Deleting files without the possibility of their recovery. Securely erase data and overwrite unused hard drive space

Deleting files is a common procedure when working with a computer, which is used several times a day. However, simply by sending files to the Recycle Bin and emptying it, you leave traces of data on the system that can then be used to recover deleted information. If you are not happy with this situation, then it will be useful for you to learn how to delete files without the possibility of recovery.

Normal deletion

Any user has sent files to the trash: to do this, right-click on it and select “Delete”. After this, the recycle bin is emptied, and unnecessary information seems to disappear from the computer.

Another way to get rid of unnecessary file– erase it immediately, without pre-shipment Add to cart. To do this, you need to select it with the left button, and then press the key combination Shift+Delete.

A warning will appear asking you to confirm the action by clicking “Yes.”

You can configure deletion so that files are not sent to the trash in principle, even without pressing a certain key combination.

Now the information will be immediately erased from hard drive, bypassing temporary storage for deleted data.

Permanent deletion

If you deleted files and then emptied the Recycle Bin, then know that this information can be restored if desired. Fortunately, there are a lot of programs for performing such an operation, both paid and free.

The only way to completely erase information is to overwrite other data in its place. It is advisable to do this several times to completely destroy all traces of the deleted file.

You can't do this manually; but with the support special software, you will quickly perform the desired operation.

SDelete

For permanent deletion data, you can use a utility from Microsoft called SDelete. This program operates through the command line, overwriting a remote file with random numbers.

Download the utility onto your computer.
Launch Command Prompt (press Win+R to open the Run menu and enter the command “cmd.exe”).
Specify the path to the folder in which the downloaded SDelete utility is stored using a command like “cd C:\downloads” and press Enter.
Use a command like “delete file path” to delete data you don’t need.

IN command line A message should appear indicating that the destruction of information was successful. After this you can close all windows.

Recuva

Recuva is commonly used to recover deleted files from a flash drive or hard drive. However, her functionality are often not used to their full potential, because with the help of this utility you can also erase information, leaving no chance of its recovery.

The first thing to do is erase the files in the usual way, sending them to the trash and then emptying it.

To delete data completely, you must first start the recovery procedure:

So, you have received a list of files that can be recovered. Now you need to destroy them, permanently erasing them from your hard drive.

Remember: the more rewrite cycles you specify, the higher the likelihood that the information will be completely and irrevocably deleted. Therefore, select 35 cycles at once and click “OK”.

Select the files you want to destroy, and then right-click in the main program window. Select "Securely remove marked ones."

A warning will appear on the screen in which you need to click “Yes” to start the process of permanently deleting the information.

After the procedure is completed, run Recuva to search and restore files again. Check that the data that you have securely deleted no longer appears in the list. If they are, try the steps described above again.

Far Manager

With the help of this file manager You can not only manage the data stored on your computer, but also permanently delete it from your hard drive.

Select the item you want to remove from your computer forever.
Press the Alt+Delete key combination or select “Destruction” from the “File” menu.
In the window that appears, confirm your intentions by clicking on the “Destroy” button.

If you delete one file, it will be destroyed immediately. When deleting a folder, another warning will appear, again asking you to confirm your intention.

Why erase data using a utility Far Manager can be considered reliable? Because the file will first be overwritten with zeros, then renamed randomly, and only then will it be sent into oblivion.

Eraser HDD

Another convenient and functional utility, allowing you to get rid of it forever unnecessary information, called Eraser HDD and distributed in the form portable application. The only drawback of this program is that it cannot delete separate files; You can only clean the entire disk.

Important: since the program completely cleans the disk (removing Windows and even itself), you need to run it from the second hard drive.

After confirming the removal of all data from the hard drive, a notification like this will appear:

By the way, in this way you can delete undeletable files without the help of other applications like Unlocker. Finally, another way to destroy data is to use CCleaner programs.

