In order to ensure complete removal files from a hard drive, certain knowledge is required, and when working with USB and SSD drives, you can fall into a trap. Do you consider the file permanently deleted? No matter how: most of the documents that you erased in Lately, safely reside in their original form on your drive. In this article I will tell you how to get rid of them forever.

When you want to securely and securely delete information from the media, you should do a little more than simply pressing the "Delete" key.

The essence of the problem of complete removal of files from hard drive in the following: the Windows operating system is extremely sensitive to all files when we are talking about their removal. To protect against user error, after pressing the "Delete" key, the operating system moves the file being deleted to the Recycle Bin. It can be deleted from the Recycle Bin manually, or after it overflows, it first automatic deletion the oldest files. The size of the Recycle Bin can be set independently by the user for each hard disk available in the system. It should be remembered that both after cleaning it and after deleting a file, bypassing the Recycle Bin (using the keyboard shortcut Shift + Delete) the contents of the document still remain on the hard drive. The reason is simple: the file is physically erased only after the area occupied by it on the hard drive is filled with other data.

It is obvious that on similar deletion it would take the same amount of time as it takes to copy a file normally. That is why Windows simply marks the entries corresponding to the erased data in the main file table ( Master file Table) as deleted. This table concatenates filenames with physical blocks on the hard disk. Thus, the contents of the file remain recorded on the hard drive, although the operating system has already “forgotten” about it.

The same thing happens when you format the media. In this case, the OS completely replaces the main file table and other file system metadata. clean versions. In the data area, all files remain unchanged. The only difference between normal and quick format is that in last case the media is not checked for physical errors.

Why doesn't WIndows completely delete files?

Windows stores information about each file in the Master File Table. This hidden file, which can only be accessed by the operating system. It contains filenames as well as metadata such as the username and permissions for the file. In addition, the MFT indicates where each file is stored on the hard drive and whether it is fragmented (that is, whether it is located in several blocks in different sectors of the disk). When you delete a file, it is only marked as deleted in the MFT. The content of this file remains on the hard drive in its original state, and special utilities, exploring HDD for structure known types files, allow you to restore it without loss. That is why it is important not only to delete sensitive data, but also to overwrite the disc using specialized utilities. This alone will make recovery impossible.

Today, the methods of destroying information developed in the 1990s are considered obsolete. Among them, for example, the method of Peter Gutmann, which provides for 35-fold overwriting with random and structured data. This algorithm should provide multiple polarity reversal magnetic media at every point, so that even a magnetic microscope could not detect the remnants of the original polarity of the hard drive. This is great, but a HDD with a capacity of one terabyte will be cleaned in this way for five days, while consuming the resources of the mechanical and electronic systems.

For hard drives manufactured after 2001 and with a capacity of more than 15 GB, Peter Gutman recommends a single overwrite with random data as the most reliable method. Scientist Craig Wright conducted tests in his laboratory, taking readings from the surface of magnetic plates using special measuring instruments. During the experiment, he found out that on modern hard drives, a simple overwriting free space zeros does not allow to restore deleted files. He was able to determine with a 56 percent probability the original content of the deleted bit at a predetermined position. The probability of recovering a byte (that is, a single letter) in text document while equal to 0.09%. If the bit position is unknown and the file size is large, then the probability of recovering the file is almost zero.

Optical rewritable drives such as CDs or DVD-RWs must be cleaned like hard drives before being disposed of, that is, the free space on them must be filled with random data. If we are talking about non-rewritable discs, then they should simply be broken into a large number of small parts (for example, using an office shredder). If technical means destruction optical discs missing, you can simply scratch to the maximum possible depth and on the entire surface of the side of the disk on which the inscriptions are applied. The fact is that under the layer of varnish on it there is a reflective layer that contains the recorded information, and its destruction makes it impossible to read the data.

