Hijack This

[SARGE]

How does one know which items to "safely" delete?

[BearEater]

I think there is something called Google.

For non-executable files, if small, just leave them alone. If big, to save space, 1. do google search or 2. rename from orginal.dll to sth like originalz.dll so you can put it back if some appz dont work.

for windows executable files, they all should be found on google. for program exe's, some may be found, some don't. one can use method 2 or just delete, and if something doesnt work,reinstall.

[Oldkid]

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/h...torial.html#o2

That explains it pretty well, from the horse's mouth as it were
In general, most individual items are safe to delete because HT is able to restore changes. Or, as BearEater I think is saying, some items that you fix that you might want back can be reinstalled--e.g., Flash.

BTW, I think a lot of people don't understand that HT is a highly specialized tool. It's really supposed to be used in concert with expert advice. Quote from the tutorial: "This should in no way replace asking for help in the SWI forums..."

I could go on & on about the reasons for this but--well it would be booklength. Hope you don't take offense, Sarge, I know you're an old hand at computers--just my two cents.