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How to erase data without the possibility of recovery

It is known that information is of great importance. Due to the spread of IT technologies, users store a lot of data on a computer, laptop, removable hard drives and others similar devices. But sometimes important files can be accidentally deleted, in which case you need to restore it. Find out how to recover deleted data from your hard drive here. However, sometimes important information on the contrary, you need to delete it, and you need to make manipulations in such a way that even the most advanced hackers cannot recover the data in the files. Therefore, today we decided to look at ways to erase a file without the possibility of data recovery.

Methods for permanently deleting data

There are three ways to completely delete information from any device. The first of them is mechanical. It consists in the fact that the device from which information needs to be erased is harmed mechanical damage, due to which it will not be recoverable. The essence of this method is simple - it is necessary to irreversibly destroy the working surface of the storage medium. Of course, this is the most expensive and rough method.

The second method is called hardware. In this case, the device is exposed to magnetic field or radiation. This method is also quite expensive, and in order to carry out such a manipulation, you will need special equipment.

The last, quite effective method, which, moreover, can be done at home, is software. In other words, a special software. We will consider this method of data deletion in more detail, since it is the most gentle with respect to the storage medium.

Problems deleting files

Before we talk about how to permanently delete data files, we should say a little about what exactly happens during the process of erasing information. Sometimes it happens that a file cannot be deleted; what to do in this case, read this article. After you delete a file, the operating system doesn't delete it physical removal from disk. It only marks it as deleted, performing the corresponding operations, including freeing the clusters that belonged to it and file records.

A cluster is a group of adjacent sectors with which the system conducts operations as a whole. File entry describes file attributes and the placement of clusters on disk.

So, after you delete the file, the clusters become free again, which is why they are used by other, newly created files, which over time overwrite their predecessors. However, this may not happen soon. In addition, small pieces of information may remain intact, but in some cases it is important not to leave absolutely any data.

Recovery with Recuva

Let's turn to the Recuva program, which makes it possible to restore and delete data. There is both free and paid version this utility. Download this program only from reliable sources, as when downloading the program you may “catch” a virus. Therefore, it is important to install an antivirus program before downloading. Which antivirus programs you can find out here. So, first we just need to remove unnecessary information. To do this, files are selected, and then the Shift+Del button combination is used. In this situation, Shift is designed to ensure that information is not temporarily placed in the trash.

After the manipulations we open Recuva program and search for deleted files. In the window that appears, click the “Go to advanced mode” link, from where we go to Settings.

Here we need a Secure Delete button. You need to select as many rewrite cycles as possible. The higher given quantity, the more likely it is that the data will not be restored. Although, of course, the procedure can take a long time.

You can check how securely the information was deleted if you use the same program, but restore the files. If the utility reports that this is impossible, you have done everything correctly.

Eraser HDD program

Another application that is used for data recovery is Eraser HDD. This program distributed free of charge. In addition, the advantage of the utility is that it is not required to be installed on your computer. This program is easy to use and quite effective.

How exactly to delete information is up to you to decide, and we have suggested ways to do such manipulations. Programs that are designed for complete removal There is quite a lot of information available on the Internet. They are commercial and free access. At the same time, they will not harm the device while performing all the specified actions, so you don’t have to worry about the safety of your computer or laptop.

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Deleting files permanently

The topic of today's article is somewhat unusual. Today we will talk about how to permanently destroy data. Destroy them so that they cannot be restored even with the help of special programs or research hardware systems.

Deleting a file is not enough

Regular readers of our site already know that simply deleting a file is completely insufficient from the point of view information security. Deleted files (with rare exceptions in the form of SSD drives) can be restored within just a few minutes. This is due to the fact that when deleting a file, Windows does not destroy its contents, but simply makes a note in the file system that the file has been deleted and the disk space it occupies is free. Respectively, deleted file can be restored using easy-to-use tools - for example, Hetman Uneraser.

Disk formatting

The very fact that tools like Hetman exist Partition Recovery, is a good indicator that formatted partitions are far from a guarantee of data security. In fact, with the exception of all the same SSD drives, formatting a partition in “fast” mode (and in old Windows versions– and formatting in “full” mode) does not erase data, but only resets the file system. Accordingly, data after such formatting can be restored.

