Acronis PRIVACY EXPERT SUITE 9.0 User Manual

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User's Guide

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite 9.0

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Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2005. All rights reserved. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. OS/2 is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. Windows and MS-DOS are

registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their

respective owners. Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited

without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Distribution of this work or derivative work in any standard (paper) book form

for commercial purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder.

DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED «AS IS» AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID.

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END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

BY ACCEPTING, YOU (ORIGINAL PURCHASER) INDICATE YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO ACCEPT THE PRODUCT UNDER THESE TERMS, YOU MAY CHOOSE NOT TO ACCEPT BY SELECTING "I decline..." AND NOT INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE.

The Acronis Privacy Expert Suite (the software) is Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2005. All rights are reserved. The ORIGINAL PURCHASER is granted a LICENSE to use the software only, subject to the following restrictions and limitations.

1. The license is to the original purchaser only, and is not transferable without prior written permission from Acronis.

2. The original purchaser may use the software on a single computer owned or leased by the original purchaser. You may not use the software on more than one machine even if you own or lease all of them, without the written consent of Acronis.

3. The original purchaser may not engage in, nor permit third parties to engage in, any of the following:

A. Providing or permitting use of or disclosing the software to third parties. B. Providing use of the software in a computer service business, network, timesharing or

multiple user arrangement to users who are not individually licensed by Acronis.

C. Making alterations or copies of any kind in the software (except as specifically

permitted above).

D. Attempting to un-assemble, de-compile or reverse engineer the software in any way. E. Granting sublicenses, leases or other rights in the software to others. F. Making copies or verbal or media translations of the users guide.

G. Making telecommunication data transmission of the software. Acronis has the right to terminate this license if there is a violation of its terms or default

by the original purchaser. Upon termination for any reason, all copies of the software must be immediately returned to Acronis, and the original purchaser shall be liable to Acronis for any and all damages suffered as a result of the violation or default.

ENTIRE RISK

THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU THE PURCHASER. ACRONIS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE OR ITS FUNCTIONS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES — IN NO EVENT SHALL ACRONIS OR ITS VENDORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR THE LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ACRONIS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

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Table of Contents

END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT.................................................................................................. 3

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 7

What is Acronis Privacy Expert Suite?................................................................................................ 7

Why is it necessary to keep PC work confidential?............................................................................. 7

Standards of guaranteed destruction of confidential information......................................................... 8

What's new in Acronis Privacy Expert Suite 9.0?................................................................................8

What Acronis Privacy Expert Suite enables you to clean up............................................................... 9

How to find information you need in this guide:................................................................................... 9

System requirements ........................................................................................................................ 10

Software use conditions .................................................................................................................... 10

Technical support.............................................................................................................................. 11

CHAPTER 1. INSTALLING ACRONIS PRIVACY EXPERT SUITE........................................... 12

1.1 Installing the program............................................................................................... 12

1.2 Recovering Acronis Privacy Expert Suite................................................................. 13

1.3 Acronis Privacy Expert Suite extracting ...................................................................13

1.4 Removing the software............................................................................................. 14

CHAPTER 2. WORKING WITH ACRONIS PRIVACY EXPERT SUITE .................................... 15

2.1 Getting started..........................................................................................................15

2.2 Working in the main program window......................................................................15

2.3 Basic operation principles ........................................................................................16

2.4 Acronis Privacy Expert Suite options .......................................................................17

2.4.1 General options.................................................................................................................. 17

2.4.2 Clean-up Options ............................................................................................................... 17

2.4.3 Scheduled tasks.................................................................................................................18

2.4.4 Explorer enhancements ..................................................................................................... 18

2.4.5 Invoking the scheduler ....................................................................................................... 18

2.4.6 Scheduled tasks preferences............................................................................................. 19

2.5 Using the Log ...........................................................................................................20

CHAPTER 3. MALICIOUS SOFTWARE REMOVAL AND MALWARE SHIELD...................... 22

How malware gets on your PC.......................................................................................................... 22

How to recognize malware?.............................................................................................................. 22

If you need to:.................................................................................................................................... 23

3.1 Malicious software removal......................................................................................23

3.1.1 Removing malware with the Malicious Software Wizard.....................................................23

3.1.2 Setting up the Malicious Software Wizard.......................................................................... 25

Selecting scanning mode .................................................................................................................. 25

Setting up Deep scanning mode ....................................................................................................... 26

Saving settings.................................................................................................................................. 26

3.2 Malicious software protection...................................................................................26

3.2.1 Enabling Malware shield..................................................................................................... 27

3.2.2 Setting up Malware shield .................................................................................................. 27

Setting up the system protection level............................................................................................... 27

General settings................................................................................................................................ 28

Process analyzing............................................................................................................................. 29

Registry protection ............................................................................................................................ 29

Memory protection............................................................................................................................. 30

File protection.................................................................................................................................... 31

Specified rules................................................................................................................................... 31

History............................................................................................................................................... 32

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Show alerts........................................................................................................................................ 32

3.3 Quarantine................................................................................................................ 33

3.4 Malware definitions updates..................................................................................... 34

3.4.1 Product registration............................................................................................................34

3.4.2 Running Malicious Software Definitions Updates Wizard................................................... 35

3.4.3 Selecting update mode....................................................................................................... 35

3.4.4 Setting the schedule........................................................................................................... 36

CHAPTER 4. INTERNET CLEAN-UP......................................................................................... 37

4.1 General information.................................................................................................. 37

4.2 Using the Internet Clean-up Wizard.........................................................................37

4.3 Internet Clean-up Wizard Settings ........................................................................... 39

4.3.1 «Data Destruction Method» settings .................................................................................. 39

4.3.2 «Internet Browsers» setting................................................................................................ 39

4.3.3 «Address» setting...............................................................................................................40

4.3.4 «File» settings....................................................................................................................42

4.3.5 «Data filter» settings........................................................................................................... 43

4.3.6 «E-mail clients» settings..................................................................................................... 43

4.4 Cleaning up separate Internet components............................................................. 44

CHAPTER 5. SYSTEM CLEAN-UP............................................................................................ 45

5.1 General information.................................................................................................. 45

5.2 Using the System Clean-up Wizard ......................................................................... 45

5.3 System Clean-up Wizard settings............................................................................46

5.3.1 «Data Destruction Method» settings .................................................................................. 47

5.3.2 «Files» settings .................................................................................................................. 47

5.3.3 «Computers» setting.......................................................................................................... 48

5.3.4 «Drive Free Space» setting................................................................................................ 49

5.3.5 «Commands» setting ......................................................................................................... 50

5.3.6 «System Password Filter» setting...................................................................................... 50

5.4 Cleaning up separate system components.............................................................. 51

CHAPTER 6. APPLICATION TRACES CLEAN-UP .................................................................. 52

6.1 General information.................................................................................................. 52

6.2 Using the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard........................................................ 52

6.3 Application Traces Clean-up Wizard settings .......................................................... 53

6.3.1 «Data Destruction Method» settings .................................................................................. 53

6.3.2 Select Applications.............................................................................................................54

6.3.3 «Files» settings .................................................................................................................. 55

CHAPTER 7. MY PRIVACY TOOLS........................................................................................... 57

7.1 General information.................................................................................................. 57

7.2 Using File Shredder.................................................................................................. 58

7.3 Paging file cleaner.................................................................................................... 58

CHAPTER 8. ACRONIS POP-UP BLOCKER............................................................................ 60

8.1 What are pop-ups?................................................................................................... 60

8.2 Acronis Pop-up Blocker............................................................................................ 60

8.3 Acronis Pop-up Blocker settings .............................................................................. 60

8.3.1 Acronis Pop-up Blocker General Settings.......................................................................... 61

8.3.2 User List............................................................................................................................. 61

8.3.3 Black List............................................................................................................................ 61

8.3.4 History................................................................................................................................ 62

8.3.5 Acronis Pop-up Blocker options ......................................................................................... 63

CHAPTER 9. ACRONIS DRIVE CLEANSER............................................................................. 65

9.1 Acronis Drive Cleanser capabilities.......................................................................... 65

9.2 Working with Acronis Drive Cleanser....................................................................... 65

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9.3 Using preset data destruction methods.................................................................... 66

9.4 Creating custom methods of data destruction.......................................................... 68

9.4.1 Creating custom methods .................................................................................................. 68

9.4.2 Method definition: template ................................................................................................ 69

9.4.3 Saving a custom method to file.......................................................................................... 73

9.4.4 Loading a method from a file.............................................................................................. 75

9.5 Creating a bootable diskette or CD with Acronis Drive Cleanser ............................ 75

APPENDIX A. HARD DISK WIPING METHODS........................................................................76

A.1 Information wiping methods’ functioning principles.................................................. 76

A.2 Information wiping methods used by Acronis........................................................... 77

APPENDIX B. MALWARE THREATS GLOSSARY...................................................................78

Adware.............................................................................................................................................. 78

Browser Helper Objects..................................................................................................................... 78

Browser hijackers.............................................................................................................................. 78

Commercial keylogger....................................................................................................................... 78

Dialers............................................................................................................................................... 78

Exploit/Security holes........................................................................................................................79

Backdoor...........................................................................................................................................79

Sniffers.............................................................................................................................................. 79

Spyware............................................................................................................................................ 79

Toolbars ............................................................................................................................................ 79

Trojan Horses (Trojans) .................................................................................................................... 79

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Introduction

What is Acronis Privacy Expert Suite?

