Windows hack for Web-surfing privacy

["Thomas C. Greene" <tcgreene () bellatlantic net>]

I've been in quest of a way to assign the IE browser cache, cookies, typed
URLs and history to RAM so they're never written to disk. Of course you can
set your browser to delete the cache on exit, but there will be traces on
the HDD; and you can block cookies or use a cookie management program, but
blocking them makes surfing inconvenient, and cookie managers also leave
traces on the HDD. And then there's the history, which catalogues your
comings and goings for posterity.

So the challenge for me has been to set the IE cache, cookies, URL history
and typed URLs to a RAM drive so they're never written to disk. This would
enable you to accept cookies for more convenient surfing without leaving
traces of your comings and goings on your machine. Not even the most
sophisticated forensics tool can re-construct your surfing history if it's
never written to disk in the first place, after all.

I've since come up with two hacks which accomplish this, one for Windows 95
and 98, and one for 2K and XP. The latter may work with NT after some
tweaking, though I haven't tested it; and I quite simply failed with that
neither-fish-nor-fowl evolutionary missing-link otherwise known as Win-ME.

I'm grateful to Walt Moorhouse, Steven T., Lutz Albers and Eric the Troll
for their encouragement and suggestions. ®

Courage, beta testers:
RamSurf for Win-9x  http://213.40.196.62/media/700.zip
RamSurf for Win-2K/XP  http://213.40.196.62/media/701.zip

chrz,
t.

================
Thomas C. Greene
Washington Bureau Chief
The Register
mailto:thomas.greeneAtheregister.co.uk
http://www.theregister.co.uk