CACHESENTRY VERSION
HISTORY
- Favorites custom icon files are only deleted when they
haven't been used for the period of time specified in
CacheSentry's "unused cookies" expiration
setting. Note: Even though the favicon.ico file may be in
the cache, that doesn't mean IE will use this icon for
your favorites menu. I have found when the site with the
custom icon disappears from IE's history buffer, it stops
using the custom icon. To make the custom icon permanent,
you should manually copy it out of the cache and assign
it to the favorites shortcut using the "Change Icon"
command in the Window's shortcut properties dialog.
- Strays file are no longer deleted using DeleteFile().
Instead, a dummy URL is created and the stray is deleted
via IE's cache API. This should help lessen the index.dat
file cache size bug from happening.
- Made more changes to try to fix the "unable to
remove stray URL" problem some users have been
reporting. (See 1.49 below)
- Any remaining stray files that are not yet old enough to
remove are now included in the index.dat bugfix
calculation, since IE seems to take stray files into
account when sizing the cache.
- Fixed the "Can't find finxindex.exe" problem.
It turns out Windows NT and 2000 do not support the way
Windows 9x uses to tell the application which directory
is it current being run from. Users starting CacheSentry
from a shortcut or the Startup Folder may have to update
their "Start In" field in the shortcut because
of this compatibility issue.
- Fixed problem of stray file check aborting with error 3
if something else had deleted the cache subdirectories.
- Sometimes web pages loading would trigger false reports
of stray URL's. CacheSentry now waits for stray URL's to
age by 22 hours before removing them.
- Changed program so that it creates the "RunOnce"
registry key in HKCU/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion
if it doesn't exist and the system is an NT system.
Hopefully this will finally allow the index size bugfix
section of CacheSentry to work with all NT systems.
- Updated the error message for the above issue so the text
matches the registry key CacheSentry is trying to get
access to.
- Removed "folder.htt" and "desktop.ini"
file from documentation folder. This was causing problems
for users if the documenation was accidentally unZIP'ed
to the Desktop without creating folders. If you need to
read the documenation, the file to click on is "cachesentry.html"
in the docs folder.
- Changed program so when it needs to modify the INDEX.DAT
file under Windows NT or Win2K, it runs the modifier
program from HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry key rather than
from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key. This was done because a
user needs administrator access under NT in order to run
from the latter key. If this fix doesn't work, then NT
users probably won't be able to use the INDEX.DAT bug
fix, as I don't know of any other way to modify that file
before Windows opens it.
- Removed the information line that displayed the IE cache
update setting.
- Version 1.44 added the feature of removing cookie and .class
files that were not used for 4 months. Many users
requested this amount of time be adjustable so an option
was added in this version that lets the user specify in
days how long a cookie or .class file must go unused
before it becomes a candidate for removal. Also, the
default is now 184 days (6 months). If you want
CacheSentry to never remove cookies and .class files,
simply enter a large number. (99999 days, for instance,
which is nearly 274 years - I don't think anyone will
need their cookies to stay around for that long! :-) )
- Changed the window title to "CacheSentry by
EnigmaticSoftware" to avoid problem with program not
running if an Explorer directory window was open that
also was named "CacheSentry".
- A helpful user pointed out that Windows NT doesn't
support the "RunServicesOnce" registry key,
which the INDEX.DAT fix tool needs to run when the system
reboots. This new version of CacheSentry senses when it
is running on Windows NT (and hopefully Windows 2000) and
uses the "RunOnce" key instead to run the index
fixing program.
- If CacheSentry is running under Windows NT, it should
display in the Activity Log line where the startup code
is "NTVer" instead of "WinVer". This
will let you know if CacheSentry has successfully sensed
it is running on a Windows NT system. If you're this new
version of CacheSentry with NT and it says "WinVer"
instead of "NTVer", let me know! :-)
- If you're not using NT or Windows 2000, you don't need
this new version.
- It seems when you shut down Windows, it doesn't send a
message to CacheSentry that it should quit - it simply
stops CacheSentry in its tracks. This caused a problem
for users who run CacheSentry all the time in that the
INDEX.DAT fix wouldn't be applied if they never manually
exited CacheSentry. This new version fixes that problem.
- When CacheSentry 1.44 was installed on a clean system, it
enabled the INDEX.DAT bug fix despite the documentation
stating this was not the case. The behavior now matches
the documentation - The index bug fix is disabled by
default.
- One thing I forgot to mention in the previous release - I
finally changed program's window title to match that of
the program! :-) Since CacheSentry uses the window title
to determine if it is already running, it is a good idea
for you to make sure there are no older-than-1.44
versions of CacheSentry on your system, as the earlier
versions won't recognize the newer version, and vice-versa.