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite is an integrated software suite that provides confidentiality and protects standalone PCs or machines connected to the

Internet. The following capabilities of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite ensure PC

confidentiality:

 Clean-up of malicious software that secretly operates on a user’s PC  Proactive protection from malicious software threats  PC hard disk and Windows partition clean-up of any traces of user actions  Unwanted pop-up ad blocking for convenient Web browsing  Guaranteed confidential data destruction on selected hard disks or disk

partitions

Unlike other software, Acronis Privacy Expert Suite fully removes evidence of PC usage through the use of guaranteed data destruction methods.

Introduction

It also increases PC performance by cleaning out temporary files.

Why is it necessary to keep PC work confidential?

Working with a PC creates a number of serious security problems for users:  While installing software on your PC, you might unknowingly install malware

— malicious programs that secretly change system settings, collect and transfer personal information to external addresses, and perform other unwanted and uncontrollable actions.

 You have created and deleted many files on your computer. You do not want

anyone to view them. But is a deleted file really gone? No! The problem is that deleted files can be easily recovered under the Windows operating system to gain access to information a user would like to conceal.

 Windows and the most widely used browsers, Internet Explorer and Netscape

Navigator, provide very weak protection on keeping trace Internet data private.

 While working with a PC, you leave thousands of bytes of evidence showing

your actions (records in various system files) that you don’t even know

about. This could include user names and passwords.

 When replacing your old hard drive with a new, higher-capacity one, you

potentially could leave lots of important and confidential information on the old drive that can be recovered, even if you reformat the drive.

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite provides a solution to all of these problems. It assures complete confidentiality of your PC and Internet actions and prevents situations that threaten your computer and general security.

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Introduction

Standards of guaranteed destruction of confidential information

The software offers the guaranteed destruction of confidential information on hard disk drives with the help of special tools.

Acronis methods comply with most national standards:

 American: U.S. Standard, DoD 5220.22-M  American: NAVSO P-5239-26 (RLL)  American: NAVSO P-5239-26 (MFM)  German: VSITR  Russian: GOST P50739-95

Besides methods corresponding to national standards, Acronis supports predefined methods proposed by widely known and authoritative specialists in

the field of information security: Peter Gutmann’s method – data on a hard disk is destroyed with 35 passes Bruce Schneier’s method – data is destroyed with seven passes

The suite also supports simple but fast methods of information destruction that

zero all sectors on a single hard disk pass.

Another major feature of this version is the opportunity for you to create your

own methods for data destruction.

The most popular at the moment is the U.S. Standard, Department of

Defense 5220.22-M method. Therefore, Acronis Privacy Expert Suite utilizes it

by default for all user trace removal operations.

Detailed information on data destruction standards is given in Appendix A «Hard

Disk Wiping methods» of this guide.

What's new in Acronis Privacy Expert Suite 9.0?

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite has many new features that make it a fully

integrated software suite. They include:

 User-friendly and simple wizards that quickly remove all traces of user

actions from PCs quickly, efficiently and effectively

 Improved Malicious Software Wizard that scans your computer for

malicious software and moves it in the Quarantine folder

 Fully new Malware shield – continuous malicious software protection that

now offers multiple levels of security

 Daily updated malware definitions base

 Quarantine feature enables the user restore and remove malicious objects

(files, registry keys etc.), deleted by malicious software removal operations

 Updated Acronis Pop-up Blocker - convenient and powerful tool protecting

you from importunate pop-up advertising

Additionally, improvements have been made to provide even more convenience.

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What Acronis Privacy Expert Suite enables you to clean up

The suite enables you to remove the evidence of your work in any Windows

section. It allows you:

 to remove secretly operating malicious software threats using the Malicious

Software Wizard

 to protect your PC from malware threats using Malware shield

 to clean the Internet cache

 to delete cookies

 to delete downloaded components

 to clean up the last visited pages and typed URLs lists

 to delete forms autocomplete and password lists for Web sites that require

authorization

 to delete e-mail messages in Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express

and clean up the contacts and address book lists

 to remov e Windows registry backups that retain evidence of a user’s work

with PCs and the Internet

 to delete temporary files from standard Windows folders

Introduction

 to delete custom folders/files from any disks connected to a PC

 to clean the Windows Recycle Bin

 to clean hard disk free space

 to clean the Windows prefetch directory

 to clean system passwords

 to clean the opened/saved files history

 to remove evidence from the find files list and find computers list

 to block unwanted pop-up ads using Acronis Pop-up Blocker

 to destroy securely all data on hard disks or partitions using Acronis Drive

Cleanser, if needed

 to clean up the Windows paging/swap file using Paging File Cleaner

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite permanently removes evidence of user PC activity.

To clean up a PC, it uses strict methods for guaranteed confidential data

destruction that meet or exceed most national/state standards (see Appendix A

«Hard Disk Wiping methods» for details).

How to find information you need in this guide:

This guide contains the following chapters:

 Chapter 1«Installing Acronis Privacy Expert Suite» — contains detailed

information about the installation of this software.

 Chapter 2 «Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite» — describes common

principles and settings.

 Chapter 3 «Malicious software removal and Malware shield» — describes

malicious software removal and Malware shield settings.

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Introduction

 Chapter 4«Internet Clean-up» — describes Web and

 Chapter 5« System Clean-up» — offers detailed information on how to clean

 Chapter 6«Application Traces Clean-up» — describes how to remove

 Chapter 7«My privacy tools» — provides general information on additional

 Chapter 8«Acronis Pop-up Blocker» — describes how to use the Acronis Pop-

 0«Options

 Acronis Drive Cleanser» — provides tools for guaranteed data destruction on

 Appendix A«Hard Disk Wiping methods» — contains more detailed

e-mail traces removal.

up your Windows system of all user traces

application usage traces from Windows using the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard.

tools and wizards that provide the means to completely delete data from your PC, either with the suite installed, or just from a bootable diskette.

up Blocker.

selected drives or partitions.

information about methods of guaranteed confidential data destruction on a PC hard disk.

 Appendix B «Malware threats glossary» — contains supplemental information

on the most popular spyware and spyware parasites that Acronis Privacy Expert Suite protects you from.

System requirements

To take full advantage of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite, you should have:

 a PC-compatible computer with a Pentium CPU or equivalent

 32 MB RAM

 a floppy or a CD-RW drive

 a mouse (recommended)

 Microsoft Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/ or

 Microsoft Windows NT Server/2000 Server/2000 Advanced Server/Windows

2003 Server

 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher for correct Pop-up Blocker

operation.

Software use conditions

The conditions for use of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite are listed in the supplied

«License Agreement». The registration card that came with the software is your

proof that you legally purchased the suite. Each registration card has a unique

number.

Based on current legislation, the «License Agreement» is considered as a

contract between the user and software vendor. Violation of the contract may

lead to prosecution.

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Introduction

Illegal use or distribution of software is a violation of the law and will be

prosecuted.

Technical support

Users who have legally purchased and registered their copy of Acro ni s P ri va cy E xpe rt Su it e will receive free technical support from Acronis. If you have installation or working problems that you can’t solve by yourself using this manual and the readme.txt file, email the tec hnical s u pport team. You will need to provide the serial number of your A c roni s Privacy Expert Suite copy bundled with the program.

Before you do this, you will have to register your copy at

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/products/registration/

Support URL:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/support/

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Installing Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

Chapter 1. Installing Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

1.1 Installing the program

To install Acronis Privacy Expert Suite:

1. Run the setup file.

2. In the Install Menu, click on the Install Acronis Privacy Expert Suite.

3. Read and accept the terms of the license agreement, then click Next.

4. Enter the serial number provided with product.

5. In the Choose setup type window, choose setup type:  Typical - installs most common program features (recommended

for most users).

 Custom - allows users to choose program features to install and

select a location for setup (recommended for advanced users). If you pick Custom, you can select components to install. You can even install only one program component and it will work as a standalone program (for example, you can install only the Acronis Pop-up Blocker to block the annoying pop-ups).

 Complete - all program features will be installed (requires the

most disk space).

6. In the Select Administrators Options window, choose Install for all users or Install for the currently logged-in user, then click Next.

7. Click Proceed to begin installation. To make changes in the setup, use Back and Next buttons.

8. After installation, reboot your PC. If you installed program from the installation CD, please, do not forget to remove this CD from the drive before you restart your PC to avoid booting from this CD.

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Acronis Privacy Expert Suite install menu

If you run the Acronis Privacy Expert Suite under Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0, then make sure that Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) version 2.5 is installed on your computer. To install MDAC on your computer, run the "mdac.exe" file that could be found on your PC in the Acronis Privacy Expert Suite installation folder. For example, "C:\Program Files\Acronis\PrivacyExpert\mdac.exe

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite also supports the Microsoft Installer utility (msiexec.exe) with all its commands.

1.2 Recovering Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

If the Acronis Privacy Expert Suite ceased running or produces errors, its files might be corrupted. To repair this problem, you first have to recover the program. To do this run the Acronis Privacy Expert Suite installer again. It will detect Acronis Privacy Expert Suite on your computer and will ask you if you want to repair or remove it.