However, it should be noted that completely formatting a disk using Windows Vista and Windows 7 will still overwrite the contents of the disk with zeros, and formatting an SSD disk in any way will most likely (but not one hundred percent) also lead to the destruction of data.

Data destruction programs

There is a whole class of programs designed for reliable and safe destruction of information. Such programs use arrays of random numbers to physically overwrite the disk space occupied by the file being destroyed. Some security standards (such as those used by the US Army) require multiple rewrite cycles and insist on the use of cryptographically strong random number generators. In practice, it's more like shooting sparrows from a cannon. For private users and most commercial organizations, a single rewrite cycle will be enough.

Finding such a program is easy - just run a search by keywords « reliable removal files". Mashing is carried out in a similar way free space on disk - even the programs are often the same.

It should be noted that these methods only work with traditional magnetic storage, in which unambiguous addressing of physical space on the disk is possible. In the case of SSD drives, this is not the case, and the destruction of information on them is a separate and rather little-researched topic.

Destroying data on CDs and DVDs

Getting rid of old ones backup copies, do not forget to destroy the data. The most in a simple way destroying information on a CD or DVD means physically destroying the media. Do not give in to the temptation to break the “blank” with your hands - you will most likely cut yourself with fragments, and small fragments of plastic and aluminum substrate will be found in the most unexpected places for a long time.

The easiest way to destroy disks is to use an office shredder equipped with a CD and DVD receiver. In addition to them, there are also specialized devices - by the way, they are not at all as expensive as one might think. For most purposes, it is normal to cut the disc into four strips.

There are also devices that render disks unusable by drilling several holes in them (by the way, you can make holes in the disk yourself using a regular drill). Experts consider this method less reliable compared to using a shredder.

Separately, it is worth mentioning device manufacturers safe storage information. DataTraveler and Silicon Power offer USB or hard disks, which store information in encrypted form. To destroy access to the data of such devices, it is enough to delete the decryption key. Hard drive data recovery software will not be able to decrypt the contents and will be absolutely useless.

We can also mention the heating of the disks, leading to the destruction of the translucent information layer. Like other methods, this method should only be used in specialized devices - overheated “blanks” can quickly melt.

HetmanRecovery.com

How to permanently delete files

If you read my article “How to Recover Deleted Files,” then you already know that physically deleting data from your computer is not that easy. They are quite easy to restore later. Today I will teach you how to delete files without the possibility of their subsequent recovery.

Some readers may wonder why this might be needed at all. The reasons can be very different. But the most popular option is selling an old computer (or simply digital media, such as a flash drive or hard drive). After all, few people want personal documents, photographs or videos to fall into the hands of strangers.

And some users also store files with passwords from various Internet resources on their computers. Imagine for a second that someone had the data to access your account on the Yandex.Money project or something similar.

Meanwhile, it is quite possible to delete data so that it cannot be restored. For this we need special software. The principle of its operation, as a rule, is that it clogs clusters with fragments of a file that needs to be deleted, with arbitrary information. That is, it physically overwrites it. As a result, even if the file is detected by the recovery program, it will not be able to restore it.

Since our priority is free programs, we will turn to the already familiar Recuva program, which has free version and can not only restore deleted files, but also reliably delete them.

So, to securely erase data, first we simply delete it. To do this, it is best to select the files to be deleted and press the Shift+Del button combination. Usage Shift keys allows you to delete a file without placing it in the trash.

Now we launch the Recuva program and look for the files we deleted. How to do this is described in detail in the article “How to Recover Deleted Files.” But we won’t restore them.

Perform the procedure for searching for deleted files, as described in the specified article (it is better to search not in specific folder, but across the entire disk, since the file could previously be moved). You should get a list of deleted files. Click the "Go to advanced mode" button.

The window will change appearance. As you can see, the “Settings” button has appeared. Click it.

