Permanently Disable Web Cache

mitrajoon · 14 Jul 2018

I've seen some threads from over 2 years ago on this topic and would like to know if there is a current solution to this problem. Whenever I run CCleaner I end up with tons of "cache" files. Nothing seems to stop them and repeated cleanings make no difference. I hope someone can point to a simple (I'm not a computer person) way to stop MS from collecting and distributing this data. This is the link from 2 years ago: Disable WebCacheV01.dat Solved - Windows 10 Forums

Callender · 14 Jul 2018

If you manage to disable it then it will make no difference since the data it contains is pulled in from many sources:

Forensic analysis of the ESE database in Internet Explorer 10 | Forensic Focus - Articles

System Log Files (Web Cache) Solved - Windows 7 Help Forums

TairikuOkami · 14 Jul 2018

I have removed those folders and they have not re-created any files yet, but I do not use IE nor Edge.

Code:

rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache" /s /q
rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\WebCache" /s /q

I followed this guide: Windows Continuous Disk Write + WebCacheV01.dat + V01.log Issue

I disabled the wininet task, took ownership of following reg entries and then removed them.

Code:

schtasks /Change /TN "Microsoft\Windows\Wininet\CacheTask" /Disable

reg delete "HKCR\AppID\{3eb3c877-1f16-487c-9050-104dbcd66683}" /f
reg delete "HKCR\CLSID\{0358b920-0ac7-461f-98f4-58e32cd89148}" /v "AppID" /f
reg delete "HKCR\Wow6432Node\AppID\{3eb3c877-1f16-487c-9050-104dbcd66683}" /f
reg delete "HKCR\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{0358b920-0ac7-461f-98f4-58e32cd89148}" /v "AppID" /f
reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\AppID\{3eb3c877-1f16-487c-9050-104dbcd66683}" /f
reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{0358b920-0ac7-461f-98f4-58e32cd89148}" /v "AppID" /f

Callender · 14 Jul 2018

Yes it works but webcachev01.dat is built from data in other containers and those will still exist so the data has not really gone.

Permanently Disable Web Cache-webcache.jpg

Permanently Disable Web Cache-webcache2.jpg

TairikuOkami · 14 Jul 2018

Well, I do not have a single index.dat file anywhere.
Probably replaced by container.dat but all are 0KB.

Callender · 14 Jul 2018

Have a read from "5.2 Acquiring files from the WebCache directory"

Forensic analysis of the ESE database in Internet Explorer 10 | Forensic Focus - Articles

TairikuOkami · 14 Jul 2018

Callender said:

Have a read from "5.2 Acquiring files from the WebCache directory"

Forensic analysis of the ESE database in Internet Explorer 10 | Forensic Focus - Articles

A good article, though I do not understand most of it.

Still, I have added those entries to my bat to remove caches.

Code:

rd "%LocalAppData%\MicrosoftEdge" /s /q
rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer" /s /q
rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\AppCache" /s /q
rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\History" /s /q
rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\IECompatCache" /s /q
rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\IECompatUaCache" /s /q
rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache" /s /q
rd "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\INetCookies" /s /q

mitrajoon · 15 Jul 2018

Thank you both for your comments. I really would like to get rid of these even if they are supposed to be harmless. On the other hand my computer skills are limited and I'm not sure I can follow TairikuOkami's instructions so I'll need to think about it a bit.

Callender · 15 Jul 2018

@mitrajoon

Post a screenshot of the problems files as shown in Ccleaner's GUI as it might be that you are seeing something unrelated to webcachev01.dat

mitrajoon · 15 Jul 2018

Screen shot as requested. This is after running CCleaner 2-3 times in succession.CC Screen.docx