1.3 Acronis Privacy Expert Suite extracting

Advanced users may save the .msi (Microsoft Installer) file needed for the installation of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite on a local or network drive for the further manual installation of the program.

To do this:

1. In the install menu, right click on the Install Acronis Privacy Expert Suite and select Extract

2. Select the location where you want to save the setup file and press the Save button

3. The following .msi file will be extracted: AcronisPrivacyExpert.msi

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Installing Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

1.4 Removing the software

To remove Acronis Privacy Expert Suite from your PC, select Start → Settings → Control Panel → Add or Remove Programs → Acronis Privacy Expert

Suite → Remove. You will see a dialog to confirm the program removal. Click Yes to confirm and Acronis Privacy Expert Suite will be completely removed. You

may have to reboot your computer afterwards to complete the task.

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Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

Chapter 2. Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

2.1 Getting started

The Acronis Privacy Expert Suite user interface features standard Windows XP icon graphical user interface (GUI) elements.

2.2 Working in the main program window

Work takes place in the main program window that is invoked after the suite is launched by selecting Start Acronis Privacy Expert Suite or double-clicking the respective desktop shortcut.

Æ All programs Æ Acronis Æ PrivacyExpert Æ

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite main window

Users can choose between two window layouts. By default, the program offers the standard Category View traditional for Windows XP, in which all functional elements are grouped by their category. If needed, a user can switch to the Classic View that is more familiar to users of previous versions of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite. To do this, select View settings

In the main program window, you will see two major groups of PC cleaning tools. The Malicious software group includes:  Malicious Software Removal – removes malware, including applications

and spyware that threaten information confidentiality by operating without

the user’s knowledge. The Privacy group includes:  Internet Clean-up – completely removes traces of Internet and e-mail

usage.

Æ Switch to classic view.

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Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

 System Clean-up – guaranteed to clean Windows components of any

traces of user work.

 Application Traces Clean-up – removes traces of application usage.  My Privacy Tools – provides additional means of enforcing user data

confidentiality, Acronis Drive Cleanser that completely clean up user hard disk

without the possibility of recovering information (see 0«Options  Acronis Drive Cleanser»).

Use Go back, Go forward and Home Toolbar buttons to switch between categories and to return to the main program window. You can also return to the main program window using Other categories Sidebar button.

2.3 Basic operation principles

In Acronis Privacy Expert Suite, the primary operations are performed using user-friendly wizards:

 Malicious Software Wizard – removes unwanted malware and spyware  System Clean-up Wizard – completely cleans Windows components of

traces of user work, including temporary files, recently used files list, file

search string, Windows Recycle Bin, etc  Internet Clean-up Wizard – quickly removes traces of Internet and e-mail

usage  Application Traces Clean-up Wizard – removes traces of application

usage. All wizards are under user control. Using wizards, you can clean either the entire

category or any of its components.

If you need to:  Check your PC for malicious software and remove it if found, select

Malicious Software Removal in the Malicious software group in the

main program window

 Remove all traces of your work on the Internet and e-mail, select

Internet Clean-up in the Privacy group in the main program window  Clean Windows components of any traces of user work, select System

Clean-up in the Privacy group in the main program window  Remove application usage traces from your PC, select Application Traces

Clean-up in the Privacy group in the main program window

 Additionally, the My Privacy Tools category offers you a number of extra PC

clean-up and protection tools

 Block unwanted pop-ups that appear when you load certain Web sites, use

Acronis Pop-up Blocker (from your Internet Explorer session).

 Clean up the swap file, run Paging File Cleaner

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Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

 Securely remove data in the selected partition and/or disk, run Acronis

Drive Cleanser  Remove selected files or folders, so they can't be recovered, run File

Shredder

For more information on wizard usage and settings, see the respective chapters of this guide.

2.4 Acronis Privacy Expert Suite options

If you regularly use Acronis Privacy Expert Suite, you can provide custom preferences for typical situations.

The Options window can be invoked in different ways:

 From the sidebar of the Acronis Privacy Expert Suite main window  From Settings of the main menu  By clicking the Options icon on the Toolbar

2.4.1 General options

The General section contains the following items:  Start Clean-up/Removal Wizard – if you flag this item, Acronis Privacy Expert

Suite will ask each time before it runs the clean-up wizard for the given

component or the entire category. Otherwise, the clean-up will be performed

automatically without user confirmation.  Show Summary – if you flag this item, the program will show you the

clean-up summary after each session.  Treat shortcuts as separate files – if you flag this item, the shortcut target will

be left untouched. Otherwise, target files will be deleted along with the

shortcuts.

2.4.2 Clean-up Options

In the Clean-up Options group, you can set the common data destruction method that will be used by default for any PC clean-up operation,

independently of category. In this section, you will see all data destruction methods available in Acronis

Privacy Expert Suite by clicking your mouse on the drop-down list in the righthand part of the editor.

If you need to ensure:

 maximum security while destroying files, select Peter Gutmann’s method (35

data destruction cycles), but please keep in mind that this method requires

the greatest amount of time to complete the task  mid-level security at an average speed of clean-up, select VSITR or Bruce

Schneier’s method (seven data destruction cycles)

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Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

 fast PC clean-up with limited security in mind, select any methods that

overwrite in a single pass, two passes or three passes If you haven't set the common data destruction method yourself, Acronis

Privacy Expert Suite will default to the most popular and generally accepted one: U.S. Standard, DoD 5220.22-M algorithm (See detailed information in Appendix A«Hard Disk Wiping methods»).

2.4.3 Scheduled tasks

The scheduled clean-up (see section 0 «Scheduling tasks») might lead to errors if data to be deleted is used by other programs.

You can set up Acronis Privacy Expert Suite for such situations by selecting from the following variants:

 Ignore  Retry  Cancel  Ask user

2.4.4 Explorer enhancements

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite provides an easy way to delete files quickly and clean up folders through the Windows Explorer context menu.

To enable these options and to add the context menu commands, mark the Enable Explorer Enhancements check-box.

The context menu also allows you to clean up the Windows Recycle Bin securely. For that matter, clean-up preferences can not only include the data destruction method, but also the destruction method wildcard. Scheduling tasks

Each PC clean-up variant of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite can be executed either manually o r automatically as scheduled.

Having set PC clean-up as a daily procedure to be performed, for example, at the end of a workday before powering off the PC, you can be sure that all evidence of your PC and Internet activity will be removed each day.

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite features a built-in scheduler.

2.4.5 Invoking the scheduler

To set up the clean-up schedule, click the Schedule task sidebar button in the Acronis Privacy Expert Suite main window.

Having invoked the Scheduler, you will need to select a clean-up variant to perform at the selected time.

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Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

You can:

 Schedule any Quick Task to perform complete or particular clean-up,

including Entire PC Clean-up, Malicious software Removal, Internet

Clean-up, System Clean-up and Application Traces Clean-up  Schedule automatic clean-up of any PC components

Scheduler

2.4.6 Scheduled tasks preferences

Having selected the clean-up variant, you will need to set its schedule:

You can select the following variants of automatic clean-up launch:

 Do not start automatically  Daily, according to the schedule with the ability to select only workdays or

once every few days  Weekly, according to the schedule with the ability to select particular days,

such as Tuesday and Friday, or once every two or three weeks, etc  Monthly, according to the schedule on the time and day set; The suite

supports clean-up on the <first, second, third, fourth, last> <day of the week>

(Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday), for

example  One time only, at a specific time (hours:minutes) on a particular day

(month/day/year)

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Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

 When my computer starts  When I log on  When my computer shuts down  When I log off

Having selected any variant, click Next to set additional parameters on the second wizard page.

The scheduled clean-up might lead to errors if data to be deleted is used by other programs.

You can set up Acronis Privacy Expert Suite for such situations. See section Global settings Æ Scheduled tasks.

2.5 Using the Log

The Log keeps track of all actions performed by Acronis Privacy Expert Suite. It can provide you with a complete history and reasons for any problems that have occurred.

Log view window

Log settings enables you to keep track with different degrees of detail. You can select one of the following variants:

 Everything  Important information – error and malware messages

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 Nothing

Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

Log settings

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

Chapter 3. Malicious software removal and Malware shield

There are many programs that, once on your PC, start working without your knowledge. Such software can do such things as collect information or change user settings for the Internet or your system. These programs are called malicious software or malware. For more information on the main malware types, see Appendix B of this guide.

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite enables you to completely clean your PC of malicious software and protect it from future intrusions.

How malware gets on your PC

One of the most common ways that malicious software gets on your PC is from new software installations, in particular freeware and shareware. When you install such applications, they can implement software modules that collect information on Web sites you visit, your PC configuration, etc.

Also malicious software can penetrate your computer via e-mail, for example, when you open e-mail attachments. In this way, malware is similar to a virus, but your antivirus software might not find it.

Another common source of malicious software is peer-to-peer networks, gaming portals and other Web services.

Sometimes malicious software is installed by commercial applications whose makers want to collect additional information about users, their habits and preferences.

Poorly secured networks, network shares and software vulnerability are the elements, making easier for malicious software to get on a computer and spread over the network.

How to recognize malware?

Though in many cases malicious software works without users’ knowledge, there are signs that you should watch for:

 Hard drive LED is blinking even when no programs are run or documents

open  Your PC receives and sends unknown information via the Internet though you

aren’t using a Web browser or e-mail client

 The home page setting of your browser has changed without your consent  When you work with certain programs or visit certain Web sites, you see ads

or pop-ups If you notice some of these activities, you need to run Acronis Privacy Expert

Suite to find and eliminate malicious software performing unauthorized operations on your PC.

