Its interface is a bit more complex than that of other programs included in this roundup, but it’s still friendly and easy to use. File Shredderįile Shredder is another program designed to help you delete files permanently. When I ran Recuva to check if any deleted files could be recovered, I was happy to find that they were all permanently wiped.ĭownload: Moo0 File Shredder 4. Moo0 File Shredder includes four different data wiping methods Moo0 File Shredder offers 4 erasing algorithms, including Gutmann. If you press the Detailed Description button, the program’s window expands and lets you see more details about each of the methods available. By default, the interface lets you select the erasing method to be used. Make sure you uncheck this option during the installation. Unfortunately, Moo0 File Shredder does not add any erasing option to Windows’ right-click menus, and it also tries to bundle some “Additional Free Tools”. Once you launch it, all you have to do is drag and drop in it any file or folder that you want to delete permanently. Moo0 File Shredder is a lightweight application with a minimalist user interface. However, their names were garbled, and none of them could be recovered, not even partially, as they were all too corrupted. When the erase process was completed, I started Recuva and checked if any files were recoverable. Wiping data permanently with Alternative File Shredder You can also choose to shred file names, so not only the contents of the files get erased, but also their names. However, you can decide the number of times the deleted files are overwritten. Furthermore, if you select this option during its install process, the app also adds a “Send to File Shredder” erasing option to the Windows right-click menu.Īlternate File Shredder offers a friendly user interfaceĪlternate File Shredder offers only one erasing method: random data writing. Featuring a simple and friendly user interface, the app allows you to delete both individual files and entire folders. Alternate File ShredderĪlternate File Shredder is a small app that lets you permanently delete files. The result was great: none of the deleted files could be recovered.ĭownload: Eraser 2. It was time to check how well Eraser performed. This method overwrites the deleted files 35 times, which means that, depending on the number of files you delete, the process might take a while. While Eraser supports 13 different erasure methods, the one it uses by default is the Gutmann standard. This feature is handy if you work with data that you want to be wiped out regularly.Įraser allows you to wipe data on a schedule In addition to the contextual menu options, Eraser’s interface also allows you to create scheduled erasing tasks. When done, it automatically adds secure delete options to the Windows right-click menu.Įraser has delete options in Windows' right-click menu To use Eraser, you have to download and install it. I did not want to include commercial software, as not many home users are willing to spend money on such programs.Įraser is a small app that can securely delete files, folders, unused disk space, or even entire drives. I chose the apps below because they are both free and popular. I repeated all these steps for each file-shredding app that I tested. Then, when all the test files were deleted and securely overwritten, I ran Recuva to check if any of the deleted files could still be recovered. I also noted how many erasing algorithms each app offers and how easy it is to use. For each of the shredding programs, I used the most complex erasing method it offered. Next, I used every “delete file” app from this roundup to wipe everything inside this folder. In total, the folder contained almost 3 GB of data in 120 files, with various file formats: bmp, docx, jpg, mp3, mp4, png, and xlsx. Then, I placed lots of different files inside of it. How I tested the permanent file erasersīefore testing each file shredder, I created an empty folder on our test computer. Thus, the roundup below includes only four apps specialized in deleting files permanently: Eraser, Alternate File Shredder, Moo0 File Shredder, and File Shredder. NOTE: Unfortunately, the list of free “file delete software” has shrunk considerably over the last couple of years, as many such apps have either been discontinued or lack the updates necessary to run well in Windows 11 and Windows 10.
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