Required for daily use simple utility, which would ensure reliable deletion of files in practice. Open source software developers source code called Eraser set out to create just such a tool. After installation, the utility is integrated into the Explorer context menu. By clicking right click mouse over the desired file, you must select "Eraser | Erase", after which the contents of the file are overwritten with a random set of data. The file deletion method can be selected from the "Settings" menu in the main window. A quick method called "Pseudorandom Data (1 pass)" is quite reliable, so even the special services are unlikely to be able to cope with the recovery of a deleted file.

SSDs and USB Drives: Fragments of Information Remain

Due to the fact that the memory cells of flash drives have limited quantity rewrite cycles, manufacturers integrate more memory into SSD hard drives than indicated in the passport. During operation, the controller distributes access to the cells in such a way that all of them are used evenly. This misleads the Eraser program, because instead of the necessary sectors, the controller slips completely different cells into it.

In principle, the contents of the freed cells can only be erased if you give your SSD drive the “Trim” command in manual mode. This is possible only when using utilities from the manufacturer. But even in this case, you will not be able to fully control the process. Thus, for the final elimination of a single file, you will have to clear the entire SSD hard drive. In this case, data will be deleted not only from those cells that Windows sees, but also from all flash memory, including spare areas. This can be done using utilities from the manufacturer of the SSD hard drive, such as, for example, Intel SSD Toolbox or OCZs Firmware Update and Toolbox.

If there is no such utility available for your SSD, you can practice using command line in a DOS program called HDDErase. To do this, use UNetboot to create a bootable USB flash drive with Free-DOS and copy the HDDErase.exe program to it. After that, in the BIOS, switch the SATA controller to IDE compatibility mode and start the computer from the boot boot you created external media. Please note that the bootable USB flash drive will not be detected as drive A: - the letter of this drive will most likely be C: (but it may be some other). After running the HDDErase program, you should specify the correct letter of the drive to be cleaned. Both the utility from the manufacturer of the SSD hard drive and HDDErase transmit SATA commands to internal SSDs and hard drives, thanks to which their controllers allow you to completely and reliably overwrite the entire memory. A side effect of this "low-level wiping" is that the old solid state drive. If your SSD is not equipped with technologies to maintain high performance(commands "Trim" or "Garbage Collection" - the procedure for assembling and deleting unused data), then after a long time it starts to slow down. The procedure for overwriting memory cells allows you to speed up the drive to the level of a new one.

If you would like to keep SSD installed operating system and (or) programs, then before cleaning the media, you should create its image (it is described how to create it). Please note that for this purpose it is necessary to use an application that accepts only files visible to the operating system. Suitable, for example, true image from Acronis.

So after cleaning SSD transfer the previously created image to it and work as before. If you install on solid state drive new operating system, we recommend that you immediately create an encrypted container for confidential files - for example, using the TrueCrypt program.

We clear the SSD in the Windows system

In order not to leave parts of deleted files on the SSD, there is a simple, but not very recommended method for technical reasons. It is only suitable if your SSD hard drive has only one partition that occupies the entire disk, and it is at least 10% free. So, first delete all files by pressing the "Shift + Delete" combination. After that, run the Eraser program and in its settings set the default free space erasing method, that is, in three passes. Then, in Explorer, right-click on the letter of the SSD drive and select from context menu Eraser | Erase Free Space. After that, the program will write random data to the overwritten solid state drive, including working memory and spare cells. Thus, many spare cells will be overwritten. The remaining data, which are located in separate memory cells, of course, can be restored, but the result of this procedure is completely unpredictable. After all, for full recovery file, it would be necessary to read the entire amount of memory of the SSD drive, including the backup cells that the controller diligently hides from the operating system. I would like to immediately warn you that similar way should not be used too often, as it reduces the life of the solid state drive due to the total overwriting of cells.

Deleting files from NAS and deletion problems on Windows

Along with the risks described above, there are other issues related to the reliability of deleting files. So, to the hard drives installed in the home network storage(NAS), you are not contacting directly, but through network interface, which makes it difficult to guarantee the erasure of information. The file systems of such storages (on Linux-based) partially work with special data recovery logs. Thus, in order to be absolutely sure that the files are deleted, you should remove the disks from the storage before selling them and clean them using any of the methods described above, and then install them back.

