Clear Internet Explorer 6.0 browsing history with Script

Question

I used the following script to delete browsing history in IE 7.0

RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 255 

But now I need a script to clear browsing history in IE 6.0

I get the error "Missing ClearMyTracksByProcess entry". I passed various parameters, such as 2, 5, etc., and was not successful.

Answer 1

 // test.cpp : Defines the entry point for the console application. // #include "stdafx.h" #include "test.h" #include <shlguid.h> // Needed for CLSID_CUrlHistory #include <urlhist.h> // Needed for IUrlHistoryStg2 and IID_IUrlHistoryStg2 #ifdef _DEBUG #define new DEBUG_NEW #endif // The one and only application object CWinApp theApp; using namespace std; int _tmain(int argc, TCHAR* argv[], TCHAR* envp[]) { int nRetCode = 0; // initialize MFC and print and error on failure if (!AfxWinInit(::GetModuleHandle(NULL), NULL, ::GetCommandLine(), 0)) { // TODO: change error code to suit your needs _tprintf(_T("Fatal Error: MFC initialization failed\n")); nRetCode = 1; } else { // TODO: code your application behavior here. IUrlHistoryStg2* pHistory; // We need this interface for clearing the history. HRESULT hr; DWORD cRef; CoInitialize(NULL); // Load the correct Class and request IUrlHistoryStg2 hr = CoCreateInstance(CLSID_CUrlHistory, NULL, CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER, IID_IUrlHistoryStg2, reinterpret_cast<void **>(&pHistory)); if (SUCCEEDED(hr)) { // Clear the IE History hr = pHistory->ClearHistory(); } // Release our reference to the cRef = pHistory->Release(); CoUninitialize(); } return nRetCode; } 

Answer 2

Since INETCPL.CPL version 7.0 , which comes with Internet Explorer 7, has an entry point named ClearMyTracksByProcessW , it may not be available in IE6.

Therefore, maybe a script is a more basic solution:

 @ECHO OFF ECHO * Cleaning Current User Temp Folders * FOR /D %%G IN ("C:\Documents and Settings\*.*") DO DEL/S/Q/F "%%G\Cookies\*.*" FOR /D %%G IN ("C:\Documents and Settings\*.*") DO DEL/S/Q/F "%%G\Local Settings\Temp\*.*" FOR /D %%G IN ("C:\Documents and Settings\*.*") DO DEL/S/Q/F "%%G\Local Settings\History\*.*" FOR /D %%G IN ("C:\Documents and Settings\*.*") DO DEL/S/Q/F "%%G\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*.*" Echo * Done * PAUSE CLS 

(you can save only the “delete” that interests you in this script)

However, as reported in this thread , this may not be enough.

---

The only other solution is to use the (free) thirdparty utility:

alt text http://www.ccleanerbeginnersguide.com/ccleanerhelp.png CCleaner

Other options are mentioned in this thread :

• index.dat
• Xp Tweaks (see 24 on the right)

Answer 3

ClearMyTracks () was not part of IE6, so you cannot do the same trick.

If you just want to clear the story, you can write a small program that is just CoCreates (CLSID_CUrlHistory, IID_IUrlHistoryStg2), and then call IUrlHistoryStg :: ClearHistory () .

Should be able to do this from VBScript too, but I don't know the right mojo.

Answer 4

Bad News Feed

Attempting to delete Internet history using ClearMyTracksByProcess on Win 7 with IE8 / 9 stops working, and you can only clear some files by running dos delete commands at startup because microsoft uses super hidden folders, locks files, and this is a big mess and upsets Big Brother.

This code clears IE8 / 9 plus FireFox and public objects / files of flash files, but if you want to delete Index.dat files, then click my name to see the code.

 using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.IO; using System.Diagnostics; using System.Text; namespace Fidling { public static class SpywareRemoval { private static void RemoveSpywareFiles(string RootPath, string Path,bool Recursive) { string FullPath = RootPath + Path + "\\"; if (Directory.Exists(FullPath)) { DirectoryInfo DInfo = new DirectoryInfo(FullPath); FileAttributes Attr = DInfo.Attributes; DInfo.Attributes = FileAttributes.Normal; foreach (string FileName in Directory.GetFiles(FullPath)) { RemoveSpywareFile(FileName); } if (Recursive) { foreach (string DirName in Directory.GetDirectories(FullPath)) { RemoveSpywareFiles("", DirName, true); try { Directory.Delete(DirName); }catch { } } } DInfo.Attributes = Attr; } } private static void RemoveSpywareFile(string FileName) { if (File.Exists(FileName)) { try { File.Delete(FileName); }catch { }//Locked by something and you can forget trying to delete index.dat files this way } } private static void DeleteFireFoxFiles(string FireFoxPath) { RemoveSpywareFile(FireFoxPath + "cookies.sqlite"); RemoveSpywareFile(FireFoxPath + "content-prefs.sqlite"); RemoveSpywareFile(FireFoxPath + "downloads.sqlite"); RemoveSpywareFile(FireFoxPath + "formhistory.sqlite"); RemoveSpywareFile(FireFoxPath + "search.sqlite"); RemoveSpywareFile(FireFoxPath + "signons.sqlite"); RemoveSpywareFile(FireFoxPath + "search.json"); RemoveSpywareFile(FireFoxPath + "permissions.sqlite"); } public static void RunCleanup() { try { KillProcess("iexplore"); } catch { }//Need to stop incase they have locked the files we want to delete try { KillProcess("FireFox"); } catch { }//Need to stop incase they have locked the files we want to delete string RootPath = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Personal).ToLower().Replace("documents", ""); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects",false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\macromedia.com\support\flashplayer\sys\#local", false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Local\Temporary Internet Files", false);//Not working RemoveSpywareFiles("", Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Cookies), true); RemoveSpywareFiles("", Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.InternetCache), true); RemoveSpywareFiles("", Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.History), true); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Wer", true); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Caches", false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Local\Microsoft\WebsiteCache", false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Local\Temp", false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\LocalLow\Microsoft\CryptnetUrlCache", false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\LocalLow\Apple Computer\QuickTime\downloads", false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles", false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office\Recent", false); RemoveSpywareFiles(RootPath, @"AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Flash Player\AssetCache", false); if (Directory.Exists(RootPath + @"\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles")) { string FireFoxPath = RootPath + @"AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\"; DeleteFireFoxFiles(FireFoxPath); foreach (string SubPath in Directory.GetDirectories(FireFoxPath)) { DeleteFireFoxFiles(SubPath + "\\"); } } } private static void KillProcess(string ProcessName) {//We ned to kill Internet explorer and Firefox to stop them locking files ProcessName = ProcessName.ToLower(); foreach (Process P in Process.GetProcesses()) { if (P.ProcessName.ToLower().StartsWith(ProcessName)) P.Kill(); } } } } 

