason, or do you ?