Regardless of the media type, the Windows operating system sometimes refuses to delete certain files. In this case, caution is needed, since the reason for the "strike" of the OS can be either the need for this file of the system itself, or a running program that accesses the file being deleted. In Windows 7, the error message contains information about which application opened given file. If this utility does not close or its window has disappeared from the monitor screen, then look in the Task Manager (launched with the Ctrl + Shift + Esc key combination) for a functioning process and end it forcibly. If this does not help, you will have to restart your computer and try to delete the ill-fated file after restarting. The Eraser utility has a corresponding option for this called "Erase on Restart".

In case of failure, use the Unlocker utility. Right-click on the name of the file to be deleted and select the "Unlocker" menu item. The program will show which process has locked the deleted file. You can "kill" it immediately or select the action you need for the file from the drop-down list (delete, rename or move). This action will be performed immediately after clicking on the "OK" button. Default this utility moves the deleted file to the Trash, so it must then be emptied using the Eraser program.

Complete deletion of files using a USB flash drive

Darik's Utility boot and Nuke specializes in cleaning hard drives a computer that no longer starts due to a software failure. When the software stops functioning, clear hard drives computer will help this particular utility. To do this, unzip the archive to any folder on your working PC and run the creation program bootable flash drive- Universal USB Installer. Select DBAN 2.2.6 from the top drop-down menu, and the letter of an empty USB drive from the bottom drop-down menu and click the "Create" button. After that, start the computer from the created bootable media by pressing the "F8" or "F12" key after turning on the PC. If nothing works, then BIOS settings you must select the USB drive as the first boot media. Immediately after launch, a menu will appear, and if you want to clear all the hard drives in the system at once, then set the autonuke command, press the "Enter" button and let the program work out its own. This may take several hours.

If you only need to clean up a specific hard drive, then after starting DBAN, press "Enter". will appear interactive menu, in which you can select hard drives, the data from which should be completely erased.

Verifying Complete Deletion of Files

Most The best way to check the effectiveness of one or another method of deleting files - this is an attempt to restore remote information. There are many different utilities for this purpose.

Program for deleted files

Install the program PC Inspector File Recovery. Then delete the files from the media (it must have the FAT or NTFS file system) by pressing the key combination "Shift + Delete". After that, launch PC Inspector File Recovery. Select the "Search for lost data" tab in the window that appears and start the search procedure with the preset parameters. You'll be surprised how many files you've deleted can be recovered afterwards. Control documents should appear in a folder called "Deleted Items". Recovery desired file is done by right-clicking on it. During our testing, PC Inspector was unable to recover data from formatted media, as was its competitor, NTFS Undelete.

Another utility called DiskInternals NTFS Recovery found a number of files on the formatted media, but did not determine their names. PC Inspector is a free program, while NTFS Undelete and DiskInternals NTFS Recovery are paid.

Permanent deletion files from a computer is necessary to ensure the privacy of the user. Free CCleaner has a built-in tool for securely erasing information from a PC.

I may be asked, what does privacy have to do with it if the file is already deleted from the computer? It would seem that the file is no longer on the computer, what then to worry about? It's not all that simple here.

When data is deleted from the computer, the Windows operating system changes the attribute of the file, marking the file as deleted. At the same time, the content of the file is physically located on the same place hard disk. Therefore, this file can be restored using specialized program, such as R-Studio, EasyRecovery, etc.

If to the location of the remote file, through certain time during the operation of the computer, other information was recorded, then it will not be possible to restore such a file, since the file was overwritten with other data. V best case, individual fragments of the file located elsewhere on the disk will be preserved if the file was fragmented.

Just deleted files that have not yet been overwritten, it is quite possible to recover. There is one problem: recovering deleted data, in some situations, can be done by a complete stranger.