In the settings we are interested in the “Secure removal” item. We must select the number of cycles to overwrite deleted files. The more of these cycles, the greater the guarantee that the deleted file cannot be recovered, but it will take longer. In my opinion, it is better to play it safe and choose maximum amount cycles. After all, we need a positive result, otherwise why would we even take on this, right? We select the parameters that suit us and click “Ok”.

We mark the files that we need to securely delete, right-click and in the context menu that appears, select the “Securely delete marked” item.

When asked whether we really want to destroy these files, we answer positively. And we wait for the procedure for securely deleting files to complete, after which we click “Ok”.

That's all. To check how everything went, you can try to recover your data using the article “How to recover deleted files”. Moreover, if you have used a small number of rewrite cycles, I highly recommend doing this to ensure that your files are truly securely deleted.

If the recovery process fails, then you did everything right. If you still managed to recover some files, repeat the procedure again, not skimping on the number of rewrite cycles.

If my article was useful to you, please recommend it to your friends using the buttons social networks or simply by sharing the link.

You can send your questions for the section “ Free help» to the address: In the subject of the letter write “Free help”.

Read, how to quickly and easily clean the system disk of your computer or laptop from unnecessary files. Built in Windows tool Disk Cleanup can quickly clean up system files and thus free up space on your hard drive. But not all files need to be deleted (although this option is present). For example, temporary files Windows installations 10 is not advisable to delete, although the system says that they can be deleted without consequences.

For the most part, using the tool you can safely delete all the files specified in it. On Windows work it won't show up at all. But, this may make it impossible to install updates or rollback in case of system failures, as well as diagnose and solve problems and errors. Therefore, it is always necessary to understand which files to delete and for what purpose, and also weigh the importance of freeing up disk space and the files that can be deleted for this.

To launch the tool, right-click on the system drive and click the button. The tool will immediately scan the disk and display a list of files that it can delete. But exactly the files that can be deleted using the access of the current user account will be displayed.

In order to be able to clean up system files, the account must have administrator rights.

To delete one of the proposed groups of files, select it. To avoid deleting, remove the selection. Overall volume files that can in principle be deleted are indicated at the top of the window. At the bottom, the volume that will be freed as a result of deleting selected groups of files is indicated. Click "Ok", and will delete the selected groups of files.

How important are temporary Windows installation files (ESD)?

Windows 10 has temporary installation files that can also be deleted using the . They usually take up quite a lot of space - it can be more than 5 gigabytes. But this group of files is very important and deleting them can cause problems for the user over time.

These files are used by the system to reset the system to factory settings (function "Return the computer to the initial state» ). If you delete them, you can free up quite a lot of disk space, but then you will not be able to reset the system if necessary. To do this you must use installation disk. Therefore, it is not recommended to delete such files.

Other files that can be deleted using Disk Cleanup

Let's also look at other groups of files and what functions they perform. But keep in mind that this list files was compiled on a specific Windows 10 computer, it may differ slightly on other computers. Some files may be present on one computer but not on another.