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

If you need to:

 Find and remove any type of malicious software from your PC, run

Malicious Software Removal (see section 3.1.1 «Removing malware with

the Malicious Software Wizard»)

 Prevent malware from getting on your PC, enable and set up Malware

shield (see section 3.2 «Malicious software protection»)

3.1 Malicious software removal

Using Acronis Privacy Expert Suite, you can find and remove malicious software from your PC. To do this, select and click Malicious software removal in the main program window.

After that, you can either initiate malicious software removal with the Malicious Software Wizard at once, or configure this wizard.

With the Configurate M al ic io us S of tw ar e Re mo va l Options, you can select the malicious software type to clean up. By default, it is set to remove any type of malicious software.

Also you can Update spyware definitions and remove/recover malicious objects stored in Quarantine.

3.1.1 Removing malware with the Malicious Software Wizard

 To run the Malicious Software Wizard, select Remove Malicious

Software Now in the Malicious software Removal window.

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

Malicious Software Wizard

After the wizard is run, your PC will be checked for malicious software. The results will be shown in the righthand part of the wizard window. You will see what malicious software applications are found and which files and registry keys are related to them:

Malicious software scanning results

Information about particular malicious software applications will be available in the lefthand part of the wizard window after you select malicious software from the list with a mouse.

All malicious software found will be automatically checked for removal. If you, want to leave some malicious applications or their components, uncheck them in the resulting list. (Some common applications are sometimes identified as malware. This option gives you the ability to keep those programs and/or settings.)

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

After you finish forming the list of malicious software to be removed, click Next. In the next window, you will see the final script of malicious software removal operations.

Malicious software removal operations final script

To execute the script, click Proceed. After malicious software clean-up is finished, you will see a summary that will

state the amount of malicious software applications removed.

In Windows normal mode some malicious applications are usually stay hidden so you can not see them and track their work. Therefore, we recommend you to launch the Malicious Software Wizard in Windows safe mode periodically in addition to scannin malware in normal mode. To run Windows in safe mode press <F8> key after your computer starts (restarts) but before Windows launches.

3.1.2 Setting up the Malicious Software Wizard

To set up the Malicious Software Wizard, select Configure Malware Removal Options in the Malware Removal window.

Selecting scanning mode

There are two modes of searching for malware:  Smart scanning mode – used by default. In this case, the suite searches

for malware only in the most likely locations, including system, user profile

and temporary files folders, as well as in the system registry. Select this

mode for a quick PC check.  Deep scanning mode – an extended algorithm for malware scanning. In

this case, all folders on all PC hard drives are searched. This variant could

take much more time depending on the capacity of your hard disks.

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

Malicious software scanning modes

Setting up Deep scanning mode

If you selected Deep scanning mode, you can manually select disks and folders in which to search for malware:

Saving settings

Disk and folders selection

All Malicious Software Wizard settings will be active until you change them.

3.2 Malicious software protection

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite not only allows you to remove malicious software, but also prevent it from getting on your PC in the first place. This is provided by

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Acronis Malware shield — a special tool that monitors your system for suspicious applications and components.

3.2.1 Enabling Malware shield

To enable Malware shield, select Start → Programs → Acronis → Malware shield → Acronis Malware shield.

After Malware shield is enabled, you will see its icon in the system tray. To disable Malware shield right click the Acronis Malware shield icon in the

system tray and select Disable Acronis Malware shield.

3.2.2 Setting up Malware shield

You can configure the Malware shield settings. To do so, right click on the

Acronis Malware shield icon in the system tray and select Acronis Malware Shield Options.

Setting up the system protection level

Malicious software removal and Malware shield

You can set up the Protection Level monitoring your system for malicious software and applications:

 Low protection level monitors only all running processes and notifies you if a

process is described in malicious software database.  Medium protection level monitors all running processes and notifies you if a

process is described in malicious software database. It also prevents

suspicious processes from launching at Windows startup, prevents Web

browser settings from hijacking and protects ActiveX components settings.  High protection level is most secure. It includes all Medium level protections

and also protects all processes and Windows system files. This is the

recommended setting for experienced users.

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

System protection level

To view and/or customize options of the selected protection level click Options.

General settings

In the General settings window, you can enable Acronis Malware Shield protecting your system and running at system startup.

General settings window

Having set up all settings, you can apply changes by clicking Apply button. Use Cancel button to if you do not want changes to be applied.

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Process analyzing

You can enable/disable analyzing of the running processes by checking the corresponding parameter.

Malicious software removal and Malware shield

Registry protection

In the Registry protection section, you can enable/disable:

 Browser settings protection from hijacking by suspicious applications  Preventing suspicious software and processes from launching at system

startup

 Protection of the ActiveX components settings  Preventing application from sharing resources or changing settings of shared

resources

Process analyzing

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

Registry protection

Memory protection

In the Memory protection section, you can enable/disable:

 Process’ thread access protection from other processes  Process’ virtual memory protection from trying to get access to any other

process memory  Process terminating protection

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File protection

Malicious software removal and Malware shield

Process protection

In the File protection section, you can enable/disable protection your system files, critical to Windows work.

Specified rules

The Specified rules section contains a list of protection rules that you specified. You can remove selected rule by clicking Remove or use Clear all to remove all entries.

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

History

Specified rules

The History section contents a list of all events occurred, so you can view and analyze it. Use Clear all button to remove all list entries.

History window

Show alerts

You can select an unresolved alert (or group of alerts), view its description and choose an action to be taken with it.

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

To extend the chosen action to all other alerts of the same activity type check the Propagate this action to all alerts of the same activity type parameter.

You can also choose how to apply specified action (Once, This time and

specify the permanent rule or This time and always until the process is restarted).

You can close Alert window, outing off rule creation. As a result the Malware Shield’s pictogram in the system tray will start to blink, notifying that you have unresolved alerts. To open Malware Shield Alert window double click on the Malware Shield’s pictogram in the system tray.

3.3 Quarantine

The Malicious Software Wizard removes all the malicious programs from the system and stores them in the special protected directory called Quarantine. You can either permanently delete the removed objects (files, registry keys etc.) from Quarantine or restore them if needed (fore example, if your system works unstable as a result of malware removal). Besides, it may be useful to look through the list of deleted objects and obtain the detailed information about Acronis Privacy Expert operation on your PC.

Select the Quarantine item in the Malicious Software Removal category to launch Quarantine wizard.

On the Choose an operation window you need to choose an action (Restore or Clear) to be taken on the Quarantine folder’s elements.

Alert window

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

The next window contains a list of elements moved to the quarantine folder and sorted by date. Check the necessary elements and click Next to proceed with their recovery/removal.

Restoring items from the Quarantine

If the system configuration has been changed since the restored objects were placed to the Quarantine, these ob

uration. Therefore, it is recommended that you think twice and use restoration

confi feature in a short time after malicious software removal.

ects may be inconsistent with the new system

3.4 Malware definitions updates

Offering you timely and reliable protection from new malware released as often as every day, Acronis Privacy Expert launches the special Malware Web Updates service.

It enables users to obtain the most up-to-date information and malware protection from Acronis website.

When you purchase Acronis Privacy Expert Suite, you also subscribe to malware definitions updates. When the subscription period is over, you can renew your right to use Malware Web Updates service at Acronis website.

3.4.1 Product registration

Remember that malware definitions updates service is available for registered users of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite only!

You can register you copy of the program at Acronis website following this link:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/products/registration/

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

Your login is your valid email address. Once you register your copy of the Acronis Privacy Expert Suite on the Acronis

website, you will not have to enter any additional user information to receive Malware Definitions Updates.

3.4.2 Running Malicious Software Definitions Updates Wizard

You can run Malware Definitions Updates Wizard the following ways:  By clicking Web updates on sidebar of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite main

window

 By selecting Settings → Web updates in the menu  By clicking Web updates on the toolbar.

Malware definitions update wizard

3.4.3 Selecting update mode

Having run Malicious Definitions Updates Wizard, you can select the update mode: either manual, or scheduled automatic:

 To update malware definitions right now, select Update malware

definitions now  To automatically update malware definitions on a suitable schedule, select

Update automatically.

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Malicious software removal and Malware shield

Selecting update mode window

3.4.4 Setting the schedule

If you selected automatic updates, you will be asked to set the suitable schedule. The following variants are available:

 Do not start automatically  Daily, according to the schedule with the ability to select only workdays or

once every few days  Weekly, according to the schedule with the ability to select particular days,

such as Tuesday and Friday, or once every two or three weeks, etc  Monthly, according to the schedule on the time and day set; The suite

supports clean-up on the <first, second, third, fourth, last> <day of the week>

(Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday), for

example  One time only, at a specific time (hours:minutes) on a particular day

(month/day/year)

 When my computer starts  When I log on  When my computer shuts down  When I log off

Having selected any variant, click Next to set additional parameters on the second wizard page.

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Chapter 4. Internet Clean-up

4.1 General information

The greatest threat to the privacy of your work has the Web as its source. You have read about it in the Introduction, which also describes system sections where traces of user actions are stored. The cache, cookies, visited pages and history form autocomplete lists and passwords are stored in different places on your system, depending on your browser. You can clean up all of them with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite. Internet clean-up works with Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox browsers.