Permanent deletion of data is required when selling a computer, in order to new owner didn't get any confidential information relating to the previous owner of the PC. In other cases, when a computer is accessed strangers, there is also the possibility of leaking seemingly deleted sensitive data.

For reliable permanent deletion of files, a special shredder program is used that erases information from the hard disk. This program overwrites the parts of the disk where the deleted files were located. After that, it will be impossible to recover deleted data programmatically.

The process of erasing disks in CCleaner takes place in 4 stages:

1. Select the erasing method.
2. Select the overwriting method.
3. Selecting a disk to erase.
4. The process of erasing data on a disk.

To start the mashing process, you first need to select what you want to mash on this computer. There are two options available in the program: "Only free place” and “Entire disk (all data will be destroyed)”.

If you choose to wipe only free space, the area on the disk is not busy with files will be overwritten. After that, the areas of the hard disk on which previously deleted files were located will lose all information that was previously theoretically possible to recover.

Overwriting the entire disk will permanently delete files from the hard disk (selected disk partition, external hard disk, removable USB drive).

• Simple overwrite (1 pass)
• DOD22-M (3 passes)
• NSA (7 passes)
• Guttman (35 passes)

In most cases, a simple overwrite of the data will suffice. If necessary, you can choose a more advanced method of destroying information.

Keep in mind that the process of erasing data will take a certain period of time, which depends on the amount of space to be erased and the method of overwriting ( large quantity passages will take longer). In any case, this is a rather lengthy process.

Select desired disk, and then click the Erase button. In this example, I chose following settings: erase free space only, simple overwrite (1 pass), disk - USB storage device (flash drive).

After that, the process of cleaning up free space will start.

After the overwriting process is completed, a program window will open with the message: "Disk erasing completed successfully."

Article Conclusions

The free CCleaner program can be used to permanently delete files from your computer. The program reliably overwrites free disk space, or erases the entire disk, making it impossible to recover deleted files using software tools.

Instruction

The first way to delete files and folders without opportunities subsequent recovery is as follows:
- select the file or folder to be deleted by clicking on it with the left mouse button once;
- press the key combination "Shift + Delete" on the keyboard (on some keyboards, the "Delete" button may also be called "Del");
- you will see a confirmation dialog box final removal file;
- in this window, click the "Yes" button to confirm the deletion of the file or the "No" button to cancel this process.

The second way is to disable the use of the Recycle Bin when deleting files. Do the following:
- select the Recycle Bin system folder by right-clicking on it once (the Recycle Bin folder is located on the Desktop as a shortcut);
- In the menu that appears, select actions, click on the line "Properties". The Recycle Bin properties window will pop up.
- in this window, select the "Global" tab. There are General settings Operating system recycle bins;
- in the selected tab, check the box next to the line "Destroy files immediately after deleting them, without placing them in the Recycle Bin." After that, all deleted files and folders will be destroyed completely, that is, without opportunities subsequent recovery.

If remote files and the folders are already in the Recycle Bin, then to completely destroy them, you need to empty the Recycle Bin. To do this, click on the Recycle Bin icon once with the right mouse button and select the "Empty Recycle Bin" line in the menu that appears. Then just confirm emptying the trash.

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Sometimes users need to delete a file or folder from a hard drive or removable media. Usually, this is enough to mark the file and press the Delete key or right-click on the file name and select Delete from the context menu. However, standard tools do not always work.

Instruction

The file may be in use by a process that this moment running on the computer. In this case, the system displays a message like: “Cannot delete file (folder). No access". Try to close everything open folders and programs and try again.

If the message is repeated, right-click on the taskbar (blue bar at the bottom of the screen) and from the context menu, launch the "Task Manager". Open the Processes tab and look closely to see if there is a process running with the name of the file you are trying to delete. Mark this process and click "End Process". After warning the system, confirm the completion of the process and then try deleting the file again. If the attempt fails, restart your computer (this will close all running programs) and try deleting the file again standard means.

Executable, which cannot be deleted, may be viral program. Log in in safe mode. To do this, after turning on the computer, press the F8 key until the boot mode selection menu appears. Select the top item "Safe Mode" and after Windows boot try deleting the file using standard methods.

