Avast One Browser Cleaner doesn't seem to be cleaning

[5]

Subject says it. I used the Avast One (free) browser cleaner to clean the cache. According to the cleaner dialog I also have 4 items of stored cookies. OK, I thought; let's leave that and I'll go into my browser settings to see where those cookies are from.
When I looked - Cookies & Data, Manage Data - there was a list of all my browsing history cookies since the last time I deleted browser history using my browser earlier this morning. Probably about 40 items - many of these show multiple cookies. So what exactly is Avast cleaning? Because it looks to me like it isn't cleaning anything, unless I'm missing something??
I use Waterfox (Firefox).

[Cluster-Lizard2014]

Does the AVAST cleaner actually say it cleans Waterfox?

With CCleaner which is what I assume the AVAST cleaner actually is or is using for this purpose Waterfox can be partially cleaned but unless it specifically tells you it is cleaning Waterfox, it doesn't.

You have to add the Waterfox locations to the ccleaner.ini configuration file. Unless it has been changed recently that has to be done is a very specific way too, 'tricking' the cleaner into treating those locations as being Firefox ones.

In my experience cleaning post Firefox v56 and up to date Waterfox versions with CCleaner is problematic. It used to be a one stop tool which would do a better job than Firefox itself. One of the main benefits was that you could store the persistent cookies you wanted (things like forum logins) using CCleaner and they'd be saved but all the other session cookies cleaned.

Just what you want.

Now I'm finding that both Firefox and Waterfox are ignoring those same CCleaner settings and when you restart/reboot you still have all the cookies left from the last session and have the option to restore that last session.

Firefox and Waterfox are desperately annoying in this respect because their own History cleaning option clears all cookies, it warns you of that too. There's no easy option to choose which ones to keep which CCleaner, with older Firefox and Waterfox versions, allowed you to do so easily.

Where Firefox/Waterfox is storing this session cookie information I've given up trying to work out. I've added about half a dozen paths each to the ccleaner.ini eg. session, session checkpoints and the session backup folder and I still can't get the CCleaner version I'm using to do what it did with older Firefox and Waterfox versions.     

[DavidR]

I have no idea where you have been looking or if you tried this search - https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=where+does+firefox+store+%22session+cookie%22+information

[5]

Hello to both DavidR & Cluster-Lizard (Cluster-Lizard???) and thanks for responding.

I know nothing of CCleaner. The name seems to ring a bell. Maybe I came across it at some time in the past. However the thrust of what you seem to be telling me is that Avast One doesn't, or can't clear site data or cookies from Firefox (Waterfox).

But it does go through the motions and reports an 'all clear' result. Then a quick look in the Waterfox Settings under Privacy & Security > Manage Data/Clear Data indicates that data & cookies still exist.
It's a simple matter to clear it from Waterfox Settings but Avast claims to also do the job and as far as I can see, it doesn't. But it tells you (me) it has.
This isn't a huge deal, I just thought maybe I'm missing something. Or maybe it is a big deal because Avast is claiming to do something it doesn't.

As to the hard drive location of the cookies & data, I don't really care. I think c\user\app data\roaming. Don't recall for certain. It's easier to clear from the browser.

[5]

Screen shot from Avast & Waterfox. Data exists after Avast says cleared.

[Cluster-Lizard2014]

I've assumed AVAST who bought Piriform, the original creators of CCleaner, are using it or a dedicated version as their browser cleaner.  Maybe not but the problem the OP describes appeared to be strangely similar to that I've experienced for years when using CCleaner with recent versions of Firefox and Waterfox.

I've used older versions of CCleaner too and whatever the problem is it is not just a CCleaner issue, it only started with the post the Firefox Quantum revamp and more recent Waterfox versions whose browser cleaning efficacy seems to be tied into the Firefox version.

I have no idea where you have been looking or if you tried this search - https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=where+does+firefox+store+%22session+cookie%22+information

In the Firefox and Water fox user profile folders of course; these are two examples of paths I added years ago to the CCleaner INI configuration file that would originally get CCleaner to clean Firefox and Waterfox properly but keep wanted cookies. The Waterfox entries have to be identified as Firefox locations:-

CustomLocation5=FIREFOX|C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Waterfox\Profiles\xxxxxxxxx.default\sessionCheckpoints.json
CustomLocation6=FIREFOX|C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Waterfox\Profiles\xxxxxxxxx.default\sessionstore.jsonlz4

Since the Firefox Quantum update of Firefox (2017) the same configuration paths does not work anymore; cookies from the last session are not all removed even though the JSON files concerned are being reported by CCleaner as cleaned. Is that not similar to what sooke2004 is describing?
 
Waterfox (Classic) which is derived from earlier Firefox versions is affected too.

Of course the sooke2004's problem maybe an entirely different issue. So if the AVAST One browser cleaner is not CCleaner then obviously my contributions here are irrelevant.

But as AVAST own both it would be odd if there was no connection. It just sounded as if it could be at least similar to the problem I've experienced with CCleaner and both Waterfox and Firefox, so worth posting about.       

[5]

cookies from the last session are not all removed even though the JSON files concerned are being reported by CCleaner as cleaned. Is that not similar to what sooke2004 is describing?

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.



 

[DavidR]

cookies from the last session are not all removed even though the JSON files concerned are being reported by CCleaner as cleaned. Is that not similar to what sooke2004 is describing?

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

Just as a matter of interest, does the size of the file change at all  ?

Personally I don't use ccleaner (well not for many, many years) nor do I run the Avast (Not so) Smart Scan as I take care of these things my self.  I don't install lots of cr4p and both of my hard drives SSD/HDD have tons of space.  I might periodically clear my default browsers cache, however my settings in the browser do much of that for me automatically.  Outside of that I don't see any benefit of running stuff like that if my SDD/HDD have plenty of space.

[5]

[/quote]Just as a matter of interest, does the size of the file change at all  ?[/quote]

Yes, the Avast Browser Cleaner tells you size of file at the start, and at finish it will report zero bytes. But as far as I can tell it hasn't cleaned anything. I presume you have it installed, so easy to check yourself.

I too looked at CCleaner after it was mentioned above. All or most functions can probably be performed by ones self with Windows built in features. Personally I wouldn't trust CCleaner, or any other cleaner type software with some of the tasks. I prefer a more hands on.

It's just as easy to remove data & cookie files from a browser with the browser's built in deletion method. Probably easier actually. The point of the thread is that Avast is claiming to do something that it doesn't appear to accomplish, at least not in Waterfox (Firefox).

Why do I clean out internet data & cookies? Well, because I don't like being tracked, or sold stuff I don't want, or filling my drive with useless files some of which could possibly even be damaging, and regardless of whether I had 50 million terabytes at my disposal.
But it sounds like you already have your browser set to automatically remove all this. I don't have mine set to delete each time I close the browser. I generally look after it at days end. I'm on & off the computer all day so that works for me.

[DavidR]

I agree, yes if it is a feature, it should work.

I can't really check it as I don't use Avast One, I continue to use Avast Free Antivirus (for over 18 years) and both programs have different functionality and features.

I don't know if this is a compatibility issue with Avast/Waterfox, unfortunately this is something I can't test not having Waterfox or Avast One.

I rarely if ever use/run on-demand scans and that includes the Not so Smart Scan, outside of related questions in the forum. With a resident on access antivirus I feel that on-demand scans are much depreciated.