User interface
1: You can navigate between the various modules here.
2: Results from the current module are displayed here.
3: Most modules allow you to filter results by type or custom search terms.
4: You can update or delete results here.
Overview
The overview lists all privacy-related items by type and date. The general summary is located at the top (1). Click an entry to open the affected program module. More detailed information is available in the center/at the bottom (2). Click the broom icon to delete the affected data, or the "i" to open the affected program module.
Depending on the size of the program window, additional information may become available at the bottom (e.g. web browsing traces):
Activities
This module lists all past activities on your PC sorted by time. Click the column labels to adjust the sort order. Click "Filter" to filter the list by description e.g., "Software issue".Click "Delete partially" to delete all system non-critical entries.
Privacy
This module can adjust all Windows settings that collect or share data about you with Microsoft. Select the desired category from the entries on the left and use the tabs to navigate through each category. Click "Apply" to apply the changes from all categories and "Restore standard settings" to restore the original settings. "Restore safe settings" will automatically adjust the settings to avoid the most common security risks.Internet traces
Internet Cleaner scans your system for no longer needed Internet-related files and displays results grouped by categories.Safe cookies
Many websites uses cookies to store important data, e.g. login credentials, and use them to automatically fill in the data on your next visit. Since Internet Cleaner deletes all cookies, you'll have to reenter the data manually for each affected site, unless you mark the affected cookies as "safe", thereby excluding them from deletion. Note that your settings always apply to all supported browsers.Marking cookies as "safe" via context menu
Right-click a cookie in the list of results to display the context menu and select "Mark selected cookies as Safe Cookies":Specifying safe cookies manually
You can use the "Manage safe cookies" button to manually add URLs of cookies of which will then be considered safe.Existing cookies are listed on the left. Select one or more entries and click "Add selection" to whitelist the affected cookies. You can also add individual URLs, e.g. "ashampoo.*", using the text field and the plus button. "*" is a wildcard character and means that all URLs starting with "ashampoo." will be whitelisted.
"Export" and "Import" allow you to export your cookie settings to a text file and import them, e.g. on another PC.
DNS cache
When you visit websites via URLs e.g., www.ashampoo.com, your PC has to obtain the IP address assigned to the URL. This is achieved through DNS servers. Your PC will cache frequently visited URLs in a local DNS cache.Currently cached entries are listed here, including storage time in seconds. Click "Clear DNS cache" to delete the current entries.
Wipe files
When Windows deletes a file, the affected disk space is marked as reusable. As long as it isn't used for new data, the original data is still there and can be recovered easily. FileWiper overwrites these areas with data such as zeros so the data can no longer be recovered. This is especially relevant to Windows' recycle bin as your "deleted" files can otherwise be easily restored.To permanently delete files in Windows Explorer, right-click the selected files and select "Destroy with Ashampoo WinOptimizer". You can also right-click the recycle bin and select "Destroy content with Ashampoo WinOptimizer" to permanently delete the affected files. WinOptimizer doesn't have to be running for you to use these features.
Settings
Opens the module settingsAdd
FolderAdds a folder to the list that will be permanently erased.
File(s)
Adds one or more files to the list that will be permanently erased.
Trashcan contents
Adds the contents of the recycle bin to the list.
Free disk space
Overwrites free disk space on the selected drive to render previously deleted files/folder unrecoverable.