A typical session at the computer leaves behind a significant amount of traces. Histories, visited sites, cookies, downloads, logs, and much more. All these details can be managed or contained with greater security when the computer is personal, but when we are forced to use public terminals or other shared systems, it's not a bad idea to have a copy of PrivaZer, which takes care of cleaning that digital junk.
The Digital Trail Problem
When we talk about privacy, we're not only referring to what happens "on the Web", but also to the huge amount of elements the system stores about our activity. Some programs make extensive use of histories and logs to make subsequent sessions more comfortable, but that doesn't change the fact that such information perhaps shouldn't be stored permanently.
While we understand the advantages of a computer that lets us log into Facebook by typing only three or four letters of its address, the truth is that it is not a good security practice. The market offers several maintenance programs that emphasize privacy, and today we're going to review a classic on NeoTeo, PrivaZer.
PrivaZer's Strengths and Quirks
It's good news that all of PrivaZer's main functions are still there, as well as the option to download a portable version. PrivaZer can be a bit intimidating at first, and it has a wizard that helps novice users; however, its true power emerges when you activate the advanced user mode. Something I've always liked about PrivaZer is its ability to analyze the MFT and free space to detect personal data.
Cleaning both sections takes time (especially free space), but as we've said on previous occasions, paranoia works. Now, PrivaZer has a function that 'cleans' RAM, and while I understand the theory behind it, I don't consider it relevant. Any resource that promises to clean or defragment RAM falls squarely into the placebo effect, and doesn't benefit the user.
Compatibility and Portable Edition
PrivaZer was recently updated (its latest update was yesterday), and from what we've been able to verify, there are no major changes in its compatibility, as it works with all major versions of Windows from XP onwards. The portable edition, which I recommend for any maintenance USB drive, weighs a little over 27 megabytes, and I haven't noticed any strange dependencies.