Answer 5

I will give you a hand on this. This is what I use myself.

i call up the help window, edit it as you wish

 @echo off echo. echo Clearing History echo Please close this window if opening this was a mistake. pause echo. echo Clearing History: File Explorer Del /F /Q %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\* Del /F /Q %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\* Del /F /Q %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\* REG Delete HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU /VA /F REG Delete HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\TypedPaths /VA /F echo. echo Completed! echo. echo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- echo. echo Clearing History: Firefox echo. echo Scanning for 'Firefox' data set DataDir=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles IF NOT EXIST "%DataDir%" GOTO NOFIREFOXDIR del /q /s /f "%DataDir%" rd /s /q "%DataDir%" for /d %%x in (C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*) do del /q /s /f %%x\*sqlite GOTO YESFIREFOXDIR :NOFIREFOXDIR echo. echo Firefox NOT found! echo. GOTO CHROMESETUP :YESFIREFOXDIR echo. echo Completed! echo. :CHROMESETUP echo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- echo. echo Clearing History: Google Chrome echo. echo Scanning for 'Google Chrome' data. set ChromeDir=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data IF NOT EXIST "%ChromeDir%" GOTO NOCHROMEDIR del /q /s /f "%ChromeDir%" rd /s /q "%ChromeDir%" GOTO YESCHROMEDIR :NOCHROMEDIR echo. echo Google Chrome NOT found! echo. GOTO OPERASETUP :YESCHROMEDIR echo. echo Completed! echo. :OPERASETUP echo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- echo. echo Clearing History: Opera echo. echo Scanning for 'Opera' data. set OperaDir=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Opera\Opera set OperaDir2=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Opera\Opera IF NOT EXIST "%OperaDir%" GOTO OPERA2 del /q /s /f "%Opera%" rd /s /q "%Opera%" :OPERA2 IF NOT EXIST "%OperaDir2%" GOTO NOOPERADIR del /q /s /f "%Opera2%" rd /s /q "%Opera2%" GOTO YESOPERADIR :NOOPERADIR echo. echo Opera NOT found! echo. GOTO APPLESETUP :YESOPERADIR echo. echo Completed! echo. :APPLESETUP echo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- echo. echo Clearing History: Apple Safari echo. echo Scanning for 'Apple Safari' data. set AppleDir=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Applec~1\Safari set AppleDir2=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Applec~1\Safari IF NOT EXIST "%AppleDir%" GOTO APPLESETOP del /q /s /f "%AppleDir%\History" rd /s /q "%AppleDir%\History" del /q /s /f "%AppleDir%\Cache.db" del /q /s /f "%AppleDir%\WebpageIcons.db" :APPLESETOP IF NOT EXIST "%AppleDir2%" GOTO NOAPPLEDIR del /q /s /f "%AppleDir2%" rd /s /q "%AppleDir2%" GOTO YESAPPLEDIR :NOAPPLEDIR echo. echo Apple Safari NOT found! echo. GOTO INTESETUP :YESAPPLEDIR echo. echo Completed! echo. :INTESETUP echo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- echo. echo Clearing History: Microsoft Internet Explorer echo. echo Scanning for 'Microsoft Internet Explorer' data. set IEDataDir=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Intern~1 IF NOT EXIST "%IEDataDir%" GOTO HISTORYDIR del /q /s /f "%IEDataDir%" rd /s /q "%IEDataDir%" :HISTORYDIR set History=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History IF NOT EXIST "%History%" GOTO IETEMPDIR del /q /s /f "%History%" rd /s /q "%History%" :IETEMPDIR set IETemp=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Tempor~1 IF NOT EXIST "%History%" GOTO COOKIESDIR del /q /s /f "%IETemp%" rd /s /q "%IETemp%" :COOKIESDIR set Cookies=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies IF NOT EXIST "%Cookies%" GOTO FLASHCCC del /q /s /f "%Cookies%" rd /s /q "%Cookies%" :FLASHCCC set FlashCookies=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flashp~1 IF NOT EXIST "%FlashCookies%" GOTO FINAL del /q /s /f "%FlashCookies%" rd /s /q "%FlashCookies%" :FINAL echo. cls echo. echo Thank you for using our cleaner... echo. pause