[SOLVED] Erase file and folder history in shortcut creation dialog

[jamessmithjune]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to look on this.

When you go through the "create new shortcut" dialog in W10 file explorer, if you start to write a drive letter (i.e. C, D...) a dropdown list with very recent accessed files and folders reveals. This rises concerns in a shared PC enviroment, even if you are using Portable Apps on an USB stick... You can see files and folders even if they are no longer present in the system.

I have tried to clean and erase all the history settings I managed to find, but the dropdown continues to show, listing a lot of sensible info. Just for a quick example, I've been browsing some pdfs about work legal stuff, somebody catched on that and quickly it got around up to the point that my boss is freaking out about it, though he doesn't know who was.

I consider this a very serious privacy flaw in Windows. Do you know how to tackle this? Thank you very much in advance.

 

[USAFRet]

If the file no longer exists, there is no "file" to accessed and read.

Does this visibility persist across multiple standard user accounts?
As in...User A can see folders and file names accessed by User B?

 

[jamessmithjune]

If the file no longer exists, there is no "file" to accessed and read.

Does this visibility persist across multiple standard user accounts?
As in...User A can see folders and file names accessed by User B?

Hi, USAFRet.

The problem is that the file names already reveal too much, even if you cannot access the files, the names alone hint others about what you are doing.

About the user accounts, it's a small business with an oversimplified use of the computers —everybody shares the same Windows account and have different accounts for specific software.

Yeah, I know... I cannot do anything about it 😕. That's why I always used Portable Apps and such without any issues, until the computer got upgraded to Win10 from Win8.1 a few weeks ago. It seems that Win10 makes a good effort on keeping track of everything.

 

[USAFRet]

About the user accounts, it's a small business with an oversimplified use of the computers —everybody shares the same Windows account and have different accounts for specific software.

That is a MAJOR security hole.

Given that, I am completely unsure of any way to achieve what you desire. The same account can access the same files, no matter who is sitting at the keyboard.

That absolutely needs to be fixed.

This is not a "privacy flaw in windows", but rather a flaw in how your users use the system(s).
Individual accounts for each person would prevent this.

 

[USAFRet]

What you're looking for is the MRU - Most Recently Used data in the Registry.

How to clear Most Recently Used (MRU) lists in Windows and Office

Learn how to clear Most Recently Used or MRU List from Explorer, Office programs, etc, in Windows 11/10 by editing Registry or using MRU Blaster.

www.thewindowsclub.com

This speaks to the "CurrentUser". User being the account, not the human sitting at the keyboard on the same account.

And editing the Reg all the time to do this is strongly not recommended.
Enough Reg edits, and you WILL make a mistake and bork the system to unbootability.

 

[jamessmithjune]

That is a MAJOR security hole.

Given that, I am completely unsure of any way to achieve what you desire. The same account can access the same files, no matter who is sitting at the keyboard.

That absolutely needs to be fixed.

This is not a "privacy flaw in windows", but rather a flaw in how your users use the system(s).
Individual accounts for each person would prevent this.

Yes, I understand what you mean, but I don't have a say in the matter and it's a dead end trying to change that.

Up to Win8.1 I could clear recent files and programs as easily as clearing the history on the web browser. Now in Win10 that's not accesible. Just picture that, given that you use always your personal and private Win10 account, Microsoft decides you no longer can clear your web browser history. For me, that is really not a good deal even if I am in my personal computer at home.

What you're looking for is the MRU - Most Recently Used data in the Registry.

How to clear Most Recently Used (MRU) lists in Windows and Office

Learn how to clear Most Recently Used or MRU List from Explorer, Office programs, etc, in Windows 11/10 by editing Registry or using MRU Blaster.

www.thewindowsclub.com

This speaks to the "CurrentUser". User being the account, not the human sitting at the keyboard on the same account.

And editing the Reg all the time to do this is strongly not recommended.
Enough Reg edits, and you WILL make a mistake and bork the system to unbootability.

Ok, thanks! I will be more careful from now on so I don't have to operate on the Registry. Risky business...!