Cleaning task says IE temp must be cleaned, files are created by cleaning

CCleaner for Windows CCleaner Windows Bug Reporting
1

Troubles:

When you haven't internet explorer, cleaning its history makes a new ghost folder "INetCache" with a 5Mo file in "AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Low". 

You can indefinitely clean and scan this file, CCleaner will remove it and recreate it instantly.

How to reproduce:

- Launch Ccleaner 

- For Internet explorer, check "History"


- Do a check before cleaning. If you haven't internet explorer, you shouldn't see "IE temp files" in files to remove.


- Do a cleaning.


- Do a check before cleaning


- If IE temp files aren't in files to remove, restart CCleaner and do another check.


- You should now see that IE temp files must be removed


- Clean and check indefinitely, seeing that IE temp files are still there

What appens here? :

When you check "History" for Internet explorer then do a cleaning, 

CCleaner will create a 5Mo file "suggested sites.dat" in "AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Low" (picture 1)


Fun fact: the directory "AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache" is not correctly created by CCleaner, so it's a ghost directory, even with "show hidden files"! (picture 2)


Fortunately, CCleaner allows us to see the paths of the files to be removed, so that I just had to copy/paste the path to find the directory.


Now that you have this file, you can try to remove it and do a cleaning and... POOF, it appears again!

picture 1.png

picture 2.png

2

This is known, see the link in my signature below this post.

Many applications use IEs temporary file storage locations rather than creating their own temporary storage - it's always been a convient place to put temporary files. (Why reinvent the wheel).

So yes, CCleaner puts a couple of files in the IE temporary location that then get cleaned when you run it.

As they get cleared almost straight after being created then I don't think anyone sees it as any kind of problem

3
56 minutes ago, nukecad said: 
<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		This is known, see the link in my signature below this post.
	</p>

	<p>
		Many applications use IEs temporary file storage locations rather than creating their own temporary storage - it's always been a convient place to put temporary files. (Why reinvent the wheel).
	</p>

	<p>
		So yes, CCleaner puts a couple of files in the IE temporary location that then get cleaned when you run it.
	</p>

	<p>
		As they get cleared almost straight after being created then I don't think anyone sees it as any kind of problem
	</p>
</div>

I think you got it wrong: here, CCleaner creates the IE temp location itself, only when checking "History" for Internet explorer cleaning, not to use it as a cache but to put an IE related file, even if IE isn't installed, and even if the directory didn't exist before. I haven't any application using this folder, which is created the wrong way by CCleaner (it's not accessible via file managers). Plus, CCleaner doesn't uses it itself, it only cleans it, to recreate it just after.

4

I see, it's the fact that the folder doesn't exist and is being created that is bothering you.

It's happening because you have Windows 11, I'll see if I can explain why it's happening.

As said many applications, including CCleaner, use the old Internet Explorer storage locations to put temporary files in, the IE temporary locations were always there so it was and still is convinent and tidy.

If for some reason those locations don't exist then they will be created to put the apps temporary files in.

Many apps do this, it's so they can use common, convinent, existing locations to put their temporary files in. 

It's a standard practice that has grown up over the years.


Doing it that way also makes it easier when you want to clean up those temporary files, you don't have to go searching for them because they are all in the same place - IE's temporary storage.


The alternative would be for each app to have it's own temporary folder(s), so you'd have 100's of temporary files/folders in different places rather than them all being in one place.

Those temporary folders were always there in whatever version of Windows - but they are suddenly no longer there as standard in Windows 11 

Because IE browser is not built into Windows 11 you wouldn't have <u>any</u> IE folders as <em>standard</em> on a new Windows 11 install.

But again, it is not just IE browser that uses those temporary storage locations, other apps make use of them and if they are not there will create them to use. 

If CCleaner hadn't created them then some other app you use probably would have done sooner or later. (and with another app than CCleaner you probably wouldn't have noticed, at least not for a long time).

Eventually this may change and the other apps will start putting their temporary files elsewhere in another common location, but for now it is IE as it has been for years. 

What any other common location will be will probably evolve without any formal decision; Apps may simply start using Edge Chromiums' temporary storage spaces instead. (Or may just continue using/creating the old IE temporary locations as needed).

TBH I wouldn't expect this situation to change with any hurry, when all is said and done app developers are used to putting their temporary files in certain common locations for the sake of being tidy, does it really matter what those locations are called as long as everyone knows what they are and is using them?