Internet Clean-up. The Internet Clean-up category enables you to:  Completely remove all traces of your Web and e-mail actions using the

Internet Clean-up Wizard  Clean up separate system components related to Web actions, i.e. clean

up visited pages list, empty cache, etc

Internet Clean-up

 Fine-tune the Internet Clean-up Wizard to suit your needs

4.2 Using the Internet Clean-up Wizard

The Internet Clean-up Wizard enables you to completely remove all traces of your Web and e-mail actions.

It enables you to:  Clean up Temporary Internet files that are stored on your PC hard disk

while you browse the Web to speed up loading next time you visit the same

page  Remove cookies, small text files created on your PC when you visit a Web

site. Such cookies might contain user name and other information entered

during, say, registration at the Web site  Remove downloaded files (ActiveX elements) that can be installed secretly

while you browse Web sites. ActiveX elements enable Web pages to act like

applications and dynamically change content. At the same time, ActiveX

elements might be used maliciously to gain access to your PC

 Clean up visited Web sites history  Clean up Web site addresses typed in the address field  Remove form autocomplete lists stored by the browser to speed up filling

various forms  Remove passwords stored by a browser to speed up authorization on Web

sites

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Internet Clean-up

 Securely remove e-mail messages (from Microsoft Outlook and Outlook

Express)

 Clean up the contacts and address book of your e-mail client

Internet clean-up wizard

After you run the wizard, it will search your PC for traces of any Web actions. The search results will be shown in the righthand part of the wizard window.

After the search is finished, you will be able to manually select elements to remove:

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Preview Internet data to clean

Internet Clean-up

After you select the elements to remove, you can run the clean-up.

4.3 Internet Clean-up Wizard Settings

To set up the Internet Clean-up Wizard, select Configure Clean-up Options in the Internet Clean-up window.

To enable or disable any Internet Clean-up component, set or remove its Enable this component flag.

In the Internet Clean-up Wizard settings window, you can also set clean-up parameters for each system component. Some of these parameters are related to all components.

4.3.1 «Data Destruction Method» settings

This setting defines the method of guaranteed data destruction to use to clean up a given component.

By default, all components that have such a setting have it set to Use common method (See section 2.4.2 «Clean-up Options» of this guide»).

If you need to set a custom method of data destruction for a component, choose Use custom method for this component and then select your preference.

4.3.2 «Internet Browsers» setting

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite automatically locates all installed and supported browsers and removes any of their Web activity traces by default.

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Internet Clean-up

If you have Internet Explorer installed, the structures to clean belong only to the currently logged-on user.

Netscape Navigator and Mozilla support personal profiles. Without additional settings, Acronis Privacy Expert Suite cleans either the «default profile» (if it is the only one), or the profile of the currently logged-on user.

If you need to clean up only one browser:

1. Set the checkbox near its name only (for example, Internet Explorer),

unchecking all other boxes.

2. If you use a version of Netscape Navigator (or Mozilla), you should also

select a personal profile (by clicking Profiles… link).

4.3.3 «Address» setting

The «Address» setting is meant for cleaning up the Internet cache, cookies, last visited pages, typed URLs, and passwords).

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Address settings

Internet Clean-up

You can also enter any full or partial Internet addresses separated by a semicolon as a value of the «Address» setting; for example:

*worldsoccer.com; *formula1.com; All files downloaded from sites fully or partially corresponding to at least one of

the addresses entered will be removed.

Attention! The length of a search string with full or partial Internet addresses is almost infinite! You can enter any number of addresses like

*formula1.com separated by a semicolon.

*worldsoccer.com or

If you need to:

1. clean up the Internet cache (last visited pages list) of all files (lists,

elements) downloaded from a specific Internet address (site), enter

addresses or their parts separated by a semicolon; for example, like: *CompanyA*;*XYZ123* As a result, all files downloaded from www.Company.com

, www.xyz123.com will

be deleted.

2. clean up the Internet cache of only specific file types downloaded from a

specific Internet address (site), enter addresses separated by a semicolon;

for example, like: *companya*.jpg;*companya*.gif;*xyz123*.jpg;*xyz123*.gif As a result, only *.jpg, *.gif files will be deleted, while *.html files, for example,

remain in the cache.

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Internet Clean-up

Entering the Internet addresses list, you can browse files (visited pages) selected according to the list. To do this, click Show URLs. You will see the window with selected addresses. They will be deleted during the selected component clean-up.

If you want to cancel the deletion of any address in this list, uncheck the corresponding box.

4.3.4 «File» settings

The «Files» setting provides temporary filenames to clean with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite and can be used with a search string.

Files settings

Under the Windows operating system, a search string can represent a full or partial filename. A search string can contain any alphanumeric symbols, including comma, * and ? symbols, and can have values similar to the following:

 *.* – to delete all files from the Recycle Bin – with any file names and

extensions

 *.doc – to delete files with specific extension – a Microsoft document file in

this case

 read*.* – to delete all files with any extensions, and names beginning with

«read»

 read?.* – to delete all files having five-letter names and any extensions,

names beginning with «read»; the fifth letter is random

 The last search string, for example, will result in removal of read1.txt,

ready.doc files, but readyness.txt will remain with its longer name (excluding the extension)

forums, etc.

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Internet Clean-up

 You can enter several different search strings separated by a semicolon; for

example: *.bak; *.tmp; *.~~~; All files with names corresponding to at least one of the search strings will be

deleted.

Attention! The length of a search string with full or partial filenames is almost infinite! You can enter any number of filenames or their parts like a semicolon.

*.tmp, read?.* separated by

4.3.5 «Data filter» settings

This setting will enable you to set clean-up parameters for certain autocompleted form fields. For example, you can set it so each time the Internet Clean-up Wizard is run, fields with your personal information (name, surname, e-mail address, etc.) will be cleaned up.

You can use * and ? wildcards to set this parameter: john@* - clean up all e-mail addresses that contain ‘john’ before the @ sign.

4.3.6 «E-mail clients» settings

Here you can specify e-mail clients to clean up using settings above.

E-mail client settings

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite currently supports MS Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail clients.

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Internet Clean-up

4.4 Cleaning up separate Internet components

If you don't want to remove traces of all components listed in the Internet Clean-up (e.g. to save time), you can separately clean any component in this

category. In that case, all global settings of the Internet Clean-up Wizard will be valid

for separate components as well. To clean up separate components, select them by clicking Clean-up

component in the Internet Clean-Up category and run the Internet Cleanup Wizard.

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Chapter 5. System Clean-up

5.1 General information

In the System clean-up section, you can clean up components (folders, files, registry sections, etc.), related to general system tasks. These Windows components retain evidence of user PC activity, so they too should be thoroughly wiped to maintain confidentiality.

5.2 Using the System Clean-up Wizard

The System Clean-up Wizard enables you to securely remove all traces of your PC actions stored by Windows.

It performs the following:  Removes temporary files from respective Windows folders

System Clean-up

 Removes custom folders/files from any media connected to a PC  Securely destroys data in the Windows Recycle Bin  Cleans up free space of any traces of information previously stored on it  Cleans up opened/saved files history  Cleans the list of user system passwords  Cleans the Windows prefetch directory, where Windows keeps the

information about programs you have executed and run recently

 Removes traces of file searches on connected disks and computers in the

local area network  Destroys registry backups (Windows 98/Me only) After you run the wizard, it will search for any traces of user actions stored by

Windows. The search results will be available in the righthand part of the wizard window.

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System Clean-up

System clean-up wizard

After the search is finished, you will be able to manually select elements to remove.

Preview system data to clean

After you select the elements to remove, you can run the clean-up.

5.3 System Clean-up Wizard settings

To set up the System Clean-up Wizard, select Configure Clean-up Options in the Internet Clean-up category.

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System Clean-up

To enable or disable any System Clean-up component, set or remove its Enable this component flag.

In the System Clean-up Wizard settings window, you can also set clean-up parameters for each system component. Some of these parameters are related to all components.

5.3.1 «Data Destruction Method» settings

This setting defines the method of guaranteed data destruction to use to clean up a given component.

By default, all components that have such a setting have it set to Use common method (see Appendix A «Hard Disk Wiping methods»).

If you need to set a custom method of data destruction for a component, choose Use custom method for this component and then select your preference (see Appendix A «Hard Disk Wiping methods»).

5.3.2 «Files» settings

The «Files» setting provides temporary filenames to clean with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite and can be used with a search string.

Files settings

 *.* – to delete all files from the Recycle Bin – with any file names and

extensions

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System Clean-up

 *.doc – to delete files with specific extension – a Microsoft document file in

this case  read*.* – to delete all files with any extensions, and names beginning with

«read»  read?.* – to delete all files having five-letter names and any extensions,

names beginning with «read»; the fifth letter is random  The last search string, for example, will result in removal of read1.txt,

ready.doc files, but readyness.txt will remain with its longer name (excluding

the extension) You can enter several different search strings separated by a semicolon; for

example: *.bak; *.tmp; *.~~~; All files with names corresponding to at least one of the search strings will be

deleted. Upon entering the «Files» setting value, you can browse the search strings in the

registry selected by Acronis Privacy Expert Suite. To do this, click Show Files. You will see the window with file names searched for. These items will be

deleted.