- New feature: Fixes major bug problem with IE losing track
of how much data is actually in the cache! This is only
an issue with Internet Explorer 4 and 5. (Internet
Explorer 3 users should leave this feature disabled.)
- Added ability to save Activity Window contents out to a
file (Activity.txt).
- CacheSentry no longer removes files with a ".class"
extension if you set a maximum cache size larger than 6
megabytes. They will be protected for about 4 months
before getting deleted.
- Cookies that have not been used for about 4 months are
now deleted when more space in the cache is needed.
- Doubled the amount of time CacheSentry waits before
deleting a stray file - Was 1 day, now is 2.
- Added button in the settings window that takes you to our
web page.
- CacheSentry now reports Windows version, OS version, and
IE version on startup to assist with tech support
questions.
- CacheSentry now removes Channel content after its exempt
status has expired instead of leaving the files around
forever.
- A newer version of IE5 exists which places the cache
update setting in the old IE4 location. I modified
CacheSentry to look for the old setting if IE is too new.
Also added some fallback code in case Microsoft changes
their mind again about the setting's location. :-)
- Fixed bug - crashed when Channel content was larger than
maximum cache size setting.
- Fixed bug - crashed with certain error messages in kiosk
mode.
- Fixed problem with update frequency display not showing
correct setting with Internet Explorer 5.
- .CDF files stored by Internet Explorer 5 sometimes use
lower "exempt" values, so this version of
CacheSentry is now aware of these lower values.
- Modified stray file removal to not remove the default
channel bar icons that are installed with Windows.
- Modified the cache manager to never delete channel bar
information, even when it is the oldest data in the cache.
Make sure you don't add so many channels that it takes up
more space than is available in the cache!
- Added stray file removal. You no longer need to manually
delete stray files! The number and total size of all the
files deleted is displayed in the activity log.
- Added stray URL removal. This is the opposite of stray
files. On rare occasions, the file exists in the cache
but the record to it is missing. This may happen more
often if you have manually deleted the wrong files with
the earlier versions. :-) The number of stray URL's
removed is displayed in the activity log.
- Made the cache path display a little more user friendly
and informative in cases when the path isn't found.
- The minimum cache size is set back to one megabyte, up
from zero. (A zero sized cache makes finding the cache
path difficult with the new compatibility method
implemented in build 112.)
- Fixed bug in which the program wouldn't find the cache
directory correctly if the first entry in the cache was a
cookie.
- Yes, I know I said stray file deletion would be in the
next release, but this bug came up - it will be in the 1.4
release in a week or two, I promise! :-)
- Removed all the disk space checks that were added in 1.2x.
They caused too many false alarms on systems with large
partitions, and on systems with small, dedicated
partitions for the cache.
- After displaying the list of stray files, the total
number of stray files is now also included along with the
amount of space they are taking up. Note that the
activity log only has room for 100 lines of text, so many
of the reported strays may have scrolled off the top of
the list. The total number of strays value will give you
a better idea of how many strays there actually are.
- Changed the way the program determines the cache
directory. This should finally fix all cases of
CacheSentry reporting the incorrect cache folder. An
added benefit is the 2-minute wait on startup when a user
is using a private cache folder is no longer needed and
has been removed. All users now get a 5-second wait (reduced
from 10 seconds) before the cache is scanned to prevent
disk thrashing when CacheSentry is set to auto-start on
reboot.
- Discovered Windows checks for valid OS calls when
programs are loaded into memory, and CacheSentry's
reference to GetDiskFreeSpaceEx() was breaking on Windows
95 "classic" systems (i.e., pre-OSR2). Switched
to the older GetDiskFreeSpace() call, since IE's cache
doesn't recognize partitions larger than 2 gigs anyhow....
- Fixed small problem with display of cache directory text
line in settings Window. (The static control was
overwriting part of the text.)
- In version 1.2, I switched to a different registry key
for determining the location of the cache directory.
Apparently, this key is only available with IE4 and up.
This was breaking CacheSentry on IE3 systems; now the
program checks both if one key fails.
- Oops! Version 1.20 introduced a bug where it might get
stuck in an endless loop while scanning the cache, thus
freezing itself and causing system slowdown. Grab this
new version 1.21 to fix that problem.
- Bonus: Made a minor modification so the cookies folder is
now also checked for stray files.
- Added checks so users cannot specify a cache size that is
larger than the amount of disk space available on the
volume containing the cache. Also, users of IE 4 and up
cannot specify a cache size that is larger than what IE 4's
cache size is set to. CacheSentry will alert the user in
these cases and automatically set the cache size back
down to a level that will work.