Windows Update Log Files. When you install updates from using Windows Update (Windows Update), Windows saves older versions of system files. As a result, the user can delete installed updates. But if the system update function is disabled or you do not plan to remove installed updates, then these files can be deleted.
Windows Defender. this is a group of non-critical files that are used Windows Defender. Microsoft does not explain the purpose of these files, but they are most likely temporary files. You can safely delete them; this will not affect the operation of the antivirus built into Windows 10.
Downloaded program files. Temporarily stored in this folder ActiveX controls And Java applications, automatically downloaded from the Internet when viewing certain pages.
Temporary files Internet. The folder contains web pages stored on your hard drive to speed up browsing. They can be deleted, but this folder will again be filled with the browser cache. This applies to the built-in browser Microsoft Edge. Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox have own storage facilities cache. It is worth noting that clearing the browser cache slows down the browser.
Memory dump files for system errors. If a blue screen error (BSoD) occurs, the system creates a memory dump file that can be used to determine the cause. If the error problem is resolved or you do not plan to deal with it (for example, it no longer occurs), then these files can be deleted.
System archives of error reports. If the software crashes, Windows creates a bug report and sends it to Microsoft. Using these reports, you can identify and solve the problem. If the user does not intend to look for solutions to system errors, then he does not need report archives.
System error reporting queue. The same as , only with a queue of reports that have not yet been sent to Microsoft.
Windows installation temporary files. The most important group of files. These files are used for the “Reset the computer to its original state” function. If you remove them, you can return the computer to its original state only by using the Windows installation disk.
Delivery optimization files. These are files that were previously downloaded to your computer and may be deleted if they are not used by the Delivery Optimization service. Delivery Optimization from Windows Update allows you to receive Windows and application updates Windows Store from additional sources, except Microsoft. This feature helps download updates and applications faster in case of limited or unreliable Internet connection.
Device driver packages. Windows retains all old driver versions. Using this package you can remove old unnecessary versions of drivers. Only current versions drivers.
Previous versions Windows. If you update Windows 7/8 to 10, the system creates a folder on your hard drive with the old version of Windows, which it will delete after 30 days. Using this folder, during this time the user can return to old version Windows. If you do not use the return, the folder itself will be deleted after 30 days. If you don't need to go back to the pre-upgrade version of Windows, you can delete these files using "Disk Cleanup".
Basket. Check this folder, and among other things, will empty the Trash.
Temporary files. Programs sometimes store temporary information in the TEMP folder. Before closing such programs, this information is usually deleted. Temporary files that are stored for more than a week will be deleted.
Sketches. Windows creates page thumbnails for images, videos, or documents so they can be quickly displayed when you open a folder. Once these thumbnails are deleted, they will be automatically restored if necessary.

Also, when cleaning the disk, you can see others in the list of files to be deleted. They are not always present, but may appear if they are present on the computer or in other versions of Windows (for example, Windows 7):

Temporary installation files. Sometimes programs create installation files during installation and then do not automatically delete them. Noting this option such files will be deleted.
Offline web pages. Offline web pages are web pages that are stored on your computer. They can be viewed without an Internet connection.
Debug dump files. These are debug files that are created after a crash to resolve the cause.
User Archives of Bug Reports. Same as "System error report archives"
Bug reporting user queue. Same as "System error reporting queue", but saved in the user account and not in the system.
Old CHKDSK files . CHKDSK tool runs in case of corruption file system hard drive. Fragments of damaged files are stored in this folder.
Game statistics files. Statistics of games built into the operating system.
Installation log files. These files are created during program installation. They can help identify the problem if it occurs.
System errors minidump files. This smaller files memory dumps that are created when errors occur blue screen(BSoD). They take up less space, but can carry important information about identifying the problem.
Postponed by update Windows files . These are system files that are no longer needed as a result of a Windows update.

In conclusion, we can say that using the tool "Cleaning" disk, you can delete all offered files if you do not plan

Recently I received a question in the mail: “How to delete all files from a flash drive so that it cannot be recovered by any means?” The question is, of course, an interesting one. In principle, there are many options, it all depends on the goals and the required reliability...

In the majority household cases, both from a flash drive and from hard drives you can delete information complete formatting (but NOT « quick formatting» , which only removes the disc's table of contents and leaves all files untouched). This is quite suitable if you are going to give a flash drive that you used to a friend or sell it unnecessary hard a disk where various rubbish used to be kept. The likelihood that intelligence agencies who will recover data using special equipment will be interested in these drives is negligible...))

However, if you have a delusion of persecution, or you need to delete information of truly national importance, for example, photos of a friend or data on your accounts in a Swiss bank, then you will have to use programs tailored for this purpose, which are called “shredders” (by analogy with office “destroyers” of paper documents ).

There are quite a lot of shredder programs, including free ones. However, even here it all depends on the size of your mania or the value of the documents - if you do not trust free programs, use paid ones. 😎

Let's consider representatives from both groups.

Good Doctor Shredder from the Eraser HDD program

The simplest, and as its author claims, the most reliable, is the program This is the program complete destruction information on the disk without the possibility of recovery. It takes up only 56 kilobytes and does not require installation (that is, it can be run from either a hard drive or a flash drive). We look at the program website.

