Our constant concern over the security of our personal information online motivates us to take every precaution to keep our accounts safe. However, we neglect to take offline precautions. Without compromising our online accounts, anybody can view our files. Even if we destroy files or format drives, some strong technologies can recover most of them.
About 50% of your files are recoverable. You didn't know which files would fall under 50% - it could be your private images or crucial work documents. Delete files securely from your system. But how do I eliminate them?
To safely erase files that may include personal or financial information, you should look into employing software that uses a well-known secure file shredding method to overwrite the data in the files repeatedly. These secure file-erasing tools are useful since they make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to restore deleted files.
What are file shredder programs?
Some apps called file shredders can destroy data from your hard drive forever. A file is not truly gone until its storage space is replaced by something else; the phrase "delete" refers only to the act of making a file invisible to the operating system.
A file shredder is a program that permanently deletes data by repeatedly writing over it with a predetermined data sanitization process, rendering it unrecoverable.
When should you use a File Shredder?
Document shredders have been the typical office instrument for destroying sensitive paperwork for nearly a century. These devices shred paper into incomprehensible fragments, rendering secret documents useless.
Today, confidential information is more likely to be kept in a digital file than paper. If you need to erase some information, a file shredder program like DP Shredder can do a better job than its office namesake.
Unfortunately, many people mistakenly believe that erasing a file eliminates all traces of it. The false impression of security is caused by the fact that data is often still present in drive partitions, master boot records, operating systems, and software caches after removal. There is usually a simple solution to recovering erased data.
File shredder software goes beyond simple file deletion by permanently overwriting the storage space formerly occupied by the destroyed file. If a file is permanently erased, it is gone forever, even if a human or computer program knows the precise location where to seek it.
DP Shredder
DP Shredder is a lightweight tool that may permanently erase files and folders and overwrite vacant space on a hard disk, making it impossible to recover data that was erased insecurely in the past. Zero, pseudo-random data, RCMP (DSX), US DoD 5220.22-M (E), US DoD 5220.22-M (ECE), and Gutmann 35x are some of the ways that may be used to safely erase files and folders and wipe disk free space with DP Shredder.
The speed at which you can do several wipes decreases. A pseudo-random should be sufficient for all but the most paranoid users. You can choose between two US Department of Defense-approved deletion methods and the Gutmann method and decide how many times (in Rounds) each method will be used.
No installation needed:
Because it does not require a setup pack, DP Shredder can be installed anywhere on a disk and launched by double-clicking its executable file (.exe). Alternatively, you may keep it on a USB flash drive and simply plug it into any computer to launch the program. Furthermore, the Windows registry settings are left unchanged.
Shred data, overwrite free space
You can customize the number of iterations the program performs based on your patient with the process. US DoD 5220 22-M, zero writing, and Gutmann's 35 passes are all examples of security methods that are supported.
To further secure the safety of your destroyed files and directories, DP Shredder allows you to overwrite vacant space. The user can select the disk drive of choice, activate the silent mode, and turn on the shredder's slack mode for files.
Easy-to-navigate user interface:
The user interface is straightforward, with only one window offering instant access to all of DP Shredder's features. You can select the files or directories you want to delete, activate speedy shredding mode to complete the operation more quickly, and toggle silent mode to continue working on your computer as usual.
DP shredder features:
Here are some of the shredder's best features:
- This lightweight highlights flexibility and portability.
- The 70-kilogram shredder rolls on tiny wheels.
- With a shear cut, productivity is maximized.
- The size of the shredded material can be adjusted simply by exchanging the screen.
- Cutting tools that may be quickly and easily cleaned, adjusted, and swapped outs.
- Shear cutting at low speed with minimal noise.
Best DP Shredder alternative for Windows and Mac OS
Actually, DP Shredder is not very easy-to-use. If you want to download a better file shredder for Windows and Mac, just try AweEraser. It offers certified data erasure standards including HMG Infosec Standard 5 (1 pass), Peter Gutmann's algorithm 2 (2 passes), U.S. Army AR380-19 (3 passes), DoD 5220.22-M ECE (7 passes), Peter Gutmann's algorithm 35 (35 passes). Once your data is erased by AweEraser, the data will be gone forever, can’t be recovered by any method.
Data Eraser - AweEraser
- Permanently shred files and folders.
- Wipe a hard drive to permanently erase all data.
- Wipe free disk space to permanently erase deleted files.
AweEraser for Windows/Mac offers three data erasure modes to help in permanently erasing data from PC, Mac, HDD, SSD, USB flash drive, memory card, digital camera, etc.
Mode 1. Shred files.
This mode will help you permanently shred selected files or folders. Just add files/folders into the erasure list, then click on Erase Now button to permanently erase these files/folders.
Mode 2. Erase hard drive.
Erase a hard drive to permanently erase all data on the hard drive.
Mode 3. Erase free space.
This mode will wipe free disk space on the hard drive and permanently erase the deleted/lost data on the hard drive. It will not erase the existing data on the hard drive.
Advantages:
- When the data is erased, the data is lost forever, can’t be recovered by any method.
- No damage to your SSD/HDD. 100% safe.
- Support for both Windows and macOS.
Conclusion:
Shredding files is an important step in permanently erasing information from a computer. It's not the same as just erasing a folder or file. When a file or folder is deleted, it may typically be recovered using specialized software. However, shredded files are permanently lost and cannot be restored.