When you delete a file from your computer , this file is actually still available even if you don’t see it. Therefore, in case you want to eliminate it permanently , you have a couple of options, and the most comfortable is to do it with a program that takes care of the entire process.
If you delete a file, what you are saying to Windows is that it may happen to overwrite that data in the future, but as long as the data blocks are not overwritten, it will be possible to recover deleted files with programs such as Recuva or RecoveryRobot .
Alternate File Shredder: make your PC files disappear
One technique that is often used to prevent file recovery is to encrypt the drive or make a low-level format , where all bits of a storage unit are replaced. This is impractical to delete a file and it is advisable to do only when we are going to delete, and therefore it is more convenient to replace the specific bits of a file. This is what programs like Eraser or Alternate File Shredder do , the latter being open source.
Imagine that you have a sensitive document with personal data that you want to delete from the computer. The only option to prevent someone from accessing it by recovering it is by hand rewriting the entire unit, or encrypting it. Normal and current formatting will not prevent being able to recover them later. With Alternate File Shredder, it’s as easy as opening it, and adding the folder or file you want to delete, or dragging them to the program’s interface.
Once we have the files we want to delete, we can choose the number of times (iterations) that we want the file to be overwritten, being able to overwrite with random data, modify its size or delete the file names. In addition, we can choose to shut down the computer or close the program once the removal process is complete.
When we have chosen the files we want to delete, press Ctrl + D , or click on the Shred files icon. It will ask us for confirmation and we can choose if we want to delete a file or proceed to delete them all. When choosing one of the options, we will be shown a progress bar at the bottom, where it indicates which files are being deleted.
We can also replace all the free disk space
Another option offered by the program is to replace all the free space in the unit ( Shred free disk space option). Thanks to this, if you deleted several files in the traditional way and want to make sure they are deleted, this option will replace all free bits without touching any of the files that are available on the unit. It is the equivalent of a low level format, but without losing files.
This type of programs is recommended for use with hard drives and not with SSD. With SSDs it is better to enable TRIM , which tells the unit to erase memory cells when a file is deleted, thanks to which the speed is increased by not having to delete the files that were previously stored. Therefore, if we have it enabled, it is not necessary to use programs like the one in this article.
Alternate File Shredder can be downloaded at this link .
