Do you worry about the footprints you leave behind while using Windows? Deleting browser history, cache or 'recent' lists doesn't do the job. Index.dat files will still exist on your machine, and it's surprising how much of your usage history can be found by scanning these files.

According to Wikipedia, some people believe these files, usually hidden, are an invasion of privacy as they maintain a record of activity even after users believe they have cleaned their system. Index.dat Analyzer finds these files and lets you delete them.

The interface is pretty simple. Upon startup it's not necessary to do anything, as all the .dat files are automatically displayed. You can browse them and delete any you want by checking them and clicking 'Delete', or choose 'Check all' from the edit menu and get rid of everything.

As there will no doubt be hundreds or thousands of files in the list, you can filter them by text. So, by entering 'jpg' you'll just see all the jpg files (as well as any other files that happen to contain those letters together).

Browsing through the cache can be a real eye-opener to the casual user, as it's pretty amazing just how much stuff is kept within your system files without your knowledge. If you find anything you want, you can easily extract them to the folder of your choice.

While this may seem like a tool for the paranoid, it is another useful weapon for cleaning your system and making Windows run faster. For people worried about privacy, it offers a useful service.

Index.dat Analyzer is a simple and eye-opening piece of cleaning software.