how to clear browser cache, history and cookies from a VB.NET application

wingn...@gmail.com

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Apr 23, 2012, 9:27:20 AM4/23/12

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Hi

Have written a cleanup tool and it works fine for windows temp files and IE files but need to work out how to clear firefox cache etc programmatically using vb.net

any ideas please?

WLS

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Apr 23, 2012, 11:27:36 AM4/23/12

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I don't understand what you want to do, or why, but Firefox settings
work for me.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/207/clearhistory.png/

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wingn...@gmail.com

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Apr 23, 2012, 11:45:35 AM4/23/12

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Yes I know how to clear them via the options

As my question states - I want to be able to clear them from a VB.net app I am writing

It is a cleanup tool and cleans various locations such as profile temp, windows temp, IE temporary internet files, cookies, history and the same for google - just need to work out how to do it for firefox

WLS

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Apr 23, 2012, 1:21:40 PM4/23/12

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So this isn't a Firefox support question, but you want to know where
these items are stored in the profile, or how to write the code?

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Ed Mullen

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Apr 23, 2012, 2:14:26 PM4/23/12

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Why reinvent the wheel? Get Ccleaner.

http://www.piriform.com/

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Chris Ilias

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Apr 23, 2012, 2:23:55 PM4/23/12

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Try asking in one of the developer forums.
<http://www.mozilla.org/about/forums/#general-development>
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Chris Ilias <http://ilias.ca>
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Chuck Anderson

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Apr 23, 2012, 3:50:39 PM4/23/12

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Just get the cache location and delete all the files. I've done that manually
many times. No problem

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wingn...@gmail.com

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Apr 23, 2012, 4:04:16 PM4/23/12

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On Monday, April 23, 2012 7:23:55 PM UTC+1, Chris Ilias wrote:
> Try asking in one of the developer forums.
> <http://www.mozilla.org/about/forums/#general-development>
> --
> Chris Ilias <http://ilias.ca>
> Mailing list/Newsgroup moderator

Thanks Chris - will try that

wingn...@gmail.com

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Apr 23, 2012, 4:05:50 PM4/23/12

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On Monday, April 23, 2012 8:50:39 PM UTC+1, Chuck Anderson wrote:
>
> Just get the cache location and delete all the files. I've done that manually
> many times. No problem
>
> --
> *****************************
> Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
> http://cycletourist.com
> Turn Off, Tune Out, Drop In
> *****************************

yes obviously I can work out myself where the location is - but it is in a profile directory with a random name so will be different for each system!

i.e. Profiles\ptc6ghn1.default\

hence asking if anyone has managed to do this with VB.net

WLS

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Apr 23, 2012, 4:24:42 PM4/23/12

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Don't know what they did it with.

http://download.cnet.com/Free-Window-Sweeper/3000-2094_4-10723157.html

"Free Window Sweeper is a free privacy tool for cleaning up the history
of your activities on a computer. Your computer stores more information
than you think. Every site you visit, every file you open, and various
other activities you have performed. Free Window Sweeper is designed to
protect you by cleaning up all the unwanted history data on your
computer. With simply one click, Free Window Sweeper allows you to erase
the cache, cookies, history, typed URLs, auto complete memory, index.dat
files from your browsers, Windows temp folder, run history, search
history, recycle bin, and recent documents. It also offers support for
many third party applications, and allows you to add your custom file,
folder, or registry locations to be cleaned. It also has a cookie keeper
option which allows you to save specific cookies from useful sites while
erasing all other cookies. You can optionally choose to use secure
deletion methods to completely eliminate all traces of the deleted data.

What's new in this version: Version 2.5 added support for Google Chrome."

I have a similar program on my system, but have not enabled the web
browser settings.

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Chuck Anderson

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Apr 24, 2012, 3:47:57 PM4/24/12

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wingn...@gmail.com wrote:

> On Monday, April 23, 2012 8:50:39 PM UTC+1, Chuck Anderson wrote:
>> Just get the cache location and delete all the files. I've done that manually
>> many times. No problem
>>

> yes obviously I can work out myself where the location is - but it is in a profile directory with a random name so will be different for each system!
> i.e. Profiles\ptc6ghn1.default\

Well ... no .... you didn't really make that obvious. I write applications
for my own use - and figured you were doing the same.

If it's not in a custom location you can look here:
%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\

Or .... look in profiles.ini?

Or ...... ask in a developers group :-)

msdj...@gmail.com

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Dec 8, 2013, 12:14:27 AM12/8/13

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You can get Firefox default profile like this:

Private Function GetFirefoxProfile() As String
Try
Dim appDataDir As String = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData) &
"\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\"
Dim firstClientDir As String = Directory.GetDirectories(appDataDir)(0)
Return firstClientDir
Catch ex As Exception
Return Nothing
End Try
End Function