You can use to delete files free program unlocker. Download it from the manufacturer's website and run it. During the installation process, carefully read what exactly you are offered to install. On the first screen, uncheck the box next to "I accept the terms license agreement with Hamster Free Zip Archiver" if you don't need an archiver from this developer and click Next. The next screen will prompt you to install SpeedUpMyPC. Uncheck the box if you do not want to do this, and click "Refuse".

In the language installation window, select Russian. When installing the Unlocker program, if you consider yourself an advanced user, choose advanced method, however, uncheck the box next to Install Delta Toolbar - it will be very difficult for you to get rid of this program later.

Now, to delete a file, right-click on it and select Unlocker. The program will prompt you to select an action from the list: “No action; Delete; Rename; Move". Apply "Remove".

note

If the deleted file or folder reappears every time you boot your system, it makes sense to scan your computer for viruses.

Tip 3: How to permanently delete data from HDD

There are regular situations when it is necessary to restore personal and service files, randomly deleted or on media. The opposite situation, when you want to delete data from the HDD so that no one will ever see it, is less common. However, if you decide to transfer the hard drive on which confidential data was stored to someone, they can be deleted without the possibility of recovery.

Instruction

Normal deletion and even formatting does not destroy the data, it only changes the information about which files were written where. The data is easy to extract. So old HDD can be subjected to the so-called formatting low level, which will indeed erase all data. When you restart your computer, you need to hold down the Delete or F1 key, enter BIOS menu and find the 50h command there, which will format the hard drive.

New hard drives are formatted at a low level only at the factory before commissioning, because their device is much more complicated. Because low-level formatting in relation to modern HDDs is not applicable, and the 50h command will only overwrite your data with zeros, you need to use software with the data overwriting function. Repeated overwriting will make reading deleted information a problematic exercise. To do this, you need to install a utility like Victoria (Erase item), HDDScan, Eraser HDD or MHDD. V BoostSpeed ​​program Auslogics also has a multiple overwrite feature disk sectors.

There are special utilities that replace low-level formatting. It is better to download such programs from the official website of the manufacturer of a particular hard drive. There are also universal utilities e.g. HDD low level format tool and SeaTools for DOS.

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Removing hidden folders and files from your computer is the same as deleting regular ones, except that before that you need to enable their display in Windows settings.

Instruction

Open the control panel and select the "Folder Options" menu item. In the window that appears, go to the second settings tab, which is called "View". Scroll to the end of the list and in one of the last positions check the box "Display hidden folders and files.

Here, check the box "Show hidden system folders". This will allow you to enter system directories that are hidden from users in order to protect the data in them. If you do not have sufficient skills to work with them, do not enable their display in the system.

Apply and save changes. Here you can also change other settings for folders in your operating system, such as setting the visibility of file extensions, changing folder thumbnail settings, and many others. The next tab is responsible for associating files of different extensions with applications, after which any registered file type can be opened by a program specially defined for this at the request of the user. Here you can also configure other settings regarding appearance folders and files in the operating system. Please note that changes will only be available to current user Windows.

Go to the directory that contains the hidden folders and files you need to delete. Select them with the mouse button and delete them in the usual way, for example, by clicking Delete keys, or Shift+Delete if you want to permanently delete them. If some of the hidden elements cannot be removed, uncheck the "Read Only" attribute in its properties.

Advice 5: VKontakte: how to leave social network without the possibility of recovery

The desire to permanently delete your account from the social network Vkontakte occurs among users by different reasons. Some run from addiction, which they suddenly realized, others from broken feelings or virtual love.

You will need

• Internet

Instruction

On any free server, for example, yandex.ru or mail.ru, create a new mailbox. This can be done without even closing the inbox folder in the browser.

On the VKontakte social network, go to the "Settings" menu. Opposite the value "Who can view" Specify the item "Only me". Other users visiting your page will see an inscription indicating that the page has been deleted. Thus, you will notify your friends that you intentionally deleted your account.