The program ensures reliable destruction of all data on a user-specified hard drive or flash drive without the possibility of further recovery information that was there. The program sequentially writes hexadecimal zeros into disk sectors, thereby completely overwriting all files on the disk. This procedure corresponds Russian standard GOST R50739-95 and generally ensures reliable data destruction (although Western standards state the opposite, see below).

By the way, the author of the program (who, moreover, is professionally involved in data recovery from various media) states that currently no laboratory in the world has no funds for recover overwritten data. In principle, all free shredder programs work on exactly the same principle, so you have to believe it.

By the way, a program that destroys data on the entire surface physical disk , there are brothers:

Eraser LogDisk— a program for guaranteed destruction of all data on logical drive , i.e. for example only on disk D: without deleting information on the disk WITH:
Eraser Free Space- program for safe deleting files without the possibility of their recovery, i.e. overwrite only free space on disk

All programs by this author have a Russian interface and are easy to use. The speed of work depends on the size of the surface being cleaned, because... the program should rewrite all sectors on the hard drive, which is equivalent to the write speed large file the size of your hard drive.

For example, if you want to clean a 500 gigabyte hard drive, the program should write 500 gigabytes of zeros! Therefore, you are guaranteed a few hours of waiting. What can we say about paid programs which use more complex algorithms Western standards, providing 3, 7 and even 35 times(Peter Gutman method) surface overwriting!!!

We will not list all Western standards for information destruction, because... the most common is the US Department of Defense standard DoD(U.S. Department of Defense), according to which the data is rewritten 3 times with different numerical sequences. This method is acceptable for destroying the most important data, after which even the CIA will not be able to unravel your secrets.

Program for secure destruction of information from O&O SafeErase 5 disks

One of best programs, which will help you securely destroy all your confidential information is Safe Erase 5. It can destroy all data from the disk any of 6 methods, including paranoid 35-fold overwriting! The program only has English interface, works under any Win versions XP, Vista and Win 7 and takes up 35 MB. Full version costs 29.95 USD, which, in principle, is not very expensive for state secrets. 😀

Today I had the temerity to get under my “software microscope” free program to permanently delete files and folders called Alternate File Shredder.

Does it spray various types well and reliably? computer files to atoms, without the possibility of their recovery by any means, methods and special programs, as the manufacturers claim? Let's check.

How to completely and securely delete a file or folder

Several times on the pages of this site I have described to you special recovery programs accidentally deleted files. With their help it was possible to return data even after formatting the disk.

But what if the task is to completely delete a file or folder, without a single chance of recovery (by bad uncles and evil aunts)... so that no Recuva, Hetman Partition Recovery or PhotoDOCTOR couldn't resurrect them? Are there really no such programs?

We launch the program and specify files or folders for secure deletion...

The "number of iterations" is the number of passes. On SSD drives, I do not recommend abusing this figure (one pass is enough).

Click on the “Destroy files” button and confirm complete deletion...

(Oops, screenshot with deleting another file)

...let's go submit documents to any spy organization in the world...

We check the reliability of data deletion...

...the Recuva program didn’t find anything even similar to my deleted file, but it did find a huge pile of files that were deleted a couple of years ago.

I didn’t check the data with other resuscitators - I’m sure the result will be the same.

Download Alternate File Shredder

Alternate File Shredder, a program for permanently deleting files and folders, lives at this address - http://www.alternate-tools.com/

Its size is 909 kb. There are no viruses or installation difficulties. Has a multilingual interface (English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, German, Korean, Czech...). Works in absolutely any version of the Windows operating system.

And lastly, do not confuse Alternate File Shredder with uninstalling programs. These are different things. The hero of this article deletes individual files and folders, and does not uninstall programs previously installed on the computer.

P.S. I also ask you not to make a holivar in the comments about the fact that there are other programs with a similar function of reliable permanent deletion - of course there are, but this article was about Alternate File Shredder.

Until new useful ones computer programs and don't forget to delete files behind you.

