How to delete the information displayed by LastActivityView...
Since the release of LastActivityView utility, many people contact me with the same question: How do I delete the information displayed by LastActivityView ?
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question because the information is collected from multiple sources, and currently LastActivityView doesn't provide an option to automatically delete this information.
Also, some of the data collected by LastActivityView is essential to normal functioning of Windows operating system and deleting it may cause some problems.
In the following section, you can find the list of all sources that LastActivityView uses to collect the activity information and how to optionally delete them.
Be aware that deleting any data from your computer is on your own risk, and I cannot give any kind of support for people who want to recover data they deleted from their computer according to this article.
Events log of Windows operating system: The following events are taken from the Events log of Windows: User Logon, User Logoff, Windows Installer Started, Windows Installer Ended, System Started, System Shutdown, Resumed from sleep, Restore Point Created, Network Connected, Network Disconnected, Software Crash, Software stopped responding (hang)
Windows operating system doesn't allow you to delete individual items from the events log, but you can easily clear the entire events log. In order to to clear the entire events log, simply go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer , and then choose to clear (Action -> Clear All Events) all major types of events logs (Application, Security, System...)
Windows Prefetch Folder: The Prefetch folder of Windows is usually located under C:\windows\Prefetch and it's used by windows to optimize the performances of running applications. Every time that you run an executable (.exe) file, .pf file is generated under this folder. LastActivityView uses this folder for 'Run .EXE file' event.
In order to delete all 'Run .EXE file' events shown by LastActivityView, simply delete all .pf files under the Prefetch folder.
Open/Save MRU list in the Registry: Every time that you choose a filename in a standard open/save dialog-box of Windows, a new Registry entry is added under the following key:
On Windows XP and previous systems: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU
On Windows 7/8/2008: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSavePidlMRU
LastActivityView uses the above Registry keys for the 'Select file in open/save dialog-box' event.
If you delete the entries under the above Registry keys (with RegEdit), Windows will not rememeber your last saved file/folder.
Recent Folder: Every time that you open a file, a new shortcut to this file is added to the recent folder of Windows, located under C:\Documents and Settings\[User Profile]\Recent or C:\Users\[User Profile]\Recent
LastActivityView uses the recent folder of Windows to add the 'Open file or folder' event. You can delete this type of event simply by deleting all shortcuts under the recent folder of Windows.
Windows Shell Bags Regsitry key: Windows Explorer remembers the settings (position, Size, columns position, and so on) or every folder you open by storing it under the following Registry keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell
LastActivityView uses the above Registry keys to add the 'View Folder in Explorer' event. If you delete the subkeys under the above Registry keys (With RegEdit), Windows will "forget" the settings of all folders.
Software Uninstall Registry Key: The 'Software Installation' event is taken from the following Registry keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
Warning !!!!
If you delete any Entry from these Registry keys, you'll not be able to uninstall the software in the future !