Go to the "Settings" menu to the "General" submenu. Select "Change Password". Enter in the top field Old Password and without closing the page, go to the next paragraph.

open text editor"Notepad", switch the layout to English and randomly press any keys on the keyboard. Select fifteen characters from this unique password and copy them to the clipboard via right key mouse or using the Ctrl+C combination. Close notepad without saving the file.

Go back to "Basic" settings. Paste what was copied into the "New password" line and the "Confirm New password". Click on "Change Password".

If everything is done correctly, the page will refresh and the message "Password changed" will appear. If this does not happen, repeat the operation until it succeeds. Go to next step only after doing this.

Go to the "Change email" field. Enter in the line " New email» the address of the mailbox that you created in the first steps of the account deletion operation. Click "Change Email".

A letter will come to your new and old mailbox. First, open the letter from the old mailbox, follow the link to confirm. Then do the same with the letter from the new mailbox. The VKontakte page should close. And you will see a window for entering a login / password.

To exclude the possibility of using the "Recover password" button, delete the new mailbox, according to the instructions of the server where it was created.

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To date Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers. The program has earned its popularity due to the speed and stability of its work. However, in some cases, it may be necessary to reinstall the browser in order to update, troubleshoot, or reset settings.

Google Chrome on PC

If you want to remove Google Chrome from your computer without being able to restore all your bookmarks, downloads and saved pages, you can use the Add/Remove tool Windows programs". By uninstalling the program, you will erase all the settings that were stored on your computer. To go to the tool Google removal Chrome, click on the button "Start" - "Control Panel" - "Uninstall a program". In operating rooms Windows systems 8 you can go to the "Control Panel" by using the Metro interface and clicking on the appropriate shortcut in the menu that appears.

Saving bookmarks and settings

If you only want to reinstall Google Chrome, but keep all the saved bookmarks and data, you will need to save configuration files browser located in the program folder.

To save the bookmarks of the program, open Google Chrome and go to the menu "Bookmarks" - "Bookmark Manager". You can also go to the control menu with the combination Ctrl keys, Shift and O. After that, click "Organize" - "Export bookmarks to HTML". In the window that appears, select the folder where you want to save your saved pages.

If you want to save both settings and chrome bookmarks, you can download all the necessary data to your account Google. To do this, click on the program menu button and go to the “Settings” section. Click the "Sign in to Chrome" button and enter your Google account information (Gmail, Blogger, etc.). You can also specify the account you are using on your Android gadget and iOS.

After signing in, click on the "Yes, sync everything" button. You can specify the parameters for synchronization in the "Advanced" section. After the operation, you can remove the browser from the computer through the "Remove Programs" menu "Control Panel".

After the browser is reinstalled, you can restore bookmarks through the menu "Bookmark Manager" - "Organize" - "Import bookmarks from HTML file". If you want to restore settings using the specified Google account, go to "Settings" and sign in to the account you specified earlier again.

Due to the growing popularity mobile platforms, the amount of personal information stored in the memory of devices that, as a rule, the owners try to sell after operation, there is an acute issue of permanent deletion of files on devices running the most popular operating systems.

Android
Popular among users of this OS is free app ShreDroid. The principle of its functioning lies in the rewriting of free space. Approximately the same method is used by the proven File Shredder software. Its functionality allows you to show the user a list of all files stored in the phone's memory, with the ability to select individual element, and then, fully justifying its name, delete it in such a way that no one will ever be able to restore a folder or a separate file.
One of the simplest means for permanently deleting data is considered "Secure Delete". You don't need superuser rights to use it. In addition, it can be used to get rid of individual files. At the same time, there are applications that allow you to permanently erase all information from the device’s memory and SD card. For example, one of them is "Secure Wipe".

iOS
iPhone, iPad and iPod users often resort to using a professional tool called "SafeEraser" to permanently delete personal data. It allows to carry out maximum protection confidential information to prevent data theft when disposing of old devices. With this software, you can get rid of contacts, messages, photos, applications, account information, videos, passwords and other types of data stored on mobile devices, with a guaranteed impossibility of recovering them even if you use a specialized tool. The Data Eraser application is similar in functionality and popularity among users of this platform.