Attention! The length of a search string with full or partial filenames is almost infinite! You can enter any number of filenames or their parts like a semicolon.

*.tmp, read?.* separated by

5.3.3 «Computers» setting

The «Computers» setting cleans up the registry search strings for finding computers in the local network. These strings keep information on what interested you in the network. These elements should also be deleted to maintain confidentiality.

The «Computers» setting is the same as «Files». The «Computers» setting is a string that can contain any number of full or partial computer names separated by a semicolon. The deletion of computer search strings is based on a comparison with the «Computers» setting according to Windows rules.

If you s i m p l y need to delete all local network computer search strings (suitable in most cases):

1. Select Find Computer List.

2. Check the Enable the Find Computer List cleaning box.

3. Select the «Computers» setting; leave its default value unchanged – *. As a result, all computer search strings will be deleted from the registry. Upon entering the «Computers» setting value, you can browse the search strings

in the registry selected by Acronis Privacy Expert Suite. To do this, click Show

Computers. You will see the window with full and partial computer names

searched for in the network. These items will be deleted.

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Computers settings

System Clean-up

5.3.4 «Drive Free Space» setting

Here you can manually specify physical and/or logical drives to clean up free space on.

By default, Acronis Privacy Expert Suite cleans up free space on all available drives.

If you want to change settings of this parameter, you can use the Remove button to delete drives you don't need to clean free space on from the list.

If you need to add these drives to the list again, use the Add button.

Drive Free Space settings

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System Clean-up

5.3.5 «Commands» setting

Here you can select the commands to remove during Windows Run List cleanup.

This template can contain any comma-separated command names or their parts, e.g.:

*help; cmd; reg*

This will result in removing commands with names corresponding to or containing any of the names or parts of names you entered.

Commands settings

5.3.6 «System Password Filter» setting

Here you can enter any full or partial passwords values separated by a semicolon. You can also use * and ? wildcards to set this parameter.

To see passwords to be cleaned according to your filter, press Show passwords button.

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System password filter settings

System Clean-up

5.4 Cleaning up separate system components

If you don't want to clean up all system components, you can clean individual component separately.

In this case, all global settings of the System Clean-up Wizard will be valid for separate components as well

To clean up separate components, select them in the Clean-up component section in the System Clean-Up window and run the System Clean-up Wizard.

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Application Traces Clean-up

Chapter 6. Application Traces Clean-up

6.1 General information

Most Windows applications can store lists of recently opened files, as a convenience to users.

However, in some cases you might want to remove any trace that you used a particular program.

In this situation, the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard will preserve your privacy. This wizard cleans up the recently used files list of most popular Windows applications, including office, multimedia, graphics applications and system tools.

Application Traces Clean-up category enables you to:  Completely remove all traces of your work with various Windows applications

using the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard  Fine-tune the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard to fully meet your

needs.

Application traces clean-up wizard

6.2 Using the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard

After you run the wizard, it will search for any traces of user actions stored by Windows. The search results will be available in the righthand part of the wizard window.

After the search is finished, you will be able to manually select elements to remove:

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Application Traces Clean-up

Preview application traces to clean

After you select the elements to remove, you can run the clean-up.

6.3 Application Traces Clean-up Wizard settings

To set up the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard, select Configure Clean-up Options in the Application Traces Clean-up category.

To enable or disable any Application Traces Clean-up component, set or remove its Enable this component flag.

You can set the following parameters in the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard settings window:

6.3.1 «Data Destruction Method» settings

This setting defines the method of guaranteed data destruction to use to clean up a given component.

By default, all components that have such a setting have it set to Use common method (see Appendix A «Hard Disk Wiping methods»).

If you need to set a custom method of data destruction for a component, choose Use custom method for this component and then select your preference (see Appendix A «Hard Disk Wiping methods»).

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Application Traces Clean-up

Data destruction method settings

6.3.2 Select Applications

In these settings, you can see a list of Windows applications, traces of that the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard can destroy. If an application is flagged, all traces of its usage will be deleted. Unflag an application if you want to keep its recently opened files list.

Applications selection

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Application Traces Clean-up

6.3.3 «Files» settings

The «Files» setting provides temporary filenames to clean with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite and can be used with a search string.

Files settings

Under the Windows operating system, a search string can represent a full or partial filename. It can contain any alphanumeric symbols, including comma, * and ? symbols, and can have values similar to the following:

 *.* – to delete all files from the Recycle Bin – with any file names and

extensions  *.doc – to delete files with specific extension – a Microsoft document file in

this case  read*.* – to delete all files with any extensions, and names beginning with

«read»  read?.* – to delete all files having five-letter names and any extensions,

names beginning with «read»; the fifth letter is random  The last search string, for example, will result in removal of read1.txt,

ready.doc files, but readyness.txt will remain with its longer name (excluding

the extension) You can enter several different search strings separated by a semicolon; for

example: *.bak; *.tmp; *.~~~;

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Application Traces Clean-up

All files with names corresponding to at least one of the search strings will be deleted.

Attention! The length of a search string with full or partial filenames is almost infinite! You can enter any number of filenames or their parts like a semicolon.

*.tmp, read?.* separated by

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Chapter 7. My privacy tools

7.1 General information

My privacy tools offers additional means of providing user data privacy and work security:

 File shredder – securely destroys any files or folders you select so they

can't be recovered.  Acronis Drive Cleanser – securely destroys data on a selected partition

and/or disk so it can't be recovered.  Bootable Media Builder – creates bootable diskettes or CDs to securely

destroy data on PC hard disks even without having Acronis Privacy Expert

Suite installed.  Paging file cleaner – cleans up the Windows swap file.

My privacy tools

My privacy tools window

This chapter describes the File Shredder and Paging File Cleaner tools. The usage and setup of Acronis Drive Cleanser is described in it respective chapter.

If you need to:  Securely destroy files or folders you select, run File Shredder. See section

7.2 of this guide, «Using File Shredder», for instructions on how to use it.

 Clean up the Windows swap file – run Paging File Cleaner. See section

7.3 of this guide, «Paging file cleaner», for instructions on how to use it.

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My privacy tools

 Securely destroy data on selected partitions and/or disks so it can't be

recovered, run Acronis Drive Cleanser. For more information on how to

use it, see 0 of this guide, «Options  Acronis Drive Cleanser».

7.2 Using File Shredder

The File Shredder enables users to select files and folders quickly in order to destroy them permanently.

This wizard features the familiar Windows Explorer interface. To run the folders/files cleaner, do one of the following:

 Select File Shredder in the My privacy tools category  Select Tools Æ File Shredder in the main menu  Select File Shredder button in the main menu

Using File Shredder

7.3 Paging file cleaner

The Paging file cleaner allows you to remove any traces of PC or Internet activity permanently.

A paging file is a file on a hard disk (e.g. C:\win386.swp in Windows 98/Me or C:\pagefile.sys in Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 Server) used by Windows as additional memory when that is required in order to run applications.

This file might contain personal information that a user is unaware is there. For example, if a user opened too many Internet Explorer windows and entered personal information in one of them, then tried to switch to another Internet

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My privacy tools

Explorer window, the operating system might lack enough physical memory for all the windows and store the contents of the previous one in its paging file. If a user closes browser windows after this, there is a strong possibility that confidential information will have been left in the paging file.

To run the Paging file cleaner, do one of the following:  Click the Paging file cleaner icon in the My privacy tools category of the

Acronis Privacy Expert Suite main window

 Select Tools Æ Paging file cleaner in the main menu  Click Paging file cleaner on the toolbar

After you run Paging file cleaner, you can set it to clean up the swap file at each reboot by clicking Enable.

If you want to disable paging file clean-up, select Disable.

Paging file cleaner activation

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Chapter 8. Acronis Pop-up Blocker

8.1 What are pop-ups?

While browsing some Web sites, you might have unwanted pop-up windows open along with the window you want. Generally, pop-ups contain bothersome advertising. They slow down your Internet connection speed and increase the traffic you pay for. On some Web sites, pop-ups are used to provide extra information or as locations where the user needs to input information.

8.2 Acronis Pop-up Blocker

Acronis Pop-up Blocker is activated automatically after installation and prevents new windows from opening while browsing a website with the Microsoft Internet Explorer. With Acronis Pop-up Blocker, you can filter a selected web site contents (GIF files and flash animation, ActiveX objects, pop-ups in layers, etc.).

8.3 Acronis Pop-up Blocker settings

You can invoke the Acronis Pop-up Blocker options window in the following ways:

 By selecting Acronis Pop-up Blocker in the Tools menu of the Internet

Explorer  By clicking Acronis Pop-up Blocker icon on the toolbar of the Internet

Explorer

 By right-clicking on a web page and selecting Acronis Pop-up Blocker –

Options on the context menu

Pop-up Blocker settings

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8.3.1 Acronis Pop-up Blocker General Settings

In the general settings section, you can enable or disable Pop-up Blocker by selecting/deselecting Enable Acronis Pop-up Blocker parameter.

Choose the appropriate filter level (webpage content blocking) by dragging the slider. To customize the current filter’s settings click Change settings and select a contents to be blocked.

8.3.2 User List

In this section, you can make up your own User List – list of sites with customized filter settings. The User List is sometimes known generically as a White List. Here you can pre-approve certain pop-ups, such as a log-in pop-up from your bank.