- Added cluster size calculations when sizing the cache,
further reducing the chances of the cache growing large
enough for IE to regain control over it. The cluster size
CacheSentry will use in these calculations is specified
in the CacheSentry settings window. When you first run
version 1.2, it will make a best-guess as to your hard
drive partition's cluster size. If you know the value of
your partion's cluster size and CacheSentry guesses
wrong, you can change the value to make it right. Setting
this incorrectly will not hurt CacheSentry in any way -
it simply reduces the chance of IE getting control of the
cache due to the cache growing too large.
- When CacheSentry scans for stray files on startup, it now
lists the actual pathnames to the stray files found.
Users can use this information to manually delete them if
they wish.
- Fixed some bugs in erroneous reporting of stray files.
- Added current cache size to tray icon. Holding the mouse
over the icon will show you how much space the files in
the cache are currently taking up.
- Moved CacheSentry prefs to the registry key
EnigmaticSoftware/CacheSentry instead of just
EnigmaticSoftware.
- Fixed bug - The preference for displaying the tray icon
or not was only saved on a user-by-user basis if the user
had a private cache. Now that setting is always saved on
a user-by-user basis. (So multiple users of the same
computer can have different settings.)
- Added code to determine the amount of space being wasted
in the cache by "stray files". See the Overview
section for more info.
- Added "startup code" logged action so I can
more easily determine problems in tech support calls.
- Added kiosk mode - no error dialogs will appear when
CacheSentry is used in this mode.
- Added MB (megabyte) display so it's easier to compare the
current cache size to the user-set maximum cache size.
- CacheSentry now gives you a "second opinion" as
to how the update frequency is set in Internet Explorer.
It reads from the registry whether the browser checks for
newer content every time you visit a web page, once per
session, or never checks for newer content. The displayed
setting here has no effect on how CacheSentry functions -
it is purely informational.
- Fixed bug - the program was displaying the "Need to
delete more files but no more left" error when that
wasn't the case. Eventually realized this should never
happen so the error message was removed entirely.
CacheSentry should work fine now at the 0 megabyte
maximum cache setting. (For users who never want anything
stored in the cache.)
- Added error message when a deletion fails, but the
message is only logged into activity log (not a warning
dialog).
- Fixed bug - possible crash if a deletion failed.
- Worked around problem - certain FTP sites' files appear
in the cached files index, and this was causing
CacheSentry to do a major erasure of any older files if
the cache max had been exceeded. In order to accommodate
these sites (and Internet Explorer's silliness for
putting downloaded files in the cache in the first place)
CacheSentry now ignores files that are larger than a
megabyte for approximately 24 hours. This should give the
user and Internet Explorer plenty of time to complete the
download and copy the file to a permanent location
outside of the cache. After this "grace period",
these large files are given top priority for deletion in
order to free up as much space in the cache again as
quickly as possible, without harming the important
content from subscriptions and regular web browsing.
- Changed layout of the options window to make room for new
"About" and "Clear Activity Log"
buttons.
- Added new -i command line switch. This
runs CacheSentry in Immediate Mode - it checks the cache,
does any necessary management, and exits.
- CacheSentry setting changes are applied no matter how you
close the properties window. (i.e., exiting the program
also applies the changes.)
- To give users the ability to completely clear the cache
in immediate mode, the minimum settable cache size has
now been lowered to zero! Also, the maximum settable
cache size has been raised to 300 megabytes. (Why anyone
would want a cache this large I don't know, but it can be
done now.)
- Added more Tab stops to the properties window controls.
- Fixed a bug where URL's that were longer than 263
characters would overwrite certain CacheSentry variables.
This may have been the cause of the crashes some users
have reported. Hopefully, this will take care of that.
- Added new "activity" icons for the tray window
in the taskbar. CacheSentry now displays a "waiting"
icon, a "sleeping" icon, and a "working"
icon, depending what state it is currently in.
- The program, when run for the very first time on a
computer, would default to a 5 megabyte cache if the
user's cache was less than that size. That minimum has
been lowered to 1 megabyte.
- Settings window can now also be accessed by double-clicking
with the left mouse button on the system tray icon.
- Added version info to dialog box so bug reporting is
easier.
- Fixed bug in which the cache directory of the previous
user with separate cache directory setups would be used
instead of the current user.
- CacheSentry settings are now on a per-user basis instead
of a global basis, if the user is using a private cache
directory.
- Cleaner recompilation with new compiler.
- Fixed cache size limit code so it actually displays the
fact that the cache can't be smaller than 1 meg or larger
than 100 megs.
Go back to
CacheSentry documentation