The solution to the pressing issue of data protection, as can be seen in the review of several programs, exists for each platform. However, the common assumption is that an experienced professional with advanced data recovery tools will not be able to stop these barriers. Therefore, often in the most dangerous situations, users suggest resorting to physical destruction file drive. One way or another, for most users, the tools described in the article are suitable, which should not be neglected when selling a device.

In this lesson, let's talk about how to properly delete information when working on a computer so that it can not be restored later.

If you are not a hacker, not a swindler and not an intelligence officer, then you can reasonably ask the question - why do I need this? There can be many reasons! Most banal reasons- sale of a computer (or hard drive) to another person or the usual sharing computer. In any of these cases, our personal information may be exposed to strangers and it is not known how it (information) will be used by them (outsiders).

Some consider such thoughts to be paranoia, while others are sure that security is never superfluous and the protection of information from unauthorized access is brought to the fore.

In addition, it will not be out of place to remember where we live and keep in mind all sorts of adopted (or not yet adopted) laws “on the Internet”, which consider anyone who stores on their computer to be guilty pirated software, music, etc. Here, if desired, almost every user can be "attracted". But let's leave for other sites reasoning about the importance of personal security ...

It seems to me that in any case it will be useful for everyone to know this information, and everyone will decide for himself whether to use it or not, so let's get down to business!

Deleting files from a computer is not as simple as it might seem at first glance, especially if the question concerns deleting files without the possibility of their subsequent recovery.

Beginners not advanced users believe that deleting files occurs by moving it to shopping cart on the Desktop, sometimes without even suspecting the possibility of recovering a file from Baskets- they say "I deleted the file, how can I see it?"

Slightly more "advanced" beginners know that shopping cart can be cleared, and then this file disappears (as it seems to them) forever. In fact, the file does not disappear, but is simply marked by the system as empty. Until new information is written over such a file, it will be completely stored in the hard disk memory. Users who understand this issue (I can’t say “beginners” any more) know that such deleted files can often be recovered using special programs, especially if this is done “in hot pursuit” (read how to do this in the lesson “ Recovering Lost Data).

Many (even experienced users) believe that to completely delete information, you just need to format the hard drive. However, this is not a guarantee of confidentiality! The formatting process does not delete the files themselves, but only makes changes to the area that is responsible for storing them ( file table). Roughly speaking, formatting deletes the list of files (with names, location, etc.), but does not touch the files themselves. Thus, it will be impossible for an ordinary user to find files (because there is no list), and a specialist, using special programs, can not only see, but also restore information.

For guaranteed deletion of information (in addition to the physical hard damage disk) there is a variant of hardware impact on the media using magnetic field. It is reliable and very fast, but expensive, so it is used more by military or commercial structures for emergency destruction of classified data.

And to securely erase a file at home, we can use special programs - the so-called shredders. The essence of the work of such shredder programs is usually zeroing (replacing data with zeros) and subsequent multiple recording (over zeroed data) random numbers("digital noise").

The meaning of such a program is quite simple - you need to specify the file to the program (or the entire disk at once) and then start the deletion process. Such a process, in contrast to the usual deletion, can take quite a long time (depending on the size of the file or disk). I repeat - this is not normal deletion(erasing the file name), but multiple recording of random information over the deleted data.

There are many shredder programs on the Internet and everyone can choose according to their taste and needs. Some programs work only with disks (they immediately clean all hard disk or partition), others allow you to delete individual files or folders.

If we talk about specific programs, then from paid options i can recommend the program Paragon Disk wiper . A time-tested software developer (Paragon) has created a truly a good product to clean hard drives. The program does not work with separate files, but for cleaning hard disk before sale is very useful.

If speak about free options I liked the program Freeraser , about which let's talk a little more.