Storing confidential data on a hard drive and removable media is, as a rule, always considered in the context of general information security. This is a fairly voluminous topic, covering many different aspects, not the least of which is secure file deletion.

There may be several reasons for this - transferring a computer, disk or flash drive for temporary use to another person, handing over a computer or media for repair, as well as selling them. Simply deleting data using the operating system or even completely formatting the media does not ensure permanent deletion of information.

In most cases, deleted data can be recovered using data that can be easily found on the Internet. One hundred percent guaranteed destruction of data can only be achieved by demagnetizing the media or its complete physical destruction. These are the measures that are taken in relation to data stored under the heading “Top Secret”. To destroy data of a lesser degree of secrecy, utilities are used that use algorithms for repeated rewriting of the entire media or a specific area of it.

Currently, there are many programs for secure data deletion. There are just as many opinions regarding the effectiveness of this or that utility. In reality, claims that one shredder program deletes data better than another is nothing more than a myth. It is not the program itself that deletes information, but the rewriting algorithm built into it, and these algorithms are the same in all these utilities; it’s just that one program may have a wider range of algorithms than another. According to experts, Peter Gutman's algorithm, which uses 35 rewrite cycles, is considered the most effective. Here is a small list of utilities that will help you to ensure that your personal information is deleted.

CCleaner

This popular free cleaner can be used not only to remove file junk and fix errors in system registry, but also for guaranteed hard formatting disks and removable media, as well as stripping free disk space. In this case, four deletion methods are available: simple overwriting in one pass, DOD 5220.22-M (three cycles), TSA (7 cycles) and the Peter Gutman method already known to us.

Eraser program

A simple and free program for securely deleting data. With its help, you can delete not only individual folders, but also entire partitions, as well as clear free disk space. Despite the lack of Russian language, using the program is very simple. Files and folders are deleted simple drag and drop to the Eraser workspace; in addition, you can delete objects from the Explorer context menu, where the program is built in during installation. There are 14 deletion algorithms to choose from, including the most reliable - Peter Gutman's algorithm.

File Shredder

Another one free utility, simple and convenient. Deleting data from and also from removable media is supported. Adding files to the list to be deleted is done through the main menu, or by directly dragging onto working window programs. File Shredder can also be used to wipe free disk space. It is also possible to delete via context menu Conductor. Unlike Eraser File utility Shredder only has five built-in removal methods.

Secure File Vault Program

Multifunctional protection program confidential information. Intended this application mainly for data encryption, but can also be used to permanently delete files and folders. Secure File Vault has a built-in File Shredder utility for this purpose. When deleting data, you can choose a security level from 10 to 110. Secure File Vault is a commercial program, and quite expensive at that - its cost is $49.95.

Download Secure File Vault: http://www.securefilevault.com/

Freeraser

Free, simple and convenient program for removing any user files with Russian language support. There are three main removal modes available in Freeraser - fast, reliable and uncompromising. Fast corresponds to one rewrite cycle, reliable – to three, and uncompromising – to 35 consecutive passes. and folders is done by dragging and dropping onto special basket from standard window"Review". The utility supports configuration appearance baskets, autostart, work from the system tray. Russian language available.

Download Freeraser: http://www.freeraser.com/home/82-freeraser.html

Conclusion

All these five programs, on the whole, do their job very well. If you want to be sure that your personal files cannot be recovered, then use any of these programs. Of course, this list is far from complete; many utilities for secure data deletion are included in other programs, as is the case with Secure File Vault. Built-in stripping tools AusLogics BoostSpeed Acronis True Image, TuneUp Utilities, Glary Utilities and many other applications for working with the file system.

Among the five programs described above, we decided to give Eraser first place. This program undoubtedly deserves to be called a professional tool for effectively destroying confidential data.

The rewriting methods used by the program are based on the most well-known standards for removing magnetic traces from hard drives and removable media.

Wide range of tools flexible settings, the use of additional “deceptive” technologies, as well as friendly user interface make this program one of the most convenient and popular tools for securely deleting files.