To add a new site, click the Add button. On the appearing window enter its URL and adjust filter settings.

To edit the existing site and its filter settings click the Edit button and on the appearing window make the necessary changes.

Also you can move the existing site to the Black List section by clicking Move to Black List. Remove button rejects the selected site from the list. Use Clear button to remove all entries from the User List.

User list

8.3.3 Black List

If necessary, you can use Acronis Pop-up Blocker to block a Web site by adding its URL to the Black List. In this case, you will see "Acronis Privacy Expert Pop-

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Acronis Drive Cleanser

up Blocker: Black URL link – navigation stopped" message in the browser when trying to access this Web site.

To add a new site, click the Add button. On the appearing window enter its URL. Also you can move the existing site to the User list by clicking Move to User List.

To remove the existing site from the list click Remove. Use Clear button to remove all entries from the Black List.

Black list

8.3.4 History

The History section contents a list of visited websites with detailed information on the blocked content.

In this list, you can select websites to move to either the User or Black list. Moving a website to the User list means that you allow this site to be browsed. Moving a site to the Black list means that you always want to block this site. Use Clear button to remove all entries from the list.

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History

8.3.5 Acronis Pop-up Blocker options

In this section you can set up the following Acronis Pop-up Blocker options:  Secure sites blocking (via https protocol). Enable https blocking only if it is

really necessary!  Blocking the Internet Explorer spawned configuration windows, dialogs and

panels

 Hotkeys for temporary disabling Acronis Pop-up Blocker  Enable/disable sound notifications (sound beep, play sound, select sound for

notifications) and displaying massages in the Internet Explorer status bar

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Options

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Chapter 9. Acronis Drive Cleanser

9.1 Acronis Drive Cleanser capabilities

Many operating systems do not provide users with sufficient data destruction tools, so deleted files can be restored easily by simple applications. Even a complete disk reformat can’t guarantee permanent confidential data destruction.

Acronis Drive Cleanser solves this problem with guaranteed and permanent data destruction on selected hard disks and/or partitions. It allows you to select from a number of data destruction methods depending on the importance of your confidential information.

9.2 Working with Acronis Drive Cleanser

Acronis Drive Cleanser allows you to perform the following:

 clean up selected hard disks or partitions using preset methods  create and execute custom user methods of hard disk clean-up.

Acronis Drive Cleanser is based on a wizard that scripts all hard disk operations, so no data destruction is performed until you execute the complete script. At any stage, you can return to the previous stages to select other disks or partitions or data destruction methods.

First, you must select the hard disk partitions where you want to destroy data.

The list of PC hard disks with partitions

To select a partition, click the corresponding rectangle. You will see a red mark in the upper right corner indicating the partition is selected.

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You can select an entire hard disk or several disks for data destruction. To do this, click the rectangle corresponding to the hard disk (with a device icon, disk number and capacity.)

You can select several partitions simultaneously located on different hard disks or on several disks.

Click Next to continue. In the Final actions window, you can select actions to be performed on the

partitions selected for data destruction. Acronis Drive Cleanser offers you three variants:

 Leave partition as is — just destroy data using the method selected below  Delete partition — destroy data and delete partition  Format partition — destroy data and format partition (default)

Final actions window

In this example, the switch is set to Format. This will allow you to see the results of partition and data destruction, along with the reformatting of the partition.

9.3 Using preset data destruction methods

Acronis Drive Cleanser utilizes a number of the most popular data destruction methods that are described in detail in Appendix A «Information wiping methods used by » of this manual.

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The list of preset methods

After you select a method, Acronis Drive Cleanser will perform all actions necessary to destroy contents of the selected partition or disk. After this is done, you will see a message indicating the successful data destruction.

Acronis Drive Cleanser offers you another useful capability — to estimate the results of executing a data destruction method on a hard disk or partition. It features an integrated DiskViewer hard disk browsing tool.

The aforementioned methods offer various levels of confidential data destruction. Thus the picture you might see on disk or partition depends on the data destruction method. But what you actually see are disk sectors filled with either zeros or random symbols.

DiskViewer window

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9.4 Creating custom methods of data destruction

Acronis Drive Cleanser gives you an opportunity to create your own methods for wiping hard disks. Although the software includes several levels of data destruction, you can choose to create your own.

9.4.1 Creating custom methods

To create a custom method of hard disk wiping, select and mouse-click the «Custom…» line from the drop-down list in the Method selection window. Please pay close attention to the load method option in the same drop-down list.

The selection of custom method creation

Click the Next button to continue. The window with the script for wiping a hard disk partition (the partition and/or

hard disk was selected during a previous step) shows after the selection of one of the predefined wiping methods. This time the Custom method wizard will be started and you will see the Number of passes window.

As an example, let’s create a simple custom method similar to the U.S. Department of Defense standard. This standard assumes three passes for a hard disk during which different symbols are written to it, plus one more pass for verification — i.e. four passes total.

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The window with number of passes of the custom method

Remember, the predefined wiping methods perform from one (fast method, the Russian standard) to up to 35 passes (Peter Gutmann’s method).

You may enter any value into the spinner field of the wizard window with the keyboard or mouse. For our example, enter 4 into this field.

Click the Next button to continue.

9.4.2 Method definition: template

The Method definition window shows you a template of the future method; the list contains many elements, including the defined method at the previous stage.

The method definition window

The window has the following legend: The first column of the list contains the number of passes for a disk; the second contains the type of operation on a disk (there are just two: to write a symbol to disk, «writing», and to verify written,

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«verification»); the third column contains the pattern of data to be written to disk.

The pattern to be written is always a hexadecimal value, for example, a value of this kind: 0x00, 0xAA, or 0xCD, etc. These values are 1 byte long, but they may be up to 512 bytes long. Except for such values, you may enter a random hexadecimal value of any length (up to 512 bytes). Your method may also include one more value for writing that is designated as the «complementary value» – the value that is complementary to the one written to disk during the previous pass.

If the binary value is represented by 10001010 (0x8A) sequence, then the complementary binary value will be represented by 01110101 (0x75) sequence.

Thus you may include the following values in a method:

 Any hexadecimal value 1-512 bytes long  Random hexadecimal values 1-512 bytes long  Hexadecimal values, complementary to those written to hard disk during the

previous pass The Method definition window offers you the template for the method only. You

should define exactly what the software should write to disk to destroy the confidential data according to your method.

To do this, click your mouse on the line representing pass #1.

The selection of the first pass for pattern definition

Click the Next button to continue. You will see the window that allows you to define the pattern to be written to

disk (hexadecimal value).

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The wiping pass adjustment window for definition of patterns to be written

In this figure, the switch is set to the Write a value position by default, and the hexadecimal value 0x00 is entered into the field.

This is what the window control elements mean: You may enter any hexadecimal value into the field under the Write a value switch to write it to a hard disk during any pass (during the first pass in this case).

By setting the switch to Write a random value position, you first will select write a random value to disk, and specify the length of random value in bytes in the spinner field below.

The U.S. standard provides the writing of random values to each byte of each disk sector during the first pass, so set the switch to Write a random value position and enter 1 into field.

The input of a random 1-byte value as the pattern for writing

Click the Next button to continue.

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You will be taken to the method definition window again and will see that the former record (1 – write – 00) was replaced by 1 – write – random value, 1 byte.

The first pass of the custom method is defined

To define the next pass, select the second line of the list and click the Next button.

You will see the already-familiar window, but this time there will be more switch positions available: two additional positions will be available for selection:

 Write complementary to previous pass pattern  Verify.

The input of value complementary to the one written during the previous pass

As during the second pass of the U.S. standard, each disk sector is filled with hexadecimal values that are complementary to those written during the previous

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pass. Therefore you should set the switch to the Write complementary to previous pass pattern position and click the Next button.

You will be taken to the method definition window again. In this window, the second record looked like this before: 2 – write – 00, and it was replaced by: 2 – write – previous step complementary value.

The second pass of the custom method is defined

Following the U.S. data destruction standard specification, define third and fourth data overwriting passes.

In the same way, you can create any data destruction method to match your security requirements.

9.4.3 Saving a custom method to file

In the next Saving custom method window, you will be able to save the method you have created. This will be useful if you are going to use it again.

The saving custom method window

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In order to save your method, you need to give it a filename and define the path in the Select file field or click the Browse button to locate an existing file on the disk. You should also enter a brief description of your method.

The method filename and description window

Each custom method is stored in a separate file with its own name. If you try to write a new method to an already existing file, the existing file’s contents will be erased.

As all passes of your method are defined and the method is saved to file, clicking the Next button will let you see the window with the generated wiping script based on your custom method.

The script of data destruction, based on the custom method

By clicking the Proceed button, you will execute the generated script.

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9.4.4 Loading a method from a file

If you created and saved your method for data destruction while working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite software, you can use it in the following way:

In the Select Method window, choose Load from file… from the drop-down list and select the file with custom data destruction method parameters. By default, such files have *.alg extension.

Method selection: loading from file

9.5 Creating a bootable diskette or CD with Acronis Drive Cleanser

If you didn’t create a bootable diskette or CD with Acronis Drive Cleanser during installation of Acronis Privacy Expert Suite, you can do it later using the Bootable Media Builder.

This diskette or CD will allow you to easily and permanently destroy data on your PC even if it doesn’t have Acronis Privacy Expert Suite installed.

