The recycle bin is one of the best inventions in the world of computing, a bin that, unfortunately, still does not reach mobile devices, at least not as easily as in Windows, Linux and macOS. However, for people who share a computer and take care of their privacy, it is a double-edged sword, since anyone can access deleted files and easily recover them.
Windows, natively, activates the recycle bin so that it stores all the files that we delete for 30 days, a period that can be extended up to a maximum of 60 days or reduced to a minimum of 1 day. We can also configure the trash can so that the files stored in it are never deleted, a configuration that, in the long term, can be a serious problem of space on the computer, especially if we usually work with many files, be it documents, videos or images.
Permanently delete files in Windows
What interests us, in the case of sharing the same user account with other people sporadically, is that all the files that we delete from our computer are completely eliminated without going through the recycling bin. The fastest and easiest method is to press the Shift key while dragging the file to the trash, however, it is not the best option, since we can forget to press the button and, if we are not careful to review the contents of the trash , we can leave some unwanted trace on it.
The solution to this problem is to disable the recycle bin . By deactivating the recycle bin, every time we instruct Windows to delete a file, it will be completely deleted from the computer, with no possibility of recovery, so it is associated with a risk that we must assume. If we do not want the files that we delete from our computer to remain in the output box of the trash, we must deactivate it. To deactivate the recycle bin and not keep any of the files that we delete in Windows, the first thing we must do is access it by clicking twice on its icon.
Next, on the ribbon, click on Recycle Bin Properties . In the Settings for selected location section, check the Don’t move files to the recycle bin, remove files immediately on deletion check box.
In addition, it is also advisable to check the Show dialog box to confirm deletion option. In this way, when we delete a file, Windows will show us a message reminding us that we are going to delete a file, a file that will not be available in the Recycle Bin for later recovery.
Applications to delete files permanently in Windows
But, if the solution that Windows offers us when it comes to deleting files does not satisfy us completely, we can use the Eraser application, an application with an interface very similar to the traditional Windows file explorer that we can download for free from its website and that allows us to permanently delete the files from our computer.
Another interesting option that we have at our disposal to permanently erase Windows files beyond the possibility of recovery is Wise Disk Cleaner , a free application that also includes tools to defragment the hard disk and search for garbage on the hard disk, including that generated by browsers.
Recover deleted files
As I mentioned above, we must bear in mind that, if the files that we delete from our computer do not go through the recycle bin, they are completely deleted from our computer, so if we want to recover them, we will need to use third-party tools to be able to do it, since Windows does not offer us any solution in the form of an application to recover deleted files.
Stellar Data Recovery and Disk Drill Pro allow us to recover deleted Windows files very quickly and easily without the need for computer knowledge on the part of the user.