To create a bootable diskette, select Bootable Media Builder in the My privacy tools group of the main program window and follow the wizard instructions.

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Hard Disk Wiping methods

Appendix A. Hard Disk Wiping methods

Information removed from a hard disk drive by non-secure means (for example, by simple Windows delete) can easily be recovered. Utilizing specialized equipment, it is possible to recover even repeatedly overwritten information. Therefore, guaranteed data wiping is more important now than ever before.

The guaranteed wiping of information from magnetic media (e.g. a hard disk drive) means it is impossible to recover data by even a qualified specialist with the help of all known tools and recovery methods.

This problem can be explained in the following way: Data is stored on a hard disk as a binary sequence of 1 and 0 (ones and zeros), represented by differently magnetized parts of a disk.

Generally speaking, a 1 written to a hard disk is read as 1 by its controller, and 0 is read as 0. However, if you write 1 over 0, the result is conditionally 0.95 and vice versa – if 1 is written over 1 the result is 1.05. These differences are irrelevant for the controller. However, using special equipment, one can easily read the «underlying» sequence of 1 and 0.

It only requires specialized software and inexpensive hardware to read data «deleted» this way by analyzing magnetization of hard disk sectors, residual magnetization of track sides and/or by using current magnetic microscopes.

Writing to magnetic media leads to subtle effects summarized as follows: every track of a disk stores an image of every record ever written to it, but the effect of such records (magnetic layer) becomes more subtle as time passes.

A.1 Information wiping methods’ functioning principles

Physically, the complete wiping of information from a hard disk involves the switching of every elementary magnetic area of the recording material as many times as possible by writing specially selected sequences of logical 1 and 0 (also known as samples).

Using logical data encoding methods in current hard disks, you can select samples of symbol (or elementary data bit) sequences to be written to sectors in order to repeatedly and effectively wipe confidential information.

Methods offered by national standards provide (single or triple) recording of random symbols to disk sectors that are straightforward and arbitrary decisions, in general, but still acceptable in simple situations. The most effective information-wiping method is based on deep analysis of subtle features of recording data to all types of hard disks. This knowledge speaks to the necessity of complex multipass methods to guarantee information wiping.

The detailed theory of guaranteed information wiping is described in an article by Peter Gutmann. Please see:

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html

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Hard Disk Wiping methods

A.2 Information wiping methods used by Acronis

The table below briefly describes information wiping methods used by Acronis. Each description features the number of hard disk sector passes along with the number(s) written to each sector byte.

The description of built-in information wiping methods

NN Algorithm (writing

Passes Record

method)

1. United States Department of Defense 5220.22M

4 1

pass – randomly selected symbols to each byte of each sector, 2 – complementary to written during the 1 pass; 3 – random symbols again; 4 – writing verification.

2. United States: NAVSO P-5239-26 (RLL)

3. United States: NAVSO P-5239-26 (MFM)

4 1

pass – 0x01 to all sectors, 2 – 0x27FFFFFF, 3 – random symbol sequences, 4 – verification.

pass – 0x01 to all sectors, 2 – 0x7FFFFFFF, 3 – random symbol sequences, 4 – verification.

4. German: VSITR 7 1st – 6th – alternate sequences of: 0x00

and 0xFF; 7

– 0xAA; i.e. 0x00, 0xFF,

0x00, 0xFF, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xAA.

5. Russian: GOST P50739-95

1 Logical zeros (0x00 numbers) to each

byte of each sector for 6

to 4th security

level systems. Randomly selected symbols (numbers)

to each byte of each sector for 3

to 1st

security level systems.

6. Peter Gutmann’s method

35 Peter Gutmann’s method is very

sophisticated. It’s based on his theory of hard disk information wiping (see

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001

pubs/secure_del.html).

7. Bruce Schneier’s method

7 Bruce Schneier offers a seven-pass

overwriting method in his Applied

Cryptography book. 1

pass – 0xFF, 2nd pass – 0x00, and then five times with a cryptographically secure pseudo-random sequence.

8. Fast 1 Logical zeros (0x00 numbers) to all sectors to wipe.

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Malware threats glossary

Appendix B. Malware threats glossary

This glossary contains supplemental information on the most popular malware from which Acronis Privacy Expert Suite protects you.

Adware

This is a kind of Web marketing where banners are integrated into freeware and shareware programs. To be able to use a program, a user has to watch ads downloaded from the Web. This increases traffic volume and slows down your Internet connection.

Browser Helper Objects

Some Browser Helper Objects are useful at expanding your browser’s capabilities, but there are others that might not need your permission to install on your computer and that can be used for malicious purposes like gathering information on your surfing habits. This can cause problems ranging from incompatibility issues to corrupting important system functions, making them not only a threat to your security, but also to your system’s stability.

Browser hijackers

Browser hijackers have the ability to change your Internet browser settings, redirect your Web searches through their own search engines, redirect mistyped or incomplete URLs, and change your default home page. They may redirect your searches to "pay-per-search" Web sites which are very often pornographic Web sites.

Commercial keylogger

Keyloggers register which keys are pressed on user PC and transmit this information via e-mail. Such applications can also store the time of running or quitting any applications. They might operate without users’ knowledge.

Dialers

Dialers have the ability to disconnect your computer from your local Internet provider and reconnect you to the Internet using an alternate connection, such as an expensive pornographic, toll or international phone number. They do not spy on you, but they may rack up significant long-distance phone charges. They have the ability to run in the background, hiding their presence.

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Exploit/Security holes

These are security bugs and vulnerabilities in applications primarily meant for Web operations. Through such holes, intruders can corrupt a PC or gain remote control over it.

Backdoor

A kind of software, including commercial, designed for remote PC control. In some cases, users might not be aware of such applications running.

Sniffers

Programs that capture network traffic (sent and received data packets). Sniffers could be a serious threat, able to capture and decrypt user names, passwords and private information and prevent normal operation of computers and network in general. As most protocols (FTP, POP, HTTP, telnet) have secret information transmitted unencrypted, an intruder can easily gain access to a user’s information by setting up sniffer filters and waiting for the victim to connect to a server.

Malware threats glossar

Spyware

Programs that secretly gather and transmit personal user information. Spyware can be a part of various applications, including commercial products.

Toolbars

Toolbars can be downloaded to your Web browser to make browsing easier. Examples include the Google, Alexa and Yahoo toolbars. Even though these are very handy to use, they have the ability to track everything you do on the Internet and to pass that information back to the owners of the toolbars. Be sure to read the terms and conditions page before you download any toolbar.

Trojan Horses (Trojans)

Trojans are specially created programs that are deployed to PCs imitating useful applications and utilities. They can result in failures, lock-ups or even complete data destruction. Trojans are spread via mailing lists, Web forums, etc.

Acronis PRIVACY EXPERT SUITE 9.0 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

Introduction

What is Acronis Privacy Expert Suite?

Why is it necessary to keep PC work confidential?

What's new in Acronis Privacy Expert Suite 9.0?

What Acronis Privacy Expert Suite enables you to clean up

How to find information you need in this guide:

System requirements

Software use conditions

Technical support

Installing Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

1.1 Installing the program

1.2 Recovering Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

1.3 Acronis Privacy Expert Suite extracting

1.4 Removing the software

Working with Acronis Privacy Expert Suite

2.2 Working in the main program window

2.3 Basic operation principles

2.4 Acronis Privacy Expert Suite options

2.5 Using the Log

Malicious software removal and Malware shield

How malware gets on your PC

How to recognize malware?

If you need to:

Malicious Software Removal (see section 3.1.1 «Removing malware with

Selecting scanning mode

Setting up Deep scanning mode

Saving settings

3.2 Malicious software protection

Setting up the system protection level

General settings

Process analyzing

Registry protection

Memory protection

File protection

Specified rules

History

Show alerts

Select the Quarantine item in the Malicious Software Removal category to launch Quarantine wizard.

3.4 Malware definitions updates

Internet Clean-up

4.2 Using the Internet Clean-up Wizard

4.3 Internet Clean-up Wizard Settings

4.4 Cleaning up separate Internet components

5.2 Using the System Clean-up Wizard

System Clean-up

5.3 System Clean-up Wizard settings

5.4 Cleaning up separate system components

Application Traces Clean-up

6.2 Using the Application Traces Clean-up Wizard

6.3 Application Traces Clean-up Wizard settings

My privacy tools

Using File Shredder

7.3 Paging file cleaner

Chapter 8. Acronis Pop-up Blocker

8.1 What are pop-ups?

8.2 Acronis Pop-up Blocker

8.3 Acronis Pop-up Blocker settings

User list

If necessary, you can use Acronis Pop-up Blocker to block a Web site by adding its URL to the Black List. In this case, you will see "Acronis Privacy Expert Pop-

The History section contents a list of visited websites with detailed information on the blocked content.

Chapter 9. Acronis Drive Cleanser

9.1 Acronis Drive Cleanser capabilities

9.2 Working with Acronis Drive Cleanser

9.3 Using preset data destruction methods

9.4 Creating custom methods of data destruction

Hard Disk Wiping methods

A.1 Information wiping methods’ functioning principles

A.2 Information wiping methods used by Acronis

Malware threats glossary

Adware

Browser Helper Objects

Browser hijackers

Commercial keylogger

Dialers